Employee Benefit Plan Audits—A Big Market

Source: The CPA Journal

The Department of Labor requires that all employee benefit plans in companies with more than 100 eligible participants, and certain smaller company plans, must be audited. About 75,000 plans are audited each year.

Auditing these plans will create interactions with plan sponsors and possible relationships.

Sarbanes-Oxley mandates that employee benefit plans be audited by firms other than the regular company auditor.

CPAs must have the proper knowledge of plan audits, or they may face fines by the Department of Labor.

The AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center provides best practices information and advice. See http://ebpaqc.aicpa.org/.

From The CPA Journal, A Publication of the New York State Society of CPAs, October 2006 (http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/toc/toc1006.htm). For the complete article, click on the following link: http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2006/1006/essentials/p56.htm.