Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Yes, the Audit Extends to Excluded 403(b) Employees: Testing Compliance with Universal Availability It’s never a good sign when an employer sponsoring a 403(b) plan says: “You don’t need to see backup for employees who are excluded from the plan.” Ohh! But we do! Not often, but sometimes, clients … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA “Retirement readiness is important for everybody” – this is a statement that didn’t make it to the searchable lists of universal truths, but should have. The 403(b) plan regulations realized the benefits of inclusion a long time ago, providing that if any employee can elect to make elective deferrals, then … Continued

Posted By: Maria Hurd, CPA Top Five Operational Errors of 403(b) Plans Oops! I did it again… No matter how hard we try, there are mistakes we are doomed to make again and again, even when we know the rules all too well. The reasons are valid, and they are countless: mindlessness, being in a … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Where have you worked, for how long, and how much have you contributed to the 403(b) plan? These are all the questions that make up the puzzle pieces necessary to compute each participant’s available 403(b) catch-up. Participants in a 403(b) plan can make an additional contribution once they have … Continued

Posted By: Maria Hurd, CPA Why Ask Why? Why should the rules that determine how and how much a person can save for retirement be different depending on whether the person works for a government entity, a nonprofit, or a for-profit employer? People are people, and their retirement needs are not different based on what … Continued

Posted By: Maria Hurd, CPA But They Got the Money in their Paycheck, Why Should They Get Even More? When an organization does not give employees the opportunity to make salary deferrals, or ignores their election to make salary deferral contributions, correcting the mistake in accordance with the IRS Correction Program called Employee Plan Compliance … Continued

Posted By: Maria Hurd, CPA There is Always Room for Improvement: Proposed Revisions to Form 5500 On September 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) (together “Agencies”) jointly announced a tri-agency notice of proposed forms revisions to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report … Continued

Is your auditor a Jack of all trades, but a master of none?

Posted By: Maria T Hurd, CPA, RPA Improved EPCRS : More Self-Correction Options Inside the Box Perfection is aspirational, especially when it comes to retirement plan administration. That is why 30 years ago, in 1991, the IRS created the EPCRS (Employee Plan Compliance Resolution System), a mechanism for plan sponsors to fix mistakes. Compliance with … Continued

Posted By: Maria Hurd, CPA, RPA What Do You Check to Indicate Your Client’s Auditor Performed a Limited Scope Audit On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!, Or Don’t Go….It’s Up to You! The AICPA postponed the mandatory effective date of the new audit standard, SAS 136, until next year, but the DOL had already updated … Continued