Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

Posted By: Christopher Ciminera, CPA  On July 19, 2019, the AICPA Auditing Standards Board issued SAS 136 – Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA. This standard was a long time coming. The AICPA worked with the DOL and other interested parties to create a new standard … Continued

Posted by Chris Ciminera, CPA, QKA You (or your client) may have just found out that an audit is required for its retirement plan. Many questions may be running through your head such as Why must an audit be performed? What must be audited? Who performs audits? Who is required to have an audit? How … Continued

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

When I was a Teaching Assistant in College, group projects would inevitably result in complaints that some students were not pulling their weight.

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

Posted By: Maria Hurd, CPA, RPA Growing up, my father always said this phrase when dealing with disagreements or differences of opinion: “En este mundo traidor, nada es verdad ni mentira, todo es segun el color, del cristal con que se mira,” which is a quote from Ramon de Campoamor meaning “In this deceitful world, … Continued

Posted By Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA It’s not easy! 2,582 CPA firms stopped auditing retirement plans between 2011 and 2018. That is a 35% percent reduction from 7,330 EBP (Employee Benefit Plan) audit firms in 2011 to 4,758 firms in 2018. Each year, we get new clients whose previously accepted Forms 5500 have been … Continued

Posted By Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA How Can a Valid Limited Scope Certification be Invalid? Just as certificates of authenticity for rare artwork have certified that reproductions were the real deal, a 103(a)(3)(C) certification, better known as a limited scope certification, could certify an investment value that has not been determined in accordance with … Continued

Posted By Maria T. Hurd, CPA How Big Can a Retirement Plan Be and Still Qualify for the Small Plan Audit Exemption? “Define Large.” It is a question I often get from advisors hoping to get their clients out of a retirement plan audit. Until now the answer has been simple: 100 participants is the … Continued

Posted By Stacey Snyder, CPA, QKA, TGPC If you’re preparing for your first 401(k) plan audit, you may be wondering what information the auditor will need for the audit. In order to help you prepare, we have created a template of an audit information request which conveys the overall level of detailed verification required in … Continued