Audits of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA
Overview
Employee benefit plan (EBP) audit engagements remain under close examination by regulators and peer reviewers, stemming from a historical pattern of noncompliance with applicable professional standards. It is imperative that auditors possess the requisite skills to carry out EBP engagements with proficiency. This involves navigating the audit process from the initial engagement acceptance through reporting and completion. Given that 401 (k) plans represent the predominant plan type subjected to audits, we engage in a comprehensive examination of these plans. You’ll discover strategies to meticulously plan and execute risk-based plan audits, ensuring adherence to professional standards without compromising efficiency.
Highlights
- Audit planning and pre-engagement activities
- Risk assessment, including consideration of internal control
- Auditing the statement of net assets available for benefits
- Auditing the statement of changes in net assets available for benefits
- Other auditing considerations, including prohibited transactions and tax compliance
- The auditor's report
- Financial statement disclosures
- Supplemental schedules
Prerequisites
None
Designed For
Auditors of employee benefit plans - Practitioners considering adding EBP audits as a service offering - ccountants in business and industry responsible for company benefits
Objectives
When participants have completed this course they should be able to:
- Recognize key terms and definitions related to ERISA plans.
- Identify the different types of employee benefit plans (EBPs).
- Recognize operational and compliance elements of ERISA plans.
- Identify the basic financial statements for all ERISA plans.
- Recognize differences between GAAP and ERISA reporting.
- Identify the risks of material misstatement related to financial statement line item on the statements of net assets available for benefits.
- Recognize audit procedures commonly performed in a defined contribution retirement plan (DC plan) audit, including notes receivable from plan participants.
- Identify audit requirements when using the work of a specialist.
Leader(s):
Leader Bios
Howard Sibelman, CalCPA Education Foundation
Howard has extensive accounting, auditing and consulting experience with middle-market companies, and he has served clients in the manufacturing, distribution, entertainment, hospitality, and real estate industries. An integral part of Howard’s professional background is his role as an educator. He was the director of continuing education for a national accounting firm, was an instructor at the University of Southern California, was on the faculty of two of the nation’s largest certified public accounting review courses, and has facilitated numerous firm and CPA Society education programs. Howard was previously a business assurance partner at Moss Adams LLP, the 11th-largest accounting and consulting firm in the US. He was a member of the firm’s international services group and the IFRS core training group, and served as the quality control coordinator for the firm’s Los Angeles office. He was recently selected by the California Society of CPAs to be the vice-chairman (chairman elect) of the state’s accounting principles and auditing standards committee.
Non-Member Price $320.00
Member Price $270.00