2024 Employee Benefit Plans: Audit and Accounting Guide

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Your key to EBP audit success

Whether you're a new or seasoned EBP auditor, this guide is your ideal roadmap to a quality audit, helping you at each stage of the audit with:

• Authoritative guidance
• Practical tips
• Example auditing procedures
• Information regarding statutory rules and regulations
• Illustrations of plan financial statements and auditors' reports

This guide applies to the financial statements and audits of employee benefit plans that are subject to the financial reporting requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), including:

• Defined contribution retirement plans
• Defined benefit pension plans
• Health and welfare benefit plans

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration strongly encourages the use of this guide in meeting the requirements contained in ERISA Section 103 that a plan have an audit conducted in accordance with GAAS.

Recent developments

Recent changes and other guidance that have been incorporated into this edition of the guide include the following:

• FinREC recommendations regarding accounting for revenue sharing arrangements in accordance with FASB ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers
• Changes in the participant count methodology for defined contribution plans
• A change in the deadline for plan amendments to reflect the applicable provisions of the SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0
• Adjustments to annual reporting penalties and other penalties
• Changes made regarding preapproved plan documents for 403(b) plans
• Updates to illustrative notes to the financial statements regarding a 403(b) plan’s tax status

Key Topics

• SAS No. 136, as amended and codified in AU-C Section 703
• Single employer, multiple employer, and multiemployer employee benefit plans subject to ERISA (ERISA plans)
• Performance requirements for an audit of ERISA plan financial statements
• Select recent developments in standards affecting EBP auditing and accounting
• FASB Accounting Standards Codification® (ASC) requirements
• Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
• Generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS)

Who Will Benefit

• Practitioners in firms of all sizes
• Entities sponsoring employee benefit plans required to file audited financial statements
• Individuals preparing, auditing, or assisting in the preparation of plan financial statements, benefit pension plans, defined contribution retirement plans, and health and welfare benefit plans