Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Since the Department of Labor’s final 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) fee disclosure regulations were issued, industry experts across all fields have been wanting to know what will be the extent of the auditors’ duty to obtain verification for each plan’s compliance with these new rules. On Thursday, April 12, 2012, … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Disclaimer: All blog posts are valid as of the date published. As stated in our previous blog It Takes a Village, plan sponsors use many specialized service providers to successfully administer and account for all the financial activity in their plans. Independent third-party specialists can include payroll companies, third … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA On Thursday, April 12 2012, Raymond James and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business will be presenting a continuing education event for professionals involved with corporate retirement plans. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor will make a keynote presentation on the final 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) fee disclosure regulations and … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA As published in the CPA Success article titled Employee Benefit Plan Audits Still Don’t Make the Grade, the Department of Labor’s Chief Accountant Ian Dingwall has stated that plan audits continue to show a 30 percent deficiency rate. Specifically, he enumerated problems including lack of documentation, inadequate testing of hard-to-value … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA During tax season, questions about the deductibility of company contributions come up year after year, most of which involve a plan sponsor’s wish to deduct a company contribution to their retirement plan. Despite their wishful thoughts, many times the answer is NO. In some cases, however, a NO answer … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Much like the African proverb that has been in existence for centuries: “It takes a village to raise a child”, the success of a retirement plan’s administration cannot be attributed to a single person or company. Often, third party administrators tell their clients that they will give the auditors … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has begun a new enforcement initiative to monitor the quality of audits of 403(b) plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The Department of Labor’s (DOL) initiative to review the quality of employee benefit plan financial audits … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Most employers think that the maximum amount every participant can contribute to their 401(k) plans as a deferral from their own salary for 2012 is $17,000 plus $5,500 as a catch-up contribution if they are 50 or over. Unfortunately, the maximum limit may be cut back for the employer’s … Continued