The Department of Labor (DOL) requires an annual audit of all employee benefit plans with 100 or more eligible participants. This includes pension, 401(k), 403(b), ESOPs and other plans. The audit serves to ensure that the plan’s financial statements are presented in compliance with the rules and regulations for reporting and disclosure under ERISA. In recent years, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has uncovered a number of deficient plan audits – and deficient plan audits often have costly penalties associated with them.
With the multitude of penalties that can result if the required filings are not done correctly, our dedicated practice group is the best way to ensure you are receiving the quality of service you require – and deserve. Direct partner contact and frequent communication are characteristic of our client service for employee benefit plans.
Did you know that a quality plan audit can offer a number of benefits? In addition to compliance, these may include:
- Avoiding costly penalties associated with deficient audit reports;
- Eliminating concerns related to timely report delivery;
- Ensuring the financial integrity of the plan so that the necessary funds are available to pay benefits;
- Helping plan sponsors stay abreast of changes in the regulatory environment;
- Providing more reliable information to administer and manage the plan.
Our goal is to help businesses continue full compliance with employee benefit plan audit requirements, thus enabling them to maintain plans that foster and strengthen relationships with their employees.
We perform both limited-scope and full-scope audits and Form 5500 preparation services, if required. As long as the DOL continues to accept limited-scope opinions, we will continue to perform them where available. This approach reduces audit fees, thus allowing the plan or the company to use those funds elsewhere.