Audit Costs as Part of Fund’s Judgement
Posting by Andrew Staab
A recurring theme mentioned by Larry Beebe on trustee reluctance to engage in regular and routine payroll audits is COST (e.g., “It’s too expensive!” or “The cost does not justify the result.”). My standard response to such comments is that audit costs are a recoverable expense under ERISA, specifically 29 U.S.C. §1132(g)(2). Although the statute does not specifically say “audit costs,” it does include:
(D) reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of the action, to be paid by […]