Art of the Qualified Plan Audit

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Disclaimer: All blog posts are valid as of the date published. As stated in our previous blog It Takes a Village, plan sponsors use many specialized service providers to successfully administer and account for all the financial activity in their plans. Independent third-party specialists can include payroll companies, third … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA On Thursday, April 12 2012, Raymond James and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business will be presenting a continuing education event for professionals involved with corporate retirement plans. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor will make a keynote presentation on the final 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) fee disclosure regulations and … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA As published in the CPA Success article titled Employee Benefit Plan Audits Still Don’t Make the Grade, the Department of Labor’s Chief Accountant Ian Dingwall has stated that plan audits continue to show a 30 percent deficiency rate. Specifically, he enumerated problems including lack of documentation, inadequate testing of hard-to-value … Continued

Posted by Chris Ciminera Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Another certainty that comes to mind is change, specifically, changes to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards. Every year, accountants’ inboxes are inundated with various Accounting Standards Updates (or ASUs for … Continued

Posted by Saaib Uppal We often speak of and promote a diversity of opinion. It is, after all, what leads to creativity and imaginative thinking. Take the following rule as an example: “Funds have to be deposited as ‘of the earliest date on which such contributions can reasonably be segregated from the employer’s general assets.’” … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA During tax season, questions about the deductibility of company contributions come up year after year, most of which involve a plan sponsor’s wish to deduct a company contribution to their retirement plan. Despite their wishful thoughts, many times the answer is NO. In some cases, however, a NO answer … Continued

Posted by Michael Mast, CPA Disclaimer: All blog posts are valid as of the date published. Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA) Trusts meet requirements to file both Form 5500 and Form 990. This requirement to file two returns made me question why other collectively-bargained benefit plans, such as the Pension, Annuity Funds, as well as … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA Much like the African proverb that has been in existence for centuries: “It takes a village to raise a child”, the success of a retirement plan’s administration cannot be attributed to a single person or company. Often, third party administrators tell their clients that they will give the auditors … Continued

Posted by Maria T. Hurd, CPA The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has begun a new enforcement initiative to monitor the quality of audits of 403(b) plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The Department of Labor’s (DOL) initiative to review the quality of employee benefit plan financial audits … Continued

Posted by Saaib Uppal, Staff Accountant After weeks of internal deliberation and planning, I had finally gained the courage to ask a particular girl to my high school prom. I was very nervous and she replied with, ‘”Maybe.” What does that word mean? Is it a positive “maybe”? Is it a, “I don’t want to … Continued