| Since its launch last
month, the AICPA’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit
Quality Center has been accepting applications from
CPA firms (go to www.aicpa.org/ebpaqc/homepage.htm).
It is the second of three audit quality centers to be
launched recently.
Following approval by the governing
Council at its fall 2003 meeting, the Institute has
moved ahead with creating three new audit quality centers
focusing on areas of critical importance to the public
interest: public companies, employee benefit plans and
governmental entities. As part of this mandate, the
AICPA in Jan. established the Center for Public Company
Audit Firms, offering enhanced resources to members
who audit SEC registrant companies. In Nov. 2003, the
Institute began the process of defining aspects of the
new Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center by forming
an executive committee chaired by Anita Baker of Larson,
Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP in Minneapolis. Center
membership requirements were established by the committee
and approved by the AICPA Board of Directors in Feb.
According to AICPA Chairman S. Scott
Voynich, "The launch of the Employee Benefit Plan
Audit Quality Center is intended to provide a forum
that spurs CPA firms performing audits to make immediate
quality improvements to employee benefit audits under
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, including
pension, health and welfare, and 401(k) plans.
"In addition to gaining access
to best practices, guidelines and tools focused around
quality improvement, members of the center will be subject
to membership requirements that demonstrate the firm’s
commitment to audit quality in this area," continued
Voynich.
To meet its overall objectives, the
center will:
- Create a community of firms that demonstrate a commitment
to employee benefit plan audit quality.
- Serve as a comprehensive resource provider for member
firms.
- Provide information about the center’s activities
to other employee benefit plan stakeholders.
- Raise awareness about the importance of employee
benefit plan audits.
"These centers are intended to
make a direct statement to members of our profession
about the importance of their audit performance,"
said Susan Coffey, Vice President—Audit Quality
and Professional Ethics. "The center will give
members the tools they need to adhere to a high standard
of quality. It will be a place where firms dedicated
to quality auditing of pension plans will share best
practices, learn about emerging issues and take steps
to enhance quality in their practices."
A dedicated center Web site, www.aicpa.org/ebpaqc/homepage.htm,
with a single access point to the latest developments
in employee benefit plan audits is now available to
those wishing to learn more about the center and its
features.
The Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality
Center is the AICPA’s latest initiative to help
strengthen ERISA audits. In addition to working closely
with the Department of Labor to recommend and assess
the quality of work regarding employee benefit audits,
the AICPA:
- Consults annually with the DOL on the Institute’s
Audit and Accounting Guide for employee benefit plan
audits.
- Issues annual Audit Risk Alerts identifying industry,
audit and accounting developments.
- Conducts two annual Employee Benefit Plan Conferences.
- Develops new and enhanced professional education
courses dedicated to this practice area.
- Issues audit practice tools and checklists.
The Government Audit Quality Center
is scheduled to launch this summer. Continue to read
The CPA Letter and other AICPA news sources
for more information.
Joining the Center
Center membership is firm-based and
voluntary. Member firms could hold themselves out as
members of the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center
to demonstrate their commitment to quality audit practices.
To join, firms must enroll at the center’s
Web site and agree to adhere to the center’s membership
requirements. Member firms must:
- Designate a partner responsible for the firm’s
employee benefit plan audit practice.
- Establish a firm-wide training program for the employee
benefit plan audit practice.
- Establish a firm-wide quality control program that
addresses the employee benefit plan audit practice.
- Perform annual internal inspection procedures that
include a review of the firm’s ERISA employee
benefit plan audit practice by individuals possessing
current experience and knowledge.
- Make the firm’s peer review or other practice
monitoring report findings relative to the firm’s
employee benefit plan area of audit practice publicly
available.
The annual dues schedule is based
on the number of CPAs employed by the firm as of its
most recent fiscal year end. Visit the center Web site
for more information. |
