by JoAnn Cassell | Nov 15, 2021 | 401k Audit Firm, 401k Plan Audit, Audit Insights, How to choose an auditor
There are many benefits to having a 401(k) plan for your employees, such as retirement savings for your team, reduced taxes on wages, and reduced taxes for the employer, to name a few. However, there are responsibilities as well, and the employer carries the...
by JoAnn Cassell | Oct 15, 2021 | 401k Plan Audit, Plan Sponsors
Do you know the real cost of your plan? 401(k) plans are attractive to employers for retaining and recruiting employees, but all 401(k) plans come with a price. No surprise, right? Yet, costs shouldn’t prevent you from offering this benefit to your employees; just try...
by JoAnn Cassell | Sep 15, 2021 | Retirement Plan
Establishing a 401(k) retirement plan is simple. After all, you just have to choose vendors, draft legally sound documents, operate the plan, and stay in compliance. No big deal, right? Actually… not so much. Setting up a 401(k) plan involves many moving pieces...
by JoAnn Cassell | Aug 18, 2021 | 401k Compliance Error, 401k Plan Audit, 401k Plan Mistakes, Eligible compensation discrepancies
It happens… you’ve performed your audit and discovered some discrepancies. If you’ve ever found yourself in this position, you’re definitely not alone. In fact, eligible compensation errors are so common that they’re included in the IRS...
by JoAnn Cassell | Jul 22, 2021 | Merger & Acquisitions, Record Retention
Congratulations to your organization on selling (or buying) a business! Now comes the fun part: Figuring out what to do with all of those employee records. When you’re a 401(k) retirement plan sponsor, the question of what to retain through the merger and...
by JoAnn Cassell | Jun 16, 2021 | 401k Audit Oversight, 401k Plan Audit Documentation, Audit Procedures
We all know that 401k plans provide benefits to employees and employers alike, offering enhanced retirement security for workers and acting as an enticement when recruiting new employees. But for those charged with managing 401k oversight, these popular plans bring...
by JoAnn Cassell | May 18, 2021 | Fiduciary, Regulations & Policies
You’ve probably heard that recent litigation over breaches of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) has been making a stir. It’s important to recognize that fiduciaries of retirement plans for small businesses have the same legal...
by JoAnn Cassell | Apr 19, 2021 | Record Retention
With more people than ever working from home, the convenience and ease of digital filing systems are more relevant than ever. This fact was driven home early last year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As offices locked down, our team at Cassell Plan Audits quickly...
by JoAnn Cassell | Mar 20, 2021 | Cyber Safety, Personal Protected Information, Virtual Audits
When the pandemic hit in 2020, some of our customers faced an unexpected curveball. We’ve been doing virtual 401k audits for years, but many companies had maintained their relevant audit records on paper … until last year. COVID revealed a compliance gap that hadn’t...
by JoAnn Cassell | Feb 15, 2021 | 401k Compliance Error
Errors with eligible compensation—or, the income that counts toward your 401k retirement plan—were the number one compliance issue we saw in the 2020 audit season. It’s counterintuitive, because the definition of “eligible compensation” is dictated by the employer...
