Retirement Plan Audit Strategies

Description

By now, advisors have helped employee-benefits clients file their first revised Form 5500 with the U.S. Department of Labor and non-profit clients adjust to the overhauled IRS 403(b) regs on retirement plans. In the coming months, those same clients must prepare for related federal audits.

New schedules and data are required with Form 5500, and there are new plan documents and rules about non-discrimination and asset planning within non-profit retirement plans. The demands for careful audit planning are substantial this year.

Advisory firms must work closely with plan administrators to make sure Form 5500s and non-profits' plan documentation are complete and accurate. Advisors can guide clients in anticipating the areas on which auditors are likely to focus and in preparing for audit scrutiny.

Listen as our panel of experienced accounting advisors provides a thorough briefing on preparing an effective retirement plan audit strategy.

Outline

1. New aspects of Form 5500 that auditors will look for
   1. Form 5500 itself: Plan name, signatures, headcount, plan features highlighted
   2. Schedule A: Insurance companies named, are plan investments pooled separate accounts, do PSA totals match financial statements
   3. Schedule H: Compare net assets available for benefits against financials, compare contract and fair values, question on employee deferrals and loan repayments
2. New aspects of 403(b) plans that auditors will look for
   1. New plan document requirements
   2. Universal availability rules and audits
   3. New transfer and exchange rules
3. Preparing for a Form 5500 audit
   1. Selecting qualified auditor
   2. Obtaining engagement letter
   3. Pre-audit meetings
   4. Audit conduct
4. Preparing for a 403(b) plan audit
   1. Maintaining plan documentation and participant records
   2. Historical account of plan custodians
   3. Reconciling what are and aren’t plan assets
   4. Acquiring asset information for plan year

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key questions:

• The new Form 5500: Determining which aspects of the new Schedules C, SB, MB and others are most likely to draw auditors' close attention.
• The updated 403(b) regs: Finding the potential red flags in the new plan documents, different non-discrimination and asset-transfer rules, and employee exclusion rules.
• Audit planning strategies: Creating a plan to anticipate and prepare for each area where auditors are likely to inspect a plan for compliance issues.

Webinar/Teleconference

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