Products April 6, 2017

Firm Uses Quarterly Review to Streamline Retirement Plan Audit Process

When issues are detected during a plan year they can also, most likely, be corrected prior to plan year end, JMM CPA says.
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The team at JMM CPA has introduced a new approach to auditing retirement plans, designed to drive efficiency and quality into the process. 

The new approach to auditing a retirement plan is to perform testing on a quarterly basis. The records needed from the plan sponsor are readily available and efficient to obtain. The data needed from the plan recordkeeper is typically available to JMM CPA online with no time or effort required of the plan sponsor.

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There are several benefits embedded in this approach for the plan sponsor.

  • Efficiency – Data needed to perform tests of transactions that occurred during the most recent quarter is readily available and fresh in the minds of the parties involved;
  • Quality – It is not unusual to discover issues or errors that need to be corrected during a plan audit. When such matters are detected during a plan year they can also, most likely, be corrected prior to plan year end; and
  • Timeliness – Fourth quarter testing can be completed shortly after plan year end. This allows plan sponsors to file the Form 5500 well before the July deadline and return their focus to the needs of their business.

JMM CPA is a member of the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center and enjoys helping plan sponsors maintain their employee benefit plans in compliance with the rules and regulations. 

For more information about this approach to auditing benefit plans, email james.moyna@jmoynacpa.com or call at 847.682.3696.

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