1. U.S. Department of Labor
401(k) Seminar
March 26, 2013
855 N. River Rd., Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46240
(317) 842-4466
www.sikich.com/indianapolis

16. Common Errors
Within Benefit Plans
March 26, 2013
Plan Audit – Review Environment
• Department of Labor (DOL) – Plan Audit Review Process
• Firm Inspections
• Mini Inspections
• Small Practice Inspections
• Peer Review Process
• Condition of Firm Membership of the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and nearly all state CPA
Societies
• Condition of Firm Membership of Employee Benefit Plan Audit
Quality Center (EBPAQC)
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17. Plan Audit Environment
• Nationally, approximately 80,000 plan audits are performed annually
by approximately 9,200 CPA firms
• More than 100 Plan Audits – Approximately 80 CPA Firms (less
than 1%)
• Less than 100 Plan Audits – Approximately 9,120 CPA Firms
(more than 99%)
• More than half of these Firms perform only 1-2 Plan Audits
per year
3
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Hire a Quality Audit Firm
• Verify your auditor is a member of the AICPA Audit Quality Center for
Employee Benefit Plan Audits
• Requires additional CPE specific to benefit plan audits
• Benefit plan audits will be part of peer review process
• Resources available at www.aicpa.org -go to interest areas then
plan sponsor resource center
• Inquire about credentials of Staff
• How many benefit plan audits do they work on?
• How many years experience?
• Will a partner or manager be on site in the field to address
issues?
• Benefit plan audits are very different than corporate financial
statement audits and your auditor should be trained in the EB area
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18. Dangers of Not Using a Specialist
• Lost time and resources as your staff trains the auditors
• Failure of the plan sponsor’s fiduciary responsibility to file a
complete and accurate Form 5500
• Possible rejection by the DOL of the Plan’s Form 5500
• In the eyes of the DOL, filing a substandard plan audit with the
Form 5500 is the same as not filing the Form 5500 at all
• DOL can assess a penalty of $1,100 a day (up to $50,000)
for a Form 5500 with a missing or deficient audit report
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©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Benefits of an Audit
• Ensures the plan sponsor satisfies requirement to submit a complete
and accurate annual return
• Make suggestions for improving internal controls
• Provide recommendations on improvements for plan sponsor
fiduciary requirements
• Review minutes of meetings to ensure decisions are fully and
accurately documented
• Review contracts with third-party service providers and fee
arrangements
• Suggestions on best practices seen with other plans
• Detecting problems early so plan sponsor can correct before
identified by IRS or DOL
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19. Errors Found During Audits
• Employee Deferrals
• Missed processing employee elective deferral changes
• Missed processing automatic % increases when plan has auto
enrollment
• In-house or third-party payroll service not calculating deferrals on
proper types of compensation
• Deferrals missed from bonus checks, manual checks, special
checks, final vacation checks
• Deferrals deposited late
• Missed depositing deferrals from special payrolls or executive
payrolls
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Errors Found During Audits
• Participant Loans
• No separate loan policy if required per plan document
• Not following terms of loan policy such as rate of interest or
number of loans
• Not starting payments timely
• Not defaulting loans per terms of plan
• Mergers/Spin Offs
• No board resolutions or plan amendments documenting legal
date of transaction – using physical transfer date improperly
• No or inadequate black out notices regarding investments
• No reconciliation of transfer at plan or participant level
• Bad contribution cut off
• Not understanding which plan is surviving plan
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20. Errors Found During Audits
• Eligibility
• Improper exclusion of part time, temporary or leased employees
• Late notification of eligibility
• Early entry into plan
• Not following automatic enrollment
• Miscounting number of participants for Form 5500
• Forfeitures
• Not using them in accordance with plan document terms – to
reduce employer match, pay plan expenses, reallocate same as
match, reallocate same as profit sharing
• Not recognizing forfeitures per the vesting schedule in plan
document
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©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Errors Found During Audits
• Distributions
• Miss making required distributions at 70 ½
• Miss making distributions by the age required in the plan – i.e.
age 65
• Incorrectly applying vesting in calculations
• Allowing hardships or in-service distributions if plan does not
allow
• Not obtaining and retaining proper evidence of hardship
• Not properly stopping or restarting employee deferrals when a
hardship was taken
• Not stopping annuity payments when participants die
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21. Errors Found During Audits
• Partial Plan Termination
• Not considering whether one has occurred when large amount of
employees are involuntarily terminated
• Plan expenses
• Not following terms of service agreement
• Not allowed to be paid by plan, plan sponsor should pay
• Discrimination Testing
• Testing not performed
• All required tests not performed
• Testing failures not addressed or not addressed timely
• No consideration of controlled group issues
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©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Sample Plan Sponsor Controls
• Payroll/Contributions
• Ensure that the employee contributions are remitted within the
appropriate time period
• Ensure correct amount of employee contributions are remitted to
the custodian and deposited timely into proper employee
accounts
• Ensure custodian invested money timely into participant
accounts
• Recalculate amount of employee deferral withheld
• Review settings in payroll system to ensure deferrals and match
are calculated on correct types of compensation
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22. Sample Plan Sponsor Controls
• Participant Loans
• Ensure employee loan repayment amounts are correct
• Recalculate balance on selected loans to ensure in accordance
with amortization schedules
• Disbursements
• Recalculate vesting/forfeitures on selection of distributions
• New Hires
• Review a sample of new hires to ensure they were offered
participation and enrolled timely into the Plan
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©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Sample Plan Sponsor Controls
• Oversight Committee
• Establish a committee to monitor administrative and investment
issues
• Meet regularly
• Document meeting decisions and discussions (take minutes)
• Administrative Fees
• Periodically benchmark fees for reasonable and ensure advisor
renegotiates your fees with your service provider
• Ensure that fees charged are in accordance with service
agreement
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©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.
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23. Questions?
Michael D. Wolf, CPA
Manager
Sikich LLP
8555 North River Road, Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46240
317.842.4466
mwolf@sikich.com
This document is not written tax advice directed at the particular facts and circumstances of any person. Nothing herein shall be construed as imposing a
limitation on any person from disclosing the tax treatment or tax structure of any matter addressed herein. To the extent this document may be considered to
contain written tax advice, any written advice contained in, forwarded with, or attached to this document is not intended to be used, and cannot be used, by
any person for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.
About Sikich
• Multi-disciplinary: An accounting,
advisory, investment banking, technology
and managed services firm with clients in
the U.S. and internationally.
$76M in revenue in 2012
• Excellent reputation: With a reputation
for professional excellence, Sikich
provides unsurpassed client service as 6,776 public and private sector clients
well as timely and cost effective services.
7,364 individual clients
• Strong talent: We employ more than
400 talented people including 71 153,882 square feet to serve clients
partners, all of whom devote their careers
to a focused area.
400+ total personnel
• Award winning: Accounting Today ranks
71 partners
the Firm 40th nationally among the top
100 accounting firms and 12th in the
top 100 VARs. 1 collaborative and positive culture
8

24. Honors & Recognitions
Accounting Technology
• #47 in Accounting Today’s • Top 1% of all ERP solution
2012 Top 100 Accounting partners in the world
Firms • 2012 Microsoft Dynamics
• INSIDE Public Accounting’s Inner Circle
Top 50 Accounting Firms in • 2012 Microsoft Dynamics
2012 President's Club
• INSIDE Public Accounting’s • #12 on Accounting Today's Top
All-Star Firms in 2012 100 VARs in 2012
• #13 on Bob Scott's Top 100
VAR List for 2012
Tracing Our Roots 2012
30th Anniversary
$80,000,000
$70,000,000 2008-2011
Merges with 4
$60,000,000
CPA firms and
1998 solidifies
$50,000,000 position in the
Top 50 with
Merges with Intelligent Computer
$40,000,000
1982 Solutions LLC and starts its
more than 375
employees
technology practice
Sikich Gardner & Co. was
$30,000,000 formed; takes up residence in
Aurora and Springfield
$20,000,000
$10,000,000
$0
18
9

25. Sikich Service Lines
Advisory
Business Valuation
Accounting, Audit & Tax
Dispute Advisory
Financial Reporting
Financial Advisory
Employee Benefit Plan Audit
Flex-Staff Solutions
Accounting Services
Human Resources
Tax Planning
Marketing & Public Relations
Supply Chain
Technology
Investment Banking Accounting & ERP Software Managed Services
Acquisitions Advisory CRM Software Outsourced Accounting
Sales Advisory IT Infrastructure Managed IT
Capital Raises Cloud & Hosting Solutions Outsourced Human Resources
Strategic Advisory Strategic IT Planning Outsourced Marketing & Public
Communication & Collaboration Relations
IT Consulting
Securities are offered through Sikich Corporate Finance LLC, a registered broker dealer with the Securities Exchange Commission and a member of FINRA/SIPC.
Advisory services offered through Sikich Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor. General securities offered through Triad Advisors, Member FINRA/SIPC.
Industry Expertise, Tailored Approach
» Non Profit
» Construction Deep industry
experience and
» Healthcare longevity.
» Government
» Higher Education
Cross sectional teams
» Agriculture with a depth and breadth
» Manufacturing & Distribution of experience to handle
the complete solution.
» Professional Services
» Real Estate
» Retail Solution centric and
product agnostic.
10

26. Michael D. Wolf, CPA
Manager
Michael D. Wolf, CPA, specializes in audit and assurance services. His
primary focus is on providing audit and assurance services to not-for-profit,
manufacturing, construction, service, and employee benefit plan clients.
He understands the issues facing these organizations and is extremely
familiar with the risk factors that need to be considered in designing and
performing their audits, as well as the business issues they face in the
marketplace. Mike also has considerable experience in the area of
corporate and individual taxation, including multi-state planning and 8555 North River Road
Suite 300
compliance. Indianapolis, IN 46240
Service Areas P: 317.842.4466
Assurance and Advisory Services F: 317.577.7724
Income Tax Planning, Consulting E: mwolf@sikich.com
Construction Services
Not-for-Profit Services
Manufacturing Services
Employee Benefit Plan Audits
Affiliations
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Indiana CPA Society
Peer Review Committee
Member, various Task Force Committees
Construction Financial Management Association
Carmel Chamber of Commerce
Knights of Columbus
Central Indiana Chapter of the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association
Past Board Member and Past Program Committee Chair
Springmill Crossing Property Owners Association, Past Treasurer
Education
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting, Indiana University

27. Employee Benefit
Plan Audit
Developing and maintaining employee benefit plans requires considerable time, effort and
resources—after all, your employees rely on benefits to secure their futures. Presenting
your benefits provider with incomplete or inaccurate audit reports may result in plan
disqualification or significant penalties. Maintain the benefit plans on which your employees
rely by working with the experts at Sikich. Working with Sikich professionals will offer you
distinct advantages, including:
úú Assurance of quality
úú Efficient audit process
úú Potential fee savings
úú A detailed constructive management letter
úú Access to up-to-date benefit plan regulatory and accounting issues through:
• Meetings
• News alerts
• Special focus mailings
• Seminars and webinars
Receive top-quality help from credentialed, highly trained and experienced professionals
who are dedicated in employee benefit plan audits, administration and consulting services—
and who work with more than 200 plans firm-wide.
Your time and resources are valuable, which is why our team approaches employee benefit
plan audits in an efficient manner—reducing the time we need from your personnel and
allowing them more time for their regular duties.
Included in the audit is a management letter that identifies opportunities to correct potential
problems before they lead to penalties or plan disqualification. Additionally, discover how to
achieve and maintain a competitive advantage—essential for employee retention—through
a section in the letter that is focused on current trends in the employee benefits area, and
which benefits other companies are currently offering.
Rely on the employee benefit plan practice of Sikich to provide accurate, complete, timely,
professional and cost-effective services that will meet your organization’s specific objectives,
now and in the future.
877.279.1900 | info@sikich.com
www.sikich.com
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.

