Employee Benefit Plan Audit & Consulting
AAFCPAs’ dedicated Employee Benefit Plan Audit practice has delivered exceptional value solutions for 30+ years. We provide peace of mind to retirement plan fiduciaries by helping to ensure proper compliance and verifying you are meeting your company’s fiduciary responsibilities.
Why AAFCPAs for Employee Benefit Plan Audit & Consulting?
Dedicated Employee Benefit Audit Practice
- AAFCPAs has a dedicated team of ERISA specialists who perform plan audits year round. This level of dedicated expertise and experience results in less disruptions, an efficient experience, and a high quality end-product. This also allows us to identify and recommend pragmatic best practices to improve the efficiency/effectiveness of the benefit plan and reduce fiduciary risk.
- We are a member of the American Institute of CPAs’ (AICPA) Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. As a member, we are able to provide our clients with the most updated regulatory developments, as well as deliver best practice techniques on audit, accounting, and regulatory issues. In addition, AAFCPAs’ triennial peer review includes a sampling of our work in employee benefit plan quality. AAFCPAs has a strong peer review history of no comments, no deficiencies, and no recommendations issued with the pass opinion.
- Members of AAFCPAs’ ERISA Audit Practice are active participants with the MA Society of CPAs’ ERISA Accounting & Auditing Committee and the AICPA’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center, which allows us to learn and engage with like-minded peers and stay at the forefront of ERISA developments.
- AAFCPAs’ Employee Benefit Plan Audit practice leaders, Davide Villani, CPA, CGMA and Shawn P. Huxley, CPA, MSA, are co-chairs of the MSCPA’s ERISA Committee. They are highly sought-after for their expertise and as speakers on ERISA compliance and best practice.
Collaborative Benefit Plan Auditing to Improve Compliance and Efficiency
- AAFCPAs ensures clients follow provisions of their plan document and ERISA standards, and identifies opportunities to reduce risks and increase the benefit to employees. We provide proactive guidance to retirement plan fiduciaries, clarify financial statements, and identify organizational and fiduciary risks. We review plan operations, compare plan activity to industry benchmarks, and provide input as appropriate on ways to improve internal processes and help clients evolve systems to handle new requirements.
- We have a strong history of working successfully with clients’ third party administrators to guide clients through their initial plan audit. This collaboration, coupled with our extensive training and expertise in this specialized audit area, allows us to manage requests and reduce the administrative burden on your finance and human resource departments.
- Our close and respectful working relationship with the decision makers at the IRS and DOL aids in our research of complex matters, and positively impacts the accuracy and timeliness of our solutions.
- AAFCPAs chooses to be a PCAOB-registered firm. We commit to maintain the highest standards, protect investors, and further the public’s interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports.
AAFCPAs Employee Benefit Plan Audit & Consulting Solutions Include:
High-Quality, Cost-Effective Employee Benefit Plan Audits
- Benchmarking reports that compare your plan results to similar-sized plans
- Analysis of expense ratios to enable you to choose the least expensive investment option
- Best practice methodologies that increase operational efficiencies
- Consulting on Health and Welfare Plan filings, Voluntary Compliance Filing Issues, and Plan Structure
- Reviews of your Form 5500 to confirm that your investments reflect accurately in the financial information, and that you are operating the plan in compliance with ERISA
Plan Compliance
- Definition of compensation
- Eligibility determinations/controls
- Employee contributions
- Employer contributions match/profit share
- Timeliness of contributions
- Use of forfeitures
- Adequacy of ERISA bond coverage
- Plan document design and monitoring
- Adequacy of plan oversight committee minutes
- Fund analysis
- Fee benchmarking
- Discrimination testing and corrective action
- SOC-1 controls
- Cybersecurity controls
Representation for IRS/DOL plan examinations and compliance reviews
- We provide unmatched communication and negotiation
- We have deep knowledge of ERISA standards, and the legal nuances of IRS/DOL audit procedures
- We help anticipate the DOL or IRS audit’s focus
- We have assisted clients through the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS)
Internal “Readiness” Audits for plans approaching 100 participants
- We identify opportunities to improve controls and gaps in compliance before an ERISA audit and related reporting is required
Investment Advisory Solutions*
- Assistance with ERISA 404(c) compliance requirements
- Investment policy statement design and monitoring
- Investment Committee design and monitoring
- Annual comprehensive fiduciary review
- Investment allocation advice, monitoring and reporting
- Plan design consulting
- Development of the plan’s investment line-up, including default investments
- Enrollment, education and participant communication services
- On-going evaluation of fund performance to ensure investment plans are meeting investment goals while controlling risks
- Executive benefit and compensation planning
*These services may be delivered through AAFCPAs’ affiliate company, AAFCPAs Wealth Management. AAFCPAs Wealth Management provides fiduciary consulting and investment advisory solutions for organizations so they may deliver the best possible benefit to employees with the least amount of risk. We monitor your organization’s portfolio of assets, devise strategies for growth, act as the liaison with investors, as well as recognize and educate to avoid serious risks. Our Mission is to provide valuable peace of mind to those who share the awesome responsibility to manage wealth.