Did you know that the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) may assess penalties up to $1,000 per day for deficient audit filings for employee benefits plans?
It’s true. What’s worse is that 30% of all audits fail to meet minimum professional standards, according to the DOL, so the likelihood of penalties is significant.
One of the primary reasons for the poor quality is inexperience. According to the EBSA, 48% of all CPA firms who prepare employee benefits audits do only one audit per year, often running afoul of the complex and intricate details of the process. BGR performs at least one per month, and actively participates as a member of the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center of the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants.
Our vast experience with employee benefits audits helps us to be very efficient, so we are able to complete them at lower costs relative to other firms. We are also adept at quick turnaround times without undue burden on the client’s time and resources.
Of the firms who perform many audits per year, most tend to be the largest CPA firms in the country with generally higher fees and more turnover than locally-owned firms. That’s what makes BGR unique: for more than 70 years we have provided personalized, local service that rivals the expertise of our national competitors at an excellent value. Here’s how one of our clients, Tom O’Donnell of O’Donnell Honda, puts it:
“I have enough things to lose sleep over. With BGR doing our benefits audits, the Department of Labor isn’t one of them. Year after year I have the same auditor doing the work at very reasonable fees. I highly recommend BGR.”
If you are considering a new firm for employee benefits plan audits, please consider BGR.