DOL Forecast: Audits, with a chance of investigations

With audit season just around the corner, there’s no time for employer-sponsors of retirement plans to waste in making proper preparations. The Department of Labor knows what it’s looking for when it reviews the results of your independent audit or it conducts a follow-up investigation, but do you? Just as importantly, does your auditor? During this one-hour webinar, McAfee & Taft employee benefits attorneys Brandon Long and Bill Freudenrich are joined by Gwen Bryant, assurance partner and ERISA leader with the accounting firm of HoganTaylor, to give employers an inside peek into the audit process, review the steps you need to take now to avoid common errors and prepare for the audit, and discuss why your selection of an auditor really does matter. They also take a look at why DOL investigations of health plans are on the rise and what you can do to put your company in the best position to stand up to agency scrutiny. Topics include: • Which retirement plans need to be audited annually? • What do retirement plan auditors look for? • Common benefit plan mistakes made by employers and how to avoid them • Criteria to consider when selecting and hiring an independent auditor • Why the selection of an inexperienced retirement plan auditor could be costly • DOL scrutiny of retirement plan audits and potential penalties for deficient 5500s • How do you know if you have a deficient audit? • DOL investigations of retirement plans: What are they looking for? What questions do they ask? • Current DOL investigations of health plans: What are they looking for? What questions do they ask? Resources for this webinar: http://employerlinc.com/DOL-forecast