My parents didn’t spend much time warning us kids about vandalism, petty theft or mail fraud, but much was made of the attention and focus we would need as adults when it came to our finances, because the Internal Revenue Service could pounce at any time. “If you ever get audited” were chilling words that frightened me, as I was certain I could never, ever produce the requisite documentation to defend myself and would be mortally ashamed when I had to suffer the legal consequences. My mother, who ran her own business, lamented the time it took her to copy...