For many plan sponsors, outsourcing the preparation of their employee benefit plan financial statements, including the supporting trial balances and schedules, is an efficient way to ensure their financial statements comply with the reporting and disclosure requirements applicable to benefit plans. 

It simplifies risk management, saves time and effort, and allows plan sponsors to gain better control over the audit process.

A&M’s Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) Financial Statement Preparation Assistance solution helps companies to accurately prepare financial statements, including 5500 forms required annually. 

We also prepare accurate 11-K financial statements for plans that have company stock as part of their investment portfolio. SEC independence rules specifically prohibit the plan auditors from compiling financial statements as part of the 11-K audit engagement. 

We assist with compiling the financial statements and work hand-in-hand with your benefit plan auditors to help ensure a smooth audit.

What Are the Benefits of Outsourcing EBP Financial Statement Preparation?

Managing employee benefit plans has become a complex task that can drain already constrained resources from an organization's focus on their core business and accounting. Outsourcing allows plan sponsors to tap the expertise of external specialists, reduce costs, and gain an assurance that their plan’s financial statements are handled properly. Other benefits include:

• Time saving: Our EBP Financial Statement Preparation solution reduces time and effort on behalf of the company or client, especially when they do not have the time or expertise to prepare the statements themselves.
• Better organization and control of the audit process: We often work side-by-side with the client’s audit team and can help the client better manage the process of preparing necessary supporting documents and audit requests. 
• Early identification and correction of errors: Our team can help discover operational errors prior to the auditors identifying them, and we can also help the client correct any operational errors through the Voluntary Correction Program and Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VCP/VFCP) processes. 
• Increased confidence: Clients can be assured that financial statements and the 5500 form are completed in accordance with regulations. 
• Fees can be covered by plan: In most cases, services can be paid out of plan assets instead of company funds, reducing operational costs to the client.

What Makes Alvarez & Marsal Different?

We act as an independent, strategic partner with companies to prepare accurate financial statements by working side-by-side with sponsor plan auditors. Our focus and experience enable us to provide process-improvement suggestions and insight into best practices. You can count on A&M for the following qualities: 

• Operational expertise: Our team is made up of former EBP auditors, so we understand what auditors are looking for. 
• Seamless operations: We work hand-in-glove with the client’s auditing team to get the task completed in an accurate and timely manner.
• Plan operations point of view: We approach audits with a corrections mindset, digging down to unearth any plan operational errors that must be reported, such as late or delinquent contributions. Finding and correcting these errors early mitigates risk to the client.

Did you know?

Sixty-seven percent of workers in the private sector had access to an employer-provided retirement plan. 

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Report, 2021

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