401k Annual Audits: Anticipating Serious and Costly Errors, Understanding the Latest SASs
Recording of a 110-minute CPE video webinar with Q&A
This webinar will provide employee benefits administrators, auditors, and plan sponsors with best practices to prevent serious and costly errors in preparing for 401k audits. The panel will explain the pitfalls that practitioners often encounter in these audits and outline changes to these audits and the accountants' report under the latest Statements of Auditing Standards (SASs).
Outline
- 401k plan audit overview and best practices
- Overview of recent Statement of Auditing Standards
- Challenges to anticipate
- Common plan operation errors
- Potential corrections under EPCRS
Benefits
The panel will address these and other key issues:
- Understanding the areas of highest risk in 401k audits
- Identifying and avoiding the most common mistakes in 401k audits
- Implementing expedient solutions to the most common 401k or filing mistakes after the fact
- Understanding changes made to plan audits by recent SASs
Faculty

Maria Hurd, CPA, RPA
Director and Shareholder
Belfint Lyons & Shuman
Ms. Hurd is responsible for planning, supervising and reviewing audits of single and multi-employer benefit plans.... | Read More
Ms. Hurd is responsible for planning, supervising and reviewing audits of single and multi-employer benefit plans. ERISA attorneys frequently ask her to perform the final audit of terminated benefit plan financial statements for national companies undergoing bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware. Along with her retirement plan audit services, Ms. Hurd assists clients with corporate service matters for Delaware investment holding companies. She frequently gives the auditor’s perspective in education panels targeting plan sponsors, investment advisors, third-party administrators, and other service providers in the industry. Ms. Hurd initiated and leads the firm’s employee benefit audit blog – The Art of the Qualified Plan Audit.
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Kim Moore, CPA
Director of Auditing
Summit CPA Group
Ms. Moore has led the firm’s audit division through a period of significant growth. The team currently completes... | Read More
Ms. Moore has led the firm’s audit division through a period of significant growth. The team currently completes over 100 employee benefit plan audits per year. She is also responsible for the Quality Control Program at the firm. Ms. Moore is a past Co-President of the Fort Wayne Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors. She is a member of the American Institute of CPA's, the Indiana CPA Society and the Institute of Internal Auditors.
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Kristin Ryan, CPA
Senior Manager, Audit
PKF Texas
Ms. Ryan leads the firm’s employee benefit plan audit and advisory practice with growth-minded efforts and has... | Read More
Ms. Ryan leads the firm’s employee benefit plan audit and advisory practice with growth-minded efforts and has extensive experience in employee benefit plan audits, including primarily 401(k) and pension plans. She has extensive experience with external audit of financial statements in various industries for both public and privately held companies, including high profile clients. Ms. Ryan’s experience includes preparing GAAP and IFRS financial statements, including extensive note disclosure research and preparation, as well as internal controls and process evaluation. Additionally she is dedicated to training and developing staff at PKF Texas and spearheading efforts in audit training and coaching programs.
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