2026 Employee Benefit Plan Basic Audit Workshop

Jennifer Downs, CPA

President, Benefit Audit Group, LLC

Jennifer Downs, CPA is President of Benefit Audit Group, LLC. Benefit Audit Group focuses on audits of 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

A graduate of Towson University, Jennifer has over twenty years experience in public accounting and in performing employee benefit plan audits. She is a member of AICPA and MACPA and is the designated audit member  responsible for the firm's membership in the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center.

A co‐presenter of advanced employee benefit plan audit topics at the annual MACPA Employee Benefit Plans Conference and I am an active member of the Conference’s planning committee.

She is an active role with the Chesapeake Human Resources Association (CHRA). I am Director of Affiliate Involvement which supports the vendors in CHRA.

Specialties: Audits of 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

Jeanette Stillwagner

Principal, CLA Baltimore

Jeanette brings more than 20 years of experience to her role and spends 100% of her time dedicated to ERISA plan auditing, compliance matters, and government reporting. She manages more than 125 audits of employee benefit plans including 401(k), 403(b), 401(a), profit sharing, money purchase pension, employee stock ownership, defined benefit, and health and welfare plans. Jeanette is a dedicated member of the EBP team, and she assists with quality control review over EBP audits. She is also an office diversity, equity, and inclusion leader and is a proud active member of the Board of Directors for the CLA Foundation.

Education

• Bachelor of arts in accounting from Towson University, Towson, Maryland
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

In the community

• Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants and currently on the committee for the MACPA Employee Benefit Conference and has presented several times
• AICPA Defined Contribution Plan Expert
• Member of Board of Directors for the CLA Foundation