On a recent AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center webcast, the Chief Accountant of the Department of Labor expressed the DOL’s concerns over cybersecurity. Specifically, the DOL believes that electronic plan records, whether they are maintained in-house and/or maintained by the financial services industry, are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The DOL believes that Plan
Correction Program & Retirement Plan Changes During 2015, the IRS began classifying Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) fees as user fees subject to IRC 7528. As a result, in 2016, plan sponsors will refer to a new, annual revenue procedure to determine the appropriate fee when making a VCP submission to the IRS. In addition, the
On January 4, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) announced guidance in anticipation of the elimination of the 5-year remedial amendment cycle system for individually designed plans under the Employee Plans determination letter program, effective January 1, 2017. Specifically, in Notice 2016-3, IRS described the following changes that will be reflected in an update to
An article recently published in the December PICPA Journal by our Quality Control Director JulieAnn C. Verrekia, CPA. Changes Bring Clarity to EBP Disclosures by JulieAnn C. Verrekia, CPA | Dec 01, 2015 Eye strain comes from struggling to see what is unclear, and it often results in headaches. To ease the pain we turn
For calendar year plans, the maximum extension due date for Form 5500 series (Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan) is back to 2 1/2 months or October 15th. An employer that maintains a pension, annuity, stock bonus, profit-sharing or other funded deferred compensation plan (or the plan administrator of the plan) is required to file
The DOL has begun to communicate to Plan administrators via e-mail that selecting a qualified CPA who has the expertise to perform an audit in accordance with professional auditing standards is a critical responsibility in safeguarding plan’s assets and ensuring compliance with ERISA’s reporting and fiduciary requirements. The DOL gives recommendations in selecting a plan
The AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center recently released the following to its members: The AICPA Employee Benefit Plans Expert Panel consists of volunteers whose primary role is to identify emerging EBP accounting and auditing issues, recommend appropriate action in addressing the issues, assist in developing AICPA EBP resources, and provide technical support to