Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

Posted by Maria T Hurd, CPA Updated November 11, 2020 The CARES Act gave us a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) holiday during 2020, but the SECURE Act’s new RMD rules will be back in 2021. How will the changing rules affect financial statement audits? RMDs under the SECURE ACT The SECURE Act (Setting Every Community … Continued

Posted by Saaib T. Uppal, CPA, QKA The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments that should be noted for retirement planning purposes. Below is a chart that outlines employee benefit plan limits for 2021: PLAN LIMITS RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY 2021 Limit 2020 Limit 2019 Limit Section 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) elective deferrals  $19,500  $19,500  $19,000 401(k) … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA 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 errors can be corrected through the IRS Employee Plan Compliance Resolution … Continued

Posted By Maria T. Hurd, CPA Contrary to popular belief, company owners and highly compensated employees (HCEs) are not guaranteed the opportunity to contribute the maximum 401(k) contribution limit to their company’s retirement plan, even if the 401(k) deferral contributions represent their own money. That is because 401(k) plans are subject to nondiscrimination tests to … 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

Posted By: Stacey Synder, CPA, QKA, TGPC Profit-sharing plans give employers the option to make contributions to a retirement saving account for the benefit of their employees. These contributions may be made at the discretion of the company and do not need to be based on the actual profits of the company. Traditional profit-sharing plans … Continued

Posted By Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA Our first blog about the CARES Act titled Unsaving for Retirement in Pandemic Times discussed the original definition of a Qualifying Individual eligible to take the additional Coronavirus-related loans and distributions. The original definition of a qualified individual applied if the participant in the plan experienced a financial … Continued

Posted By: Stacey Snyder, CPA, QKA, TGPC If you’ve just been informed that your 401(k) plan needs an audit, you probably have many questions if you have never been through a 401(k) audit. Hopefully by answering the five Ws (Who? What? When? Where? Why?), we’ll cover most of your questions. WHO? – Who Audits a … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA, RPA For 403(b) plan eligibility determinations, the IRS says that “Once In, Always In” is much better than “In and Out,” so are your part-time employees “In or Out” or “In and Out”? Part-time workers and transient workers have always posed a challenge for plan sponsors trying to determine … Continued

Posted by Tyler Starr, CPA The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Auditing Standards Board (ASB) issued the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 19, Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagements, in December 2019. SSAE 19 supersedes SSAE 18 AT-C section 215 of the same name and also amends certain provisions of SSAE 18 section … Continued