Get Coordinating The Benefit Plan Audit And Form 5500 Preparation

Your Form 5500 filing allows auditors to examine all plan documents for any material misstatements of fact, as well as material inconsistencies, during the audit process. These duties are performed ahead of when the auditor dates the report.

The Form 5500 Series is part of ERISA's overall reporting and disclosure framework, which is intended to assure that employee benefit plans are operated and managed in ance with certain prescribed standards and that participants and beneficiaries, as well as regulators, are provided or have access to sufficient ...

02. The auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud.

The Process of an Employee Benefit Plan Audit. This comprehensive review from the third-party auditor occurs in three phases: (1) providing your requirements, (2) fieldwork and (3) audit results, reports and financial statements.

Generally, a plan audit is required when your plan has 100 or more participants on the first day of the plan year (typically, January 1).

Form 5500 Requirements Generally, employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants must include an audit report with Form 5500. If your total participant count as of the first day of the plan year is less than 100, you generally don't need to include an audit report with your Form 5500.

Form 5500. "The auditor will review the documents to identify any material inconsistencies between the financial statements and the Form 5500," Andrews and Michels noted. "If there are discrepancies, the auditor will determine whether the Form 5500 or financial statements need to be corrected."

When a plan sponsor files a Form 5500 without the required audit report, the DOL sends the following: An inquiry email. Notice of Rejection ("NOR") letter – Plan sponsors have 45 days to come into compliance. If not, a proposed penalty letter is sent.