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In 2019, the AICPA issued Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 136, Forming an Opinion and Report on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA. SAS 136 prescribes certain new performance requirements for financial statement audits of ERISA employee benefit plans.

Another requirement of Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 136 is that auditors cannot release final financial statements until they have received and approved Form 5500. This raises the question: What is the auditor’s responsibility when it comes to reviewing Form 5500?

If an auditor detects discrepancies or deficiencies while performing an employee benefit plan audit, the auditor will communicate these to the plan sponsor in a management letter included with the audit.

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in financial upheaval for a number of businesses that sponsor an employee retirement plan. As a result, some of them have taken a fresh look at their plan design to see if there are any changes that could help them better weather the financial storm.

As an employee benefit plan sponsor, you are required to complete a variety of ERISA compliance tasks throughout the year. Your third-party administrator may be engaged to handle some of the tasks for the plan. Here are the 2021 plan year deadlines for some of the most common ERISA compliance tasks:

Target date funds (TDFs) have become an increasingly popular investment choice for many retirement plan participants. According to a recent estimate by Bloomberg Law, participants currently hold about $1.4 trillion in TDFs.

As the sponsor of a qualified retirement plan, you’re subject to certain fiduciary responsibilities. These include administration functions like maintaining the plan’s financial records and filing an annual report for the plan.

Despite your best efforts to remain compliant, operational errors are sometimes made in the administration of employee retirement plans. When errors occur, you generally have two main options for correcting them:

The American Institute for Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) recently issued a Technical Question and Answer (TQ&A) that provides guidance on accounting for loans issued under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).