Introduction
What needs can BDG’s A&A Support fill and how is it valuable?
How does BDG provide A&A Support?
Why is BDG uniquely qualified to provide A&A Support?
What does A&A Support cost?
Preparing for Your Upcoming Plan Year Audits
For More Information

Introduction 

Employee Benefit Audit & Accounting Support (“A&A Support”) is a comprehensive pre-audit financial information packaging service that we are uniquely qualified to provide to corporate human resource, financial, and accounting professionals. This service precedes and helps simplify the actual audit of any employee benefit plan requiring an annual audit, particularly 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

What needs can BDG’s A&A Support fill and how is it valuable ? 

Corporate CFOs and Accounting Staff, who typically do not have sufficient time to document or monitor employee benefit plan internal controls, financial statement preparation, and related reporting requirements of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and Generally Accepted Auditing Principles (“GAAP”), yet remain responsible for them.  BDG is intimately familiar with all GAAP and DOL reporting requirements, and has established comprehensive risk-based internal control documentation for its clients.  Through A&A Support, BDG drafts the financial statements and all supporting footnotes and schedules.

Human Resource Executives and Staff, who usually do not have accounting backgrounds, yet also have audit-related responsibilities.  BDG is sensitive to this, and our A&A Support product aids in their understanding of controls and accounting requirements, coordinating with corporate accounting and our clients’ outside service-providers, including Big Four accounting firms.

Big Four and Other CPA Firms often view employee benefit plan audits as a necessary client service, but not their main corporate audit work, often assigning junior accountants with minimal experience, which can lead to training and independence issues.  At BDG, employee benefit plan audits are one of our core services, with dedicated and centrally located staff at junior and senior levels providing continuity and perspective. Our A&A Support service culminates with the presentation of the comprehensive package of financial reports and information summarized on this sample index.  This compilation positions the plan as fully prepared for its annual audit, saving corporate accounting and human resources time and expense during both the pre-audit and audit processes, and sets the stage for an efficient, lower risk, independent accountant audit.

How does BDG provide A&A Support?

BDG works with its clients and their plans’ service providers in a methodical eight-step process: 

1.     Efficiently gathering all pertinent documents, usually directly from trustees and third-party administrators; 

2.     Reviewing internal accounting controls and DOL corporate governance compliance; 

3.     Documenting findings, via executive level analytical procedures that note key controls, compliance risk exposures, and recommendations designed to improve plan operations and accounting; 

4.     Compiling GAAP financial statements, including reconciliations to subsidiary detail, analytical procedures, drafting footnotes, and DOL-required schedules; 

5.     Ensuring that the plan’s financial statements support and reconcile to IRS Form 5500, coordinating with the plan’s administrator and 5500 preparer;

6.     Documenting GAAP and DOL compliance; 

7.     Performing specific Agreed-Upon Procedures authorized by the plan sponsor, as needed, such as data sampling for issues specifically cited by plan management, in keeping with guidelines established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”);  and 

8.     Delivering a comprehensive financial statement and internal control document package to human resources, finance, accounting, and independent accountants.  

Why is BDG uniquely qualified to provide A&A Support? 

1.     BDG has performed over a thousand certified audits for prominent public and private companies over more than two decades in many industries, including public companies.  For example, our attestation clients include one with annual sales over $300 million and another with over $1 billion in real estate holdings. 

2.     Our audit quality control system has been formally reviewed every three years since 1983, receiving all unqualified reports.  The latest being “no letter of comment”, the highest rating possible from both the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the AICPA after each of their quality control peer reviews of our audit services. 

3.     With employee benefit talent beyond CPA skills, such as enrolled actuaries, A&A Support’s internal control and corporate compliance services extend beyond common CPA employee benefit knowledge, ensure coordination among all of your plans’ service providers, and facilitate high-level issue resolution across your plan’s administrators and consultants.  (Note that A&A Support is not an actuarial or HR consulting service.) 

4.     We have successfully performed hundreds of DOL-required employee benefit plan audits for nationally recognized companies for more than two decades.  We have developed highly efficient and effective processes  --  from document gathering to implementing new GAAP pronouncements  --  leading to the full package now offered by A&A Support. 

5.     Our professionals are specifically trained in employee benefit plan accounting and attestation and have extensive on-the-job employee benefit plan experience. 

6.     We develop long-term, mutually rewarding, and highly responsive relationships with the many corporate HR and financial management people we serve.  

What does A&A Support cost? 

Our fees are highly competitive compared to other firms providing similar services.  Our size and centralized staff enable us to charge approximately 50% of Big Four rates.  Yet our mature employee benefit plan audit practice  --  including its processes, training, and experience  --  enable us to provide professional services such as A&A Support in a manner that saves time and expense for many HR, accounting, and auditing functions. Other than travel and courier-related charges, our fees for our services are entirely based upon the time we devote to each plan, and will be quoted in advance. We are confident that our approach to this pre-audit service will quickly pay for itself when considering the reduced time and expense required of both internal and external HR, accounting, and auditing service providers during the pre-audit and audit phases of this annual process. With this in mind, we encourage you to share our unique qualifications, approach, and history of success with your corporate human resource, financial, and accounting people.  

Preparing for Your Upcoming Plan Year Audits 

Larry Peters and our Audit Partners, Neil Della Torre and Jim Becher, would be happy to discuss A&A Support with you, and any of your HR, finance, and accounting personnel that may be interested.  We would enjoy the opportunity to provide client references and samples of the A&A Support package summarized here.  

For More Information 

Please do not hesitate to contact us at 201-652-4040, lpeters@bdgcpa.com, ndellatorre@bdgcpa.com, or jbecher@bdgcpa.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.  

Larry Peters is a CPA and an Enrolled Actuary with extensive experience with major benefits companies and he also worked with Neil Della Torre at PwC.