Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

Posted By: Maria T. Hurd, CPA Transactions with Related Parties and Parties In Interest: What are the GAAP disclosure requirements? ERISA’s definition of a party in interest is broader than a related party as that term is defined by GAAP. Parties in interest include all entities and individuals that provide services to the plan; however, … Continued

Posted By Maria Hurd, CPA The SECURE Act increased IRS Late Filing Penalties for Form 5500 by how much? How can I avoid them? IRS Penalties Tenfold. That’s how much the SECURE Act (the “Act”) increased the penalty for the late filing of a Form 5500 –TENFOLD! Before the Act, the IRS could assess a … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Distributing a Safe Harbor Match Plan Notice Slipped Through the Cracks. What is the Correction? The barrage of changes introduced by the SECURE Act, closely followed by the CARES Act, along with furloughs, remote work, and all the work-life changes of pandemic year 2020 may have resulted in administrative … Continued

Posted by Maria T Hurd, CPA Updated November 11, 2020 The CARES Act gave us a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) holiday during 2020, but the SECURE Act’s new RMD rules will be back in 2021. How will the changing rules affect financial statement audits? RMDs under the SECURE ACT The SECURE Act (Setting Every Community … Continued

Posted by Saaib T. Uppal, CPA, QKA The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments that should be noted for retirement planning purposes. Below is a chart that outlines employee benefit plan limits for 2021: PLAN LIMITS RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY 2021 Limit 2020 Limit 2019 Limit Section 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) elective deferrals  $19,500  $19,500  $19,000 401(k) … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA In a highly regulated industry with complicated rules that always have exceptions (except when the exception does not apply) it is inevitable that sooner or later a failure to follow the plan document will take place. Such operational errors can be corrected through the IRS Employee Plan Compliance Resolution … Continued

Posted By Maria T. Hurd, CPA Contrary to popular belief, company owners and highly compensated employees (HCEs) are not guaranteed the opportunity to contribute the maximum 401(k) contribution limit to their company’s retirement plan, even if the 401(k) deferral contributions represent their own money. That is because 401(k) plans are subject to nondiscrimination tests to … Continued

Posted By Stacey Snyder, CPA, QKA, TGPC If you’re preparing for your first 401(k) plan audit, you may be wondering what information the auditor will need for the audit. In order to help you prepare, we have created a template of an audit information request which conveys the overall level of detailed verification required in … Continued

Posted By: Stacey Synder, CPA, QKA, TGPC Profit-sharing plans give employers the option to make contributions to a retirement saving account for the benefit of their employees. These contributions may be made at the discretion of the company and do not need to be based on the actual profits of the company. Traditional profit-sharing plans … Continued

Posted By Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA Our first blog about the CARES Act titled Unsaving for Retirement in Pandemic Times discussed the original definition of a Qualifying Individual eligible to take the additional Coronavirus-related loans and distributions. The original definition of a qualified individual applied if the participant in the plan experienced a financial … Continued