Employee Benefit Plan Services Overview
Federal law requires employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants to perform an audit as part of the obligation to file an annual return/report (Form 5500 series). A quality audit helps protect the assets and the financial integrity of a plan to ensure the necessary funds will be available to pay future retirement, health and death benefits.
The more training and experience an auditor has with employee benefit plans, the more familiar an auditor will be with plan practices, operations and requirements as well as auditing standards and rules specifically related to the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). Our Firm is dedicated to providing quality ERISA audit services for your employee benefit plans. Our highly-experienced team can help you understand the specialized requirements of ERISA as it applies to your plan, while providing cost-effective audit and consulting services. Our ERISA specific practice adheres to the highest practice standards.
Our experience in this area allows our firm to conduct the most cost-effective audit possible, while utilizing our backgrounds to quickly recognize problem areas. We also gain efficiencies through our strong working relationships with asset custodians, record keepers and ERISA attorneys.
With constant changes in the rules and requirements that apply to employee benefit plans, the DOL has found many employee benefit plan audits to be deficient. We work with clients and their plan service providers (e.g., third-party record keeper, investment trustee and payroll service) to effectively coordinate all phases of the audit.
One of the most important duties of the plan administrator is to hire an independent qualified public accountant. Please click on our "selecting an auditor" link for tips on fulfilling this important fiduciary duty, including links to the DOL and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) web sites for advice.
Some areas that we focus on include:
- Eligibility requirements
- Hardship withdrawals
- Plan participant loans
- 401(k) provisions
- Timely deposits
- Plan distributions
Employee benefit plan audits of:
- 401(k) plans
- Defined benefit pension plans
- Cash balance pension plans
- Money purchase pension plans
- ESOP's
- Other 401(a) plans
- 403(b) plans
- Other hybrid plans
- Funded welfare benefit plans
You will appreciate a smooth transition
Our goal is provide a seamless and timely completion of your benefit plan audits. Don’t let concerns about start-up time keep you from engaging us to conduct your employee benefit plan audits. Our audit methodology considers your team’s time and energy that is expended during a transition. We have dedicated our careers to auditing employee benefit plans. Our numerous years of experience and focused annual training ensure you receive a high quality efficient audit. Unlike other firms who send out interns and less experienced staff, the audit work will be performed by individuals with numerous years of benefit plan experience.
You can benefit from our commitment to quality
We attend extensive hours of employee benefit plan training each year. Additionally, we present at seminars throughout New England covering specific employee benefit plan topics.
Our focus on benefit plan audits translates into deep expertise
We’re committed to benefit plan audits. Our knowledge and expertise allows us to identify opportunities for plan sponsors to reduce overall risk of administering a plan.
Please contact us today to discuss your benefit plan audits.