28. Sikich Profile
Organization
Sikich is a dynamic accounting, advisory, technology, and managed services firm
comprised of more than 400 employees. Our firm began in 1982 and is now one of
the country’s Top 50 largest CPA firms and Top 100 VARs, operating eight offices.
service areas
Industries Awards
Sikich provides services and solutions � 2012, Accounting Today Top 100 Firms: � Accounting
to a wide range of industries. In certain ranked 47th nationally Consulting Services
industries, we have devoted substantial � 2012, Accounting Today Regional Leaders
resources to develop a significant base – Top Firms: Great Lakes: ranked 7th � Assurance Services
of expertise and experience:
� 2012, Accounting Today Top 100 Value � Business Valuation
� Agriculture Added Reseller (VAR): ranked 12th
� Construction � 2012, INSIDE Public Accounting 100 � Dispute Advisory
� Employee Benefit Plans Largest Accounting Firms: ranked Services
� Government 47th nationally
� Graphic Design
� Healthcare � 2012, Daily Herald Business Ledger Book Marketing Services
� Higher Education of Lists: ranked 3rd, Accounting Firms;
� Manufacturing Distribution Chicago Western Suburbs � Human Resource
� Not-for-Profit � 2011, Crain's Chicago Business Book of Consulting
� Professional Services Lists: ranked 12th, Accounting Firms
� Investment Banking
� Real Estate � 2011, Chicago Tribune’s Chicago's Corporate Finance
� Retail Top Workplaces
� 2011, Best and Brightest Company
� Retirement Plan
Statistics Services
to Work For™
Revenues .................................. $64.5M
� 012 - 2006, Chicago’s 101 Best and
2
Total Partners .................................... 67 � Tax Services
Brightest Companies to Work For
Total Employees .............................. 356 � 2010, Accounting Today Best Accounting � Technology Services
Total Personnel ................................ 423 Firms to Work For Products
Personnel count as of April 12, 2012 � 2009, Best Places to Work in Central
� Wealth Management
Illinois, sponsored by The Springfield
Sikich Total Revenues Business Journal
� 2009, 2008, 2006, Sikich designated
as member of the Microsoft Business
Solutions Inner Circle
� 006, 2005 Two Sikich business solutions
2
clients awarded Microsoft Business
Solutions Pinnacle award
� 2005, Certified Microsoft Dynamics –
NAV Partner of the Year
877.279.1900 | info@sikich.com
www.sikich.com
©2012 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.

29. Sikich Profile
Certifications
All professional accounting staff having more than one year of experience have earned or
are working toward earning the designation of Certified Public Accountant. Sikich LLP is
a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Governmental Audit
LOCATIONS:
Quality Center and the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. We adhere to the strict
requirements of membership which assure we meet the highest standards of audit quality.
Corporate Office
In 2011, Sikich LLP received its 8th consecutive unmodified (“pass”) peer review report.
1415 W. Diehl Rd., Suite 400
This is the highest level of recognition conferred upon a public accounting firm for its quality
Naperville, IL 60563
control systems.
Phone: (630) 566-8400
Chicago, IL
123 N. Wacker Dr., Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (312) 648-6666
Microsoft Partner
Decatur, IL
Sikich has earned a Microsoft ERP Gold competency; ranked among the top 1% of
132 South Water St., Suite 300
all Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide; and carries the following certifications:
Decatur, IL 62523
Phone: (217) 423-6000
� icrosoft Small Business Specialist
M � MRMS (Microsoft Retail Management Systems)
� CP (Microsoft Certified Professional)
M � ISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)
C Denver, CO
� CSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer)
M � NE (Certified Novell Engineer)
C 6021 S. Syracuse Way, Suite 111
� CNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)
C � MS CSM (Microsoft Customer Service Manager)
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
� CDA (Certified Cisco Design Associate)
C � MS CAE (Microsoft Certified Account Executive)
Phone: (720) 200-0142
� CEA (Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator) � CDBA (Microsoft Certified Database Admin.)
C M
Indianapolis, IN
8555 N. River Rd., Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46240
Phone: (317) 842-4466
Rockford, IL
6815 Weaver Rd., Suite 100
Rockford, IL 61114
Phone: (815) 282-6565
Sikich is proud to be part of the Leading Edge Alliance
Springfield, IL
The Leading Edge Alliance (LEA) is the second largest international association of
3201 W. White Oaks Dr., Suite 102
independent accounting firms.* The LEA is an international professional association of
Springfield, IL 62704
independently-owned accounting and consulting firms. Members are top quality firms
Phone: (217) 793-3363
who share an entrepreneurial spirit and a drive to be the premier provider of professional
services in their chosen markets. The Alliance provides Sikich with an unbeatable St. Louis, MO
combination: the comprehensive size and scope of a large multinational company while 12655 Olive Blvd., Suite 200
offering their clients the continuity, consistency, and quality service of a local firm. St. Louis, MO 63141
*International Accounting Bulletin, 2011 Phone: (314) 275-7277
LEARN MORE:
www.sikich.com/blog
Securities are offered through Sikich Corporate Finance LLC, a registered broker dealer with the Securities
Exchange Commission and a member of FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Sikich Financial, 877.279.1900 | info@sikich.com
a Registered Investment Advisor. General securities offered through Triad Advisors, Member FINRA/SIPC. www.sikich.com
©2012 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.