Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

There is a popular philosophical question that asks if a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

As auditors, we are required to review the controls in place at a plan sponsor of a retirement plan and its service providers to assess the risk of material misstatement resulting from control risk. In doing so, we constantly evaluate the adequacy of the control structure and recommend improvements to strengthen the processes to prevent errors.

Discrimination. It’s a concept that most people don’t associate with retirement plan savings.

The use of the wrong definition of compensation is the most common error found in employee benefit plan audits, and it can be a very costly mistake to correct in accordance with the provisions of the IRS’ Employee Plan Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS).

Plan administrators probably view the management representation letter as a document they must sign so they likely do so without reading it closely.

Along with the presidential election on Tuesday, November 8, another election that participants should have on their mind is the deferral for their retirement plan.

One of the most common operational errors when administering retirement plans is the failure to implement a participant’s elective deferral election or change in percentage.

When it comes to an employee benefit plan audit, having the right information ready in a timely fashion is imperative for a smooth and efficient audit. Since the retirement plan audit season is now going strong I am providing a link to the AICPA’s EBPAQC 403(b) Retirement Plan Audits Sample Auditor Request List for Plan Information.

Most plan sponsors know that their retirement plans are subject to discrimination tests, generally designed to prevent highly compensated employees (HCEs) from obtaining a benefit that is disproportionately favorable when compared to the benefits of the non-highly compensated employees (NHCEs).

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).