Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

It is not often that we can give our clients good news as a result of new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service, but thanks to Notice 2016-16, Mid-Year Changes to Safe Harbor Plans and Safe Harbor Notices, we have fantastic news.

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.

Users of accounting information make informed decisions using information contained in the financial statements.

Prospective clients often want to see a sample information request letter to get a better idea of how an audit will progress. In response to that frequently asked question, we created a white paper to assist clients in preparing for their retirement plan audits.

In retirement plan administration, it is sometimes necessary to use prior year data to make certain determinations.

The Department of Labor just sent a letter to plan administrators emphasizing the importance of selecting a quality auditor.

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).

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.

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.