Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

“Everybody Makes Mistakes, Everybody Has Those Days”… Excess Amounts- Retirement plan provisions regarding eligibility, how to count hours of service, contributions, the definition of compensation, automatic enrollment, etc. require so much detailed recordkeeping and coordination between payroll personnel, HR, and the plan’s service providers, that the probability that a plan sponsor will allocate too much … Continued

Each year, I review the audit requirement rules with pension professionals in all the specialties: investment advisors, third party administrators, recordkeepers, plan consultants, and more. This year, after our conversation, Renee Mrosowski from Summit Group Retirement Planners sent me an excellent summary of our conversation for my review. Her clear methodology is worth sharing, so … Continued

Large retirement plans that require an audit often merge-in the assets from small plans in connection with a stock acquisition or a merger of the plan-sponsor companies. When large plans merge-in assets from another plan, auditors will have to consider whether previous operational errors of the merged plan could result in potentially tainted assets that … Continued

Back to Basics: Final Form 5500 Rules Intuitively, it makes sense that a retirement plan that is subject to reporting requirements will have a Form 5500 filing obligation as long as the plan has assets. According to the Form 5500 instructions, a plan sponsor can file a Final Form 5500 “If all assets under the … Continued

Posted by Christopher J. Ciminera, CPA IKYMI: It’s with great pleasure that we congratulate Maria Hurd, CPA, RPA, our fearless employee benefit plan practice group leader and the guiding star for myself, Stacey Snyder, Saaib Uppal, Tyler Starr, and many others, for being recognized on Forbes’ List of America’s Best-in-State CPAs. This list is a … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA The New Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program went live on March 17, 2025. Sometimes, Voluntary Can Feel Mandatory Since 2002, the VOLUNTARY Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”) has given plan sponsors with delinquent deferral deposits the OPTION to submit a filing under the DOL’s Correction Program, in exchange for the … Continued

As to Deferral Deposits, Define Timely: As Soon as You Can; ASAP; Chop, Chop; Pronto; What Are You Waiting For?!?! Tell Me What You Want, What You Really, Really Want The timeliness of deferral deposits — a topic that has been beaten to death with a stick and is still the source of discussion at … Continued

Posted by Tyler J. Starr, CPA If you’re gearing up for your first 401(k) audit, you might be wondering what information the auditor will need. To help you get ready, we’ve put together a sample checklist of documentation needed for a 401(k) or 403(b) plan audit. Keep in mind that your auditor will customize requests … Continued

Updated 3.31.2025 Which Large Welfare Plans Need to Hire a CPA Auditor? Why do some large welfare plans have to engage an independent qualified public accountant to audit the plan’s financial statements and others have no audit requirement? The answer lies in whether the welfare plan is funded or unfunded. Funded Welfare Plans: Defined Funded … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA As we discussed in our blog “Delaware’s Senator Roth and his Roth Account Legacy,” about 93% of 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans offer a Roth deferral option, up from 62% a decade ago. The Roth 401(k) option became available at the beginning of 2006, while the traditional 401(k) … Continued