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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Accounting

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, January 24, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    110 minutes

Credit Information

  • BARBRI is a NASBA CPE sponsor and this 110-minute webinar is accredited for 2.0 CPE credits.

$197.00
CPE
ALL

This course will provide retirement plan administrators, auditors, and plan sponsors with best practices to prevent serious and costly errors in preparing for 401(k) audits. The panel will explain the pitfalls that practitioners often encounter in these audits and outline recent changes to the audit requirements, including reviewing the latest Statements of Auditing Standards (SASs) and the impact of recent legislation and changes including changes to the 2023 Form 5500, updates to EPCRS, and the SECURE Acts on 401(k) audits.

Faculty

Christopher Ciminera
Principal, Accounting & Auditing
Belfint Lyons & Shuman, PA

Mr. Ciminera is a member of the firm’s Employee Benefit Plan niche in the accounting and auditing services department where he specializes in auditing employee benefit plans of for-profit, nonprofit, and governmental entities. He also specializes in Form 5500 preparation. When necessary, Mr. Ciminera helps clients navigate and prepare filings for corrections of plan errors or late filings through the DOL Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program, IRS Voluntary Correction Program, and DOL Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.

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Kristin Ryan
CPA, Founder & CEO
Ryan + Mann, LLC

Ms. Ryan, CPA, Founder & CEO, has a passion for audit and advisory of employee benefit plans serving the industry since 2008 with a growth-minded perspective and an entrepreneurial spirit. 

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Description

Proficiency in administrating and auditing 401(k) plans requires staying on top of myriad and ever-changing IRS, DOL, and accounting rules and regulations. Most 401(k) plans with more than 100 participants with balances (formerly included eligible employees) must attach audited financials to the Form 5500, which are closely scrutinized by the DOL and IRS.

Audit professionals and advisers must know red flags identified by the IRS and DOL in Form 5500 filings and be able to identify these problems prior to filing the Form 5500 to get ahead of any issue with the IRS.

Our panel of veteran professionals will review differences in non-ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) and ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) audits, recent changes made under SASs affecting retirement plan audits, and new considerations for these audits regarding new legislation and changes including the SECURE Acts.

Listen as our panel offers best practices and insights based on real world experience for avoiding common high-risk mistakes associated with 401(k) audits. The panel will also outline approaches to identify and correct plan errors before an audit or after a filing and how recent SASs and the SECURE Act modify audit requirements.

Outline

  1. 401(k) plan audit overview and best practices
  2. Overview of recent Statement of Auditing Standards
  3. Audit considerations based on recent regulatory updates including changes to the Form 5500, SECURE Acts, and expansion of EPCRS
  4. Challenges to anticipate
    • Common plan operation errors
    • Potential corrections under EPCRS, including most recent changes

Benefits

The panel will address these and other key issues:

  • Understanding the areas of highest risk in 401(k) audits
  • Impact of recent legislation on 401(k) audits
  • Implementing expedient solutions to the most common 401(k) or filing mistakes after the fact
  • Understanding changes made to plan audits by recent SASs

NASBA Details

Learning Objectives

After completing this webinar, you will be able to:

  • Recognize and correct serious, but common mistakes that lead to 401(k) audits by the IRS
  • Identify and correct errors that lead to 401(k) audits by the DOL
  • Discern plan operational errors
  • Determine changes made to plan audits by recent SASs
  • Determine changes made to plan audits by the SECURE Acts

  • Field of Study: Auditing
  • Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
  • Advance Preparation: None
  • Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
  • Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
  • Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
  • Prerequisite: Three years+ business or public firm experience at mid-level within the organization, preparing complex tax forms and schedules; supervisory authority over other preparers/accountants. Knowledge and understanding of 401(k) Plans, ERISA Titles I and II, and proper completion of Form 5500; familiarity with IRS and Department of Labor audit procedures and enforcement

Strafford Publications, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.