Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA Does your 401(k) or 403(b) plan auditor belong to the AICPA’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC)? To demonstrate their commitment to quality in the performance of ERISA audits, 2,600 CPA firms, about a third of the firms that perform EBP audits, have become members of the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality … Continued
Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA The AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Digital Badges: How can plan sponsors evaluate prospective auditors who are equally credentialed with digital badges? Is your auditor a Jack of all trades, but a master of none? As the results of the DOL studies on audit quality shift the industry focus to the qualifications of employee … Continued
Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA Testing the work of a specialist in a retirement plan audit: How much expertise does the financial statement auditor need? Service providers to the employee benefit plan (EBP) industry are often highly intelligent people that talk in “code”: Internal Revenue Code and ERISA Regulation sections. The legislation that regulates retirement plans encompasses … 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.
As required by IRC Section 415, the IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments that should be noted for retirement planning purposes.
We live in an ever-changing world. Some areas which will most likely change many times during your lifetime include your car, job, the place where you live, your hobbies, your relationships with others, and even the organizations you associate with.
In response to the DOL’s findings regarding ERISA plan audit deficiency rate, the AICPA has embarked on an initiative to improve audit quality
I had the honor of being selected as a resource for an article “Avoidance Strategies: How advisers can help sponsors steer clear of common plan errors” in the May/June issue of Plan Adviser magazine,
Let’s face it, humans make mistakes. John Wooden said “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.” In my blog titled “Internal Controls in a Retirement Plan,” I pointed out the importance of controls at the plan sponsor and its service providers to help prevent mistakes in plan administration, help prevent fraud within the plan…
Some of my most memorable childhood stories were those of Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish.