Bond Beebe Welcomes Mark Buckberg, CPA, CFE, CFF

Natalia

We’re pleased to announce the addition of Mark Buckberg, CPA, CFE, CFF to our growing Benefits and Labor Practice!  An experienced professional with over fifteen years of accounting experience, Mark serves as a trusted advisor, specializing in providing audit and compliance services to international, national, and local multiemployer benefit plans and labor organizations.

Specifically, Mark has in-depth experience regarding federal reporting and compliance for labor unions, defined benefit and defined contribution pension, health and welfare, and political action funds.  He is also […]

August 8, 2012 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

“How To” Series: Auditing a Single Employer with Multi-plans and Jurisdictions

Posting by Phil Vivirito

In this series, I will explain several fundamental payroll auditing principles.  This post discusses guidelines for conducting payroll audits of employers belonging to two or more multiemployer benefit funds.

There are occasions when one employer is in more than one multi-employer benefit fund (i.e. the employer may have work falling under the jurisdiction of different unions). Whether the auditor is the payroll auditor for just one of the employer’s funds or all of the funds, the approach […]

June 5, 2012 Benefit Plan Accounting, Payroll Audit Read more...

Getting Out: Measuring Your Benefit Plan’s Investment Liquidity

Jason Edwards, CPA

Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, employee benefit plan trustees are as focused as ever on asset preservation. We hear them asking “How do I obtain the best return on investment, while protecting the plan’s assets from market decline.  This is a great question and one that certainly merits concern. There is, however, yet another factor you should also consider that carries equal or greater weight: liquidity.

Alternative or non-traditional investments are becoming mainstream as […]

May 24, 2012 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Using a Dashboard to Help Operate Your Benefit Plan

Larry Beebe, CPA

What is a dashboard and why should you be using one to improve operations for your employee benefit plan?  A dashboard is a digital display of key performance indicators relevant to your plan.  Like the dashboard of your car, this display can, at a glance, provide the status of key information from many different systems.

Dashboards are a business management tool that can be used to determine the status of a plan, usually on a monthly basis.  […]

May 21, 2012 Accounting, Audit, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

DOL Increases Audits of Apprenticeship and Training Plans: Is Your Plan Prepared?

Jason Edwards, CPA

Apprenticeship and other training plans covered under the US Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) have been a recent focus of the US Department of Labor (DOL).  Programs for private sector workers and financed from trust funds are considered ERISA apprenticeship and training plans.

Increased Audits
The DOL is increasing regulation enforcement with audits of these plans, specifically focusing on kickbacks and other fiduciary violations.  A kickback is defined as an illegal, secret payment made in return […]

March 14, 2012 Accounting, Audit, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Legal Update: Using Mechanics’ Liens to Fund Unpaid Employer Contributions

Posting by Larry Beebe, CPA

A Pennsylvania Superior Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled that benefit fund trustees have the right to file mechanics’ lien claims for unpaid fringe benefit contributions.  The court ruled that unions were subcontractors who had agreed to furnish labor to the contractor and as subcontractors they had the right to file mechanic’s lien claims for unpaid employer contributions (Bricklayers of Western Pennsylvania Combined Funds Inc. v. Scott’s Development Co., PA. Super. Ct., No. 687 WDA […]

March 13, 2012 Benefit Plan Accounting, Payroll Audit Read more...

Fund-a-mentals Winter 2012 Newsletter

Natalie

We’ve just released the latest edition of the Fund-a-mentals Newsletter!  This issue includes more information on the new Department of Labor disclosure requirements affecting retirement plans, as well as an over view of the new Form 5500.

Download the Fund-a-mentals Winter 2012 Newsletter
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March 6, 2012 Accounting, Audit, Benefit Plan Accounting, Human Resources Read more...

2011 Form 5500 Has Been Released

Dave Miller

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released the 2011 Form 5500.  There are only a few changes from last year’s instructions.  These changes mainly add clarifications to the instructions rather than actually changing the Form 5500 or the information requirements.

Expenses.  Further guidance has been provided concerning contributing employers in a multi-employer or multiple-employer plan paying the expenses of the plan.  Whether the expenses are paid directly by the employer, or the employer reimbursed the plan for the expenses, […]

February 10, 2012 Accounting, Audit, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

DOL Update: Final Regulation Released for Service Provider Fee Disclosure

David Miller

On February 2, 2012, the Department of Labor (DOL) released the final service provider fee disclosure rule.  Under this new rule, certain service providers of both defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans need to disclose, in writing to plan fiduciaries, comprehensive information concerning fees.  The purpose is to aid plan fiduciaries in better understanding the services and fees of these service providers while also helping identify potential conflicts of interest.  These disclosures must include the following:

All […]

February 9, 2012 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Form 8955-SSA Update: Participant Statements

David Miller

New reporting requirements for IRS Form 8955-SSA are now in place for employee benefit plans. While December 31 year-end plan filings for the 2009 and 2010 plan years were due on January 17, 2012, there is still time to submit non-December 31 year-end plan filings, which are due when filing the 2010 Form 5500, including extensions.

The IRS recently released Announcement 2011-21 with additional clarifications about these Form changes. Here is an overview of the new reporting requirements:

Background
In 2011, […]

February 8, 2012 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...