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Latest News & Events
Not for Profit - Changes
Affecting 403(b) Retirement Plans
Attention Not-for-Profit
Operators
There have been significant changes to the regulations
affecting 403(b) retirement plans. One of the most critical
was the elimination of the exemption of certain disclosure
and audit requirements that were previously granted to
403(b) plans. For the 2009 plan year, 403(b) plans will be
subject to the same reporting and audit requirements as a
401(k) plan.
Generally, ERISA-covered plans with 100 or more eligible
participants at the beginning of the plan year, will be
required to file audited financial statements with their
2009 filing. While the new requirement is not effective
until the 2009 filing, if your plan meets the audit
requirements, then the plan's financial statements will also
need to include certain comparative financial information
for the 2008 plan year.
We recommend that organizations that have a 403(b)
retirement plan consider the following:
-
Communicate early with your
plan service provider to ensure that the information
needed to audit the plan's financial statements is
available and all changes to plan documents have been
completed. In addition, ask your service provider if a
"SAS 70" report on the internal controls established to
process plan transactions will be available.
-
Establish proper internal
controls over the plan's financial reporting process,
including proper authorization and recordkeeping of the
plan's transactions.
-
Ensure that plan
participant records and the plan's books and records are
complete and accurate. Records should include
contribution and disbursement records, all individual
participant account balances, investment schedules, loan
activity, and a trial balance to support the preparation
of the plan's financial statements.
-
Consider engaging an
independent auditor (i.e., Moore Stephens Lovelace,
P.A.) to perform audit procedures on the 2008
information required for the 2009 Form 5500 filing.
These steps will help prepare
you for the 2009 plan audit and will help to resolve
problems obtaining information from your service provider
sooner rather than later.
For more information on MSL's
services, call us at 1.800.683.5401 or
contact us.
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