Plan sponsors dealings with plan fees and communications vary widely; however, there are some very specific requirements. In our discussion, you will learn:

• How to deal with these two issues and take a dive into the issues associated with each.
• Understand best practices in dealing with these issues along with some resources to consider in helping.

Learn about new resources and tools from the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. Help your firm apply best practices and achieve efficiencies in your EBP audits. Learn how to network in the EBP audit community to enhance your audit quality.

• Select EBPAQC tools to perform efficient EBP audits.
• Recall best practices to improve audit quality.

The AICPA has a wealth of resources for many aspects of ERISA and retirement planning. AICPA staff and members will review these resources to give participants familiarity with what they can offer for a vibrant ERISA practice or to plan sponsors for use by internal accounting or human resources staff – or even plan participants.

• Identify tools from the AICPA Tax Technical Resource Panel.
• Recall tax advocacy initiatives.
• Identify AICPA Tax Section tools.
• Identify AICPA Financial Literacy tools for plan sponsors and plan participants.

This session is part 1 of 2 that focuses on the testing of eligibility, participant data and contributions for the fundamentals track case study, including discussion of common errors found in these areas. This session will be continued in Session #34.

• Identify the various contribution types that are typical in a defined contribution plan, review the annual limits, and understand the participant and employer contributions based on the fundamental track case study's plan provisions, considering eligibility and eligible compensation for each type of contribution.
• Recall the risk assessment of relevant assertions and the planned audit procedures of the case study.
• Select sampling and testing procedures utilizing examples from the case study for payroll, definition of compensation, participant eligibility, participant data, contributions, and the timely remittance of contributions.
• Recognize common errors found in testing of contributions, eligibility and participant data.

Audits in the digital world continue to evolve and make auditors' work more complex. We will review strategies to assist auditors in ensuring you meet current auditing and documentations standards.

• Determine appropriate audit evidence in an electronic environment.
• Choose best practices for auditing in electronic environment.

Special rules apply to unrelated business income for employee benefit plans. This session will review the rules for unrelated business income in general and those that apply to employee benefit plans in particular.

• Determine if unrelated business income tax is applicable to a specific welfare benefit plan.
• Analyze whether it is appropriate for your client to fund a specific welfare benefit plan and the tax implications of doing so in a tax exempt or taxable trust.
• Calculate unrelated business income tax when a qualified retirement plan needs to pay unrelated business income tax, if applicable.

This session will cover the anti-assignment rules of the Code and ERISA. The session will also address the various exceptions to the anti-assignment rules, including qualified domestic relations orders; loans; assignments; tax levies; embezzlement; slayer statutes; qualified waivers; bankruptcy; and penalties.

• Identify Plan Administrator responsibilities under anti-assignment rules.
• Identify common QDRO pitfalls.
• Identify common loan strategies, including bridge loans.
• Identify uses of qualified waivers and challenges with assignments.

Session will detail the changes in section 162(m) and describe how to preserve some deductions in the future. Also will cover considerations for simplifying executive and partner compensation planning. Other topics covered: Section 199A issues, carried interest issues, section 4960 - tax exempt entity benefits and the excise tax, inpat executives and cross-border compensation issues.

• Determine methods for protecting deductions for future grants under section 162(m).
• Identify inpat executive compensation issues.
• Analyze company needs for changing compensation programs.

This session will discuss the key audit areas and considerations when auditing a defined benefit plan. Areas include distributions and auditing census valuation data. The session will also address the risk assessment process for a defined benefit plan and testing strategies.

NOTE: The session will not focus on the actuarial report or the assumptions that drive the actuarial valuation which are both covered in another session.

• Understand best practices when designing testing strategies for auditing distributions and the census valuation data.
• Identify the unique risk assessment considerations when auditing a defined benefit plan.
• Recognize strategies available when there.

ESOPs are a unique type of qualified retirement plan. This unique aspect of owning and leveraging employer shares brings about unique tax consequences. This session will review tax rules specific to structuring ESOP transactions (such as S corporation vs. C corporation treatment and 1042 tax deferral) and existing ESOP sponsors (such as deduction limits, book-tax differences, and section 409(p).) The session assumes intermediate competency related to ESOPs. Auditors will benefit from the material as it is based on ESOP operations that have financial statement effects.

• Assess effects of income tax rules on a company that sponsors an ESOP.
• Interpret necessary facts for accurate tax compliance for ESOP sponsors.
• Categorize issues related to ESOP, including section 409(p) issues.