Category: EBP Plan Audits
Continued Interest from the DOL in the Selection of Qualified Plan Auditors
December 09, 2015
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).
Amending a Plan’s Eligibility Provisions Could Delay a Financial Statement Audit Requirement
December 02, 2015
It may be counter-intuitive, but reducing the number of employees who are eligible to participate in a retirement plan could be the greater good in certain situations.
SOC 1 Reports and Limited Scope Audit Certifications Are Not the Same
November 05, 2015
Every year, at least one retirement plan service provider tells us that a plan qualifies for a limited scope audit because their company has an SOC 1 report.
Never Too Early for New Year’s Resolutions
October 23, 2015
Every year, right around December 31st (and closer to January 1!), we sit down and start to draft up resolutions for the upcoming new year. Whether it’s aiming for a healthier life style, setting aside for targets at work, or perhaps being more fiscally responsible, it’s important to not only make these goals, but to have a plan in place for accomplishing them as well.
Case Closed! Re-Audit of Rejected 5500 Filings Accepted
October 01, 2015
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.
AU Section 315 – Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors
September 24, 2015
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,
Auditors’ Tests of Beginning Balances When a Small Plan Becomes a Large Plan
August 27, 2015
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.
Death, Taxes and Plan Errors
June 10, 2015
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.
A Plan Sponsor’s Guide to Assessing the Qualifications of Retirement Plan Auditors
June 10, 2015
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.
DOL Audit Quality Study and Recommendations for Improvement
June 02, 2015
The Department of Labor (DOL) released its report on employee benefit plan audits (Assessing the Quality of Employee Benefit Plan Audits) on May 28, 2015. As I discussed in my last blog, DOL Audit Quality Study: Employee Benefit Plan Auditors Are not Making the Grade, the report is not favorable to auditors. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is making an effort to address these quality issues through its Enhancing Audit Quality initiative.