Why Employee Benefit Plan Audits Are Vital [Podcast]
December 9, 2019
In the following podcast interview, Jen Amato, a Principal with SC&H Group, shares some of the key discussions from the recent Chesapeake Human Resources Association (CHRA) 9th Annual Fall Human Resources Conference. She also highlights the expanded importance of Employee Benefit Plan audits to ensure compliance with IRS and Department of Labor (DOL) rules and regulations.
There are number of legal requirements and fiduciary duties that come with managing employee benefit plans that are needed for compliance with IRS and Department of Labor (DOL) rules and regulations.
As such, it is important for human resource and finance professionals to fully understand their plan documents – the technical and legal documents – that show all of the facets of the plan. In addition, companies must be compliant with the Form 5500 Series, which is part of ERISA’s overall reporting and disclosure framework that is intended to assure that employee benefit plans are operated and managed in accordance with certain prescribed standards.
Each of the items outlined above point to the expanded importance of Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) audits to be conducted by independent accounting firms. EBP audits are legally required for companies with more than 100 employees.
While they can be seen as a “necessary evil,” EBP audits are the first line of defense for ensuring compliance. Furthermore, if issues do arise as a result of an audit, companies can often correct these problems in advance of a potential audit by the government.
SC&H Group has a robust Employee Benefit Audit practice that audits over a hundred plans annually that range in size from 100 to over 200,000 participants. The practice provides plan sponsors with expert EBP audit, audit coordination, and filing services for full compliance and assurance. Our professionals have both EBP auditing and third-party administration experience, bringing to their engagements depth and breadth of knowledge as well as dedication to client service.
If you have any questions about this content, or are interested in learning more about SC&H Group’s Employee Benefit Audit practice, we welcome you to contact Jen here. Also, be sure to download our “Top 10 Issues Affecting Employee Benefit Plans” white paper here.