While some believe that an employee benefit plan audit is obtained simply to satisfy a regulatory requirement, there are certain areas in which an employee benefit plan audit can assist, or add value, to plan sponsors. 正如我们的Josh Zimmerly在他的文章中提到的福利计划稽核,” an audit can help to evaluate plan health and aid administrative performance by providing recommendations, including flagging potential problems or identifying cybersecurity risks and helping to implement solutions to mitigate risk. 让我们进一步分析一下这些要点.
在福利计划审计中, the auditor typically will perform a comprehensive review of the plan document and understand the mechanics of the plan by performing walkthroughs of key cycles, such as enrollment, distribution, 以及工资/缴款流程. Additionally, an audit consists of performing substantive testing procedures around eligibility, contributions, distributions, plan expenses, 参与者的应收票据, if applicable. The procedures outlined above could identify potential operational issues associated with the Plan. This discovery then gives the plan sponsor the opportunity to take appropriate corrective action in order for the plan to maintain its qualified tax-exempt status and avoid any potential future liability from the Internal Revenue Service or Department of Labor.
审计也有助于评估该计划的健康状况. Plan sponsors should not only be focused on the cost side of the Plan, but also on increasing employee participation so that employees have adequate income at retirement age. One strategy that plan sponsors should consider is the adoption of an automatic enrollment provision for newly hired employees. Additionally, 加强退休准备, plan sponsors should also consider implementing auto-escalation clauses within their plans. Finally, with all of the security breaches (from Target to Equifax), cybersecurity is a hot topic. Plan sponsors should be closely monitoring their service providers’ Service Organization Reports (SOC reports) to ensure that third-party administrators are mitigating information technology risks surrounding physical access, logical access, 改变管理. Having another set of eyes on the information technology environment through a third-party audit can help identify potential gaps or vulnerabilities while trying to maintain data integrity, 保护员工信息和退休资产.
所以不要只是“设定了就忘了”. Plan sponsors should continuously be monitoring the plan to ensure that participants have the available resources to take action and become retirement-ready. Plan sponsors should also consistently evaluate the plan processes to ensure continued compliance with regulatory requirements. Remember, an audit is not just a regulatory requirement, it’s a valuable part of the process.
For questions regarding any of the issues discussed in this article, 联系施耐德唐斯的员工福利计划专家.
