Audits of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA
- Auditing employee benefit plans Employee benefit plan (EBP) audit engagements continue to be scrutinized by regulators and peer reviewers due to a history of noncompliance with applicable professional standards. Through this course, you can gain the proper skills to perform EBP engagements effectively. You will learn about:
- The steps of an EBP audit
- Applicable professional standards
- ERISA and SEC requirements Commonly audited plans You will tap into ways to plan and conduct effective risk-based plan audits to comply with professional standards while maximizing efficiency for defined contribution plan audits. This course focuses specifically on this type of plan given that defined contribution plans, including 401(k) plans, are the predominant plan type subjected to audits. Applied learning You will do a deep dive into EBP auditing by working through the plan audit process from engagement acceptance through the archive. Example forms and reports will be examined to illustrate effective EBP engagements.
Learning Objectives
- Recognize fundamentals of employee benefit plans subject to ERISA.
- Identify plan financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.
- Identify ways to properly plan an audit of ERISA plan financial statements in accordance with applicable professional standards.
- Indicate how to audit the statements of net assets available for benefits.
- Recognize considerations related to plan investments and management and auditor responsibilities.
- Indicate how to audit the statement of changes in net assets available for benefits.
- Identify ways to properly report on an audit of ERISA plan financial statements in accordance with applicable professional standards.
Major Topics
- Audit planning and pre-engagement activities
- Risk assessment, including consideration of controls
- Auditing the statement of net assets available for benefits
- Auditing the statement of changes in net assets available for benefits
- Other auditing considerations, including prohibited transactions and tax compliance
- The auditor’s report
- Financial statement disclosures
- Supplemental schedules
