Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

Posted by Tyler Starr, CPA The IRS issued a private ruling on August 17, 2018, to allow an unnamed company to implement a new type of benefit for employees with student loan debt who were eligible to participate in its 401(k) plan. Prior to the private ruling, the company offered a 5% match contribution if … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA The Truth Will Set You Free, but First, It Will Make You Miserable When it comes to reporting prohibited transactions (PT) with parties-in-interest, it’s better to come clean, confess, and report on the supplementary schedules to the audited financial statements than to deny any wrongdoing. Withholding information results … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA A new auditing standard (expected to be issued in 2019), Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA (“Audit Standard” or “EBP SAS”) would be effective for audits performed starting in 2021 for plans with financial statement periods ending on or … Continued

Posted by Maria Hurd, CPA, RPA Updated May 22, 2019 First Things First: The Engagement Letter   The new audit standard, Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA, effective for plan years ending on or after December 15, 2020, will require certain management representations as a pre-condition … Continued

In late 2018, the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) voted to issue a final balloted draft of SAS 13X, which addresses the auditor’s responsibility to form an opinion and report on the audit of financial statements of employee benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

On April 19th, the IRS issued an update to the EPCRS which expands the Self-Correction Program (SCP) to cover certain plan loan failures.

Posted by Maria Hurd, CPA Disclaimer: All blog posts are valid as of the date published. 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 … Continued

In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and retirement plan operational errors. Two decades of plan audits have shown time and time again that even the most accurate plan sponsor is not immune from making one of the common errors.

By special request, following is a summary of the basic available safe harbor formulas, with no extra editorials. See bullet points for information about enhanced match opportunities.

In my previous blog, “How to Order a Triple Stack Match for your Plan,” I discussed the basics of the triple stack match formula.