Proposed Statement of Auditing Standards: Redesigning the Audit Reporting Model for ERISA Plan Financial Statements
August 28, 2017
The Auditing Standards Board created a special task force in 2015 to consider a proposal to improve the quality of employee benefit plan audits by strengthening the EBP auditors’ report.
Hardship Distributions: Source Documents vs. Documentation of Self-Certification by Participants
August 11, 2017
“The buck stops here” is a phrase that was popularized by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who kept a sign with that phrase on his desk in the Oval Office.
Plan Adviser Magazine: Avoidance Strategies
July 13, 2017
I had the honor of being selected as a resource for an article “Avoidance Strategies: How advisers can help sponsors steer clear of common plan errors” in the May/June issue of Plan Adviser magazine,
Self-Audits
June 28, 2017
Let’s face it, humans make mistakes. John Wooden said “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.” In my blog titled “Internal Controls in a Retirement Plan,” I pointed out the importance of controls at the plan sponsor and its service providers to help prevent mistakes in plan administration, help prevent fraud within the plan…
What the IRS can Learn from Amelia Bedelia: The IRS Forfeits to Common Sense when Applying Forfeited Funds to Safe Harbor Contributions
June 13, 2017
Some of my most memorable childhood stories were those of Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish.
The Softer Side of the IRS: Memorandum on Calculating the Maximum Participant Loan Amount
May 29, 2017
Some people believe you can never get enough of a good thing.
WEBINAR: Mastering Form 5500 Schedule: Avoiding Audit Triggers
May 16, 2017
A member of our Employee Benefit Plan Audit Team, Stacey I. Snyder, CPA, will be speaking in an upcoming Strafford live webinar, “Mastering Form 5500 Schedule: Avoiding Audit Triggers” scheduled for Thursday, May 18, 1:00pm-2:50pm EDT.
The DOL’s Assessment on the Quality of Financial Statement Audits: The Aftermath
April 20, 2017
It has been almost two years since the DOL released the results of its study of the quality of work performed by independent qualified public accountants (IQPAs).
Participant Loan Refinancing
April 17, 2017
Administrative simplicity or empathy for participants in need? Allowing more than one participant loan in a retirement plan is not a black and white determination.
EPCRS: Participant Loan Corrections
April 04, 2017
As mentioned in my previous blog, EPCRS: How to Correct Improper Exclusions of Employees from a 401(k) Plan, the IRS implemented and recently revised the Employer Plan Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS),