Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

In a previous blog, DOL Audit Quality Study: Employee Benefit Plan Auditors Are not Making the Grade, we discussed the results of the 2015 Audit Quality Study performed by the Department of Labor (DOL).

It may be counter-intuitive, but reducing the number of employees who are eligible to participate in a retirement plan could be the greater good in certain situations.

Posted by  Maria T. Hurd, CPA Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” Let us consider what a name is. It is the grouping of letters that represent the identification of a person, object, or entity. However, the words may not be exactly representative … Continued

Every year, at least one retirement plan service provider tells us that a plan qualifies for a limited scope audit because their company has an SOC 1 report.

Every year, right around December 31st (and closer to January 1!), we sit down and start to draft up resolutions for the upcoming new year. Whether it’s aiming for a healthier life style, setting aside for targets at work, or perhaps being more fiscally responsible, it’s important to not only make these goals, but to have a plan in place for accomplishing them as well.

Type 1 SOC 1 reports provide plan auditors with an evaluation of the adequacy of the design and implementation of controls

In considering the completeness and accuracy of the benefit payment expense in Taft-Hartley health and welfare (H&W) plan financial statements, an auditor must consider what can go wrong.

When auditing claim payments, auditors must take into consideration whether:

BLS understands the importance that payroll audits play in the annual audit of Taft-Hartley plans’ financial statements.

In May 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) published the results of its assessment of the quality of retirement plan audits.