Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule expanding the definition of investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and modifying the complex list of prohibited transaction exemptions as it relates to the expanded definition.

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Disclaimer: All blog posts are valid as of the date published. In a highly regulated industry with complicated rules that always have exceptions (except when the exception does not apply) it is inevitable that sooner or later a failure to follow the plan document will take place. Such operational … Continued

Our lives are filled with limits; speed limits, credit limits, time limits, and a number of different retirement plan limits.

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).