Employee Benefit Plan Audits
Miller Cooper’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Group is one of the leading providers of audit services to benefit plan sponsors. As you make your decision on a benefit plan audit provider, consider some important reasons why Miller Cooper is the best choice:
- We audit 135+ benefit plans annually, making us one of only approximately 40 firms in the U.S. that audit in excess of 100 benefit plans per year.
- More than 30 of our audit staff are dedicated to the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Group. Each member averages 10 hours annually of CPE dedicated to plan audit quality and process. Moreover, Miller Cooper’s Retirement Plan Administration Group has more than 30 professionals dedicated to plan administration, record-keeping and consulting.
- Miller Cooper is a member of the AICPA’s Audit Quality Center for Employee Benefit Plans, which requires Peer Review procedures for benefit plan audits every three years. Additionally, we successfully completed a Department of Labor inspection. Our quality audit is performed by Principals solely dedicated to technical matters and a quality audit.
- Over the past decade, we have provided employee benefit plan audits to large and mid-size companies seeking an alternative to paying excessive fees for employee benefit plan audits. We have been able to reduce their audit fee by as much as 25% and still provide the high quality service they are accustomed to.
The DOL has begun to increase scrutiny of benefit plan audits by firms that conduct less than five plan audits annually. When significant audit deficiencies are discovered, plan sponsors will be held responsible and face fines of up to $50,000 per required filing. Miller Cooper’s plan audits meet and exceed GAAS standards. Our audit approach includes:
Planning
- Documentation of internal controls
- Evaluation of SAS 70 reports to determine key controls
Audit
- Testing financial information
- Participant testing including eligibility and data testing, participant contribution and allocation testing, participant loan testing, distribution testing and compliance and timeliness of contribution remittance
Preparation of Financial Statements and Management Letters
Review of Form 5500
In addition to benefit plan audit services, Miller Cooper offers a unique set of services through our Retirement Plan Administration and Consulting Group, Alliance Pension Consultants.