Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

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.

When an auditor is considering accepting an engagement to audit financial statements and/or after a new auditor has been engaged to audit financial statements that have been audited by another firm in previous years,

Contrary to popular belief, the audit procedures for a first-time audit of a previously small plan are not limited to the retirement plan’s financial activity for the year under audit.

The amount available under the 15-year catch-up provision is based on the number of years of service and the total contributions previously made.

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.

The DOL has released the report on its fourth study of audit quality. Revealing a shocking turn for the worse, 39% of the plan audits in the sample did not comply with professional audit standards, up from 33% in the 2004 study, 19% in 1997 study, and 23% in the 1988 study.