For example if a licensed brokerage is audited by the state and they cannot furnish buyer broker agreements for active clients the division could fine heavily the brokerage or remove their license.

This would only ever come up in a formal IRS audit, but the regulators don't like 1031 properties that are purchased below market value or rented below market value.  

I've even thought of buying a rental house to offer to a full time employee to move to this area but I'm not sure if that would just create more headaches in the long run) Employer responsibilities; payroll taxes, administration and audits.

However I understand we'd be at high risk of audit if we go through with it.PS.

You can easily get audited and caught for mortgage fraud for putting in a 12 month lease.  

They usually source it to a company that specializes in this area and offers audit defense if the client is ever questioned and at no cost.

I need to prepare for tax filing and potential audits, but I'm unsure if receipts for every expense are necessary.I had an incident where the PM mentioned a referral fee of $350 for a tenant, but the bill showed $400.

Many do not qualify and having a PM does not help your case.You may want to read up on IRC 469 and review the IRS's Audit Technique guide. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-mssp/pal.pdf

IT was a guy who was a sailor of some kind I believe, and he had witnesses attest to his hard work that allowed him to challenge the audit result successfully.

One might ask if brokerage managers and transaction coordinators are performing enough oversight and auditing of the new, rookie agent’s transactions, AND communications with clients.