posted by Administrator on Apr 10
The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and order requiring the firm of Ahlstrom & Baker CPAs in Los Alamitos, California, to pay $5,000 in restitution to the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) of Rehab Consultants of Florida Inc. (RCI) and ensure that all personnel conducting plan audits possess appropriate knowledge and continuing education training.
“The law requires audit of employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants,” said Howard Marsh, director of the Atlanta regional office of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). “These audits provide important information for plan fiduciaries and the government about the financial soundness of a plan.”
Under the court order, the CPA firm must make restitution and pay a $1,000 civil monetary penalty to the Labor Department. In addition, the firm must establish a program to ensure audit engagement personnel have the appropriate knowledge to conduct plan audits and that personnel must have completed a minimum of eight hours of professional education related to employee benefit plan audits within three years prior to signing a plan audit opinion or managing a plan audit engagement. Read more at dol.gov.
Source: southcarolinalaborattorneys.com