Employee Benefit Plans are important to the hiring and retention of employees for any business. However, there are many aspects of plan operations that if not properly administered by plan sponsors can lead to errors and possible loss of exempt status. The Employee Benefit Plan Audit Conference equips CPAs who audit these Employee Benefit Plans with guidance on planning and performing more efficient and effective audits in accordance with the AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide and Department of Labor audit requirements.
Please note - materials for this event will be provided electronically ONLY. Please feel free to bring your own device to view the materials. We recommend that you download them prior to the event date rather than onsite.
This year’s topics will include:
Department of Labor Update
SAS 136 – Best Practices, Lessons Learned
SECURE Act
Cybersecurity
We are in the process of planning this year’s conference and would appreciate your input!
Our presenters want to make sure these sessions are valuable to you, so feel free to use this link to view our topics and ask a question you would like answered during the presentation.
8:10 AM - 9:10 AM
Department of Labor Update
Speaker: Marcus Aron, CPA, CGMA, Acting Chief, Division of Accounting Services, U.S. Department of Labor
9:10 AM - 9:20 AM
Break
9:20 AM - 11:05 AM
2023 Accounting & Auditing Update: Employee Benefit Plans
Speakers: Josie Hammond, CPA, National Director, Employee Benefits Plans, National Professional Standards Group, RSM US LLP
Debbie Smith, CPA, Partner, National Professional Standards Group, Partner, Employee Benefit Plan Audit, Grant Thornton
Session objectives:
Session topics:
11:05 AM - 11:15 AM
Break
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Cybersecurity – Ensuring Employee Benefit Plan Sponsors Incorporate DoL into Their Cyber Programs
Speaker: Julie Tracy, MS in Information Systems and Assurance from WGU, Manager, Advisory Services, Withum Cyber, Withum
Most businesses have an information security program that is managed by the CISO or CIO (depending on the size and scope of the business). The focus of these programs is protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the technology assets and information they store and process. We will discuss how to ensure that the overall Information Security Program of a business includes the Department of Labor cybersecurity best practices for the Employee Benefit Plan.
12:15 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
SECURE Act
Speaker: Ronald Ulrich, CPC, QKA QPA, VP Product Consulting and Compliance at ADP Retirement Services
2:15 PM - 2:25 PM
Break
2:25 PM - 4:00 PM
Practical Considerations in Designing Effective Audit Procedures
This session will use case studies to illustrate how plan provisions impact the design of audit procedures for an employee benefit plan audit. Join us to learn how to tailor your approach to address risks and avoid over- or under-auditing.
Speakers: Kathryn Petrillo, CPA, Partner, Aprio
Josh Zimmerman, CPA, Partner, Handwerger, Cardenga, Funkhouser & Lurman PA
Nelly Gidzova, CPA, Partner, UHY
