New AICPA Quality Center: provides resources for ERISA audits.

• Author: Cytron, Scott H.

Thanks to the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), CPAs now have a faster, better way to stay on top of ERISA auditing.

The Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center offers a firm-based, voluntary membership Center for firms that audit employee benefit plans. The Center is designed to be a one-stop information source for auditors to access the information on ERISA legislation, best practices, and even how to use the Center as a marketing tool.

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According to the AICPA, the main benefits of the Center include:

* A single point of access to the latest developments in accounting, auditing, and Department of Labor (DOL) rules and regulations.

* Periodic updates on current issues through news alerts and Web casts.

* An online forum for member interaction and information sharing.

* A single voice, representing auditor interests, in performing quality employee benefit plan audits.

"The Center will provide auditors the resources and tools they need to perform quality audits with all-in-one resources, tools, information and news," says Ian MacKay, director of Federal Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Alliances for the AICPA.

The AICPA's goal is to create a community of firms that demonstrate a commitment to quality employee benefit plan audits. An executive committee of 14 AICPA members from various firms across the country governs the Center. Overseeing all aspects, the committee establishes policies including membership requirements. The executive committee is chaired by Anita F. Baker, CPA, CEBS, PHR, principal in-charge of the Benefit Services Group of Larson, Allen Weishair & Co., LLP in Minneapolis, Minn.

"The Center was not created in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, but rather as a response to the concern over the AICPA peer review results for employee benefit plan audits," Baker says. "The AICPA and the DOL have been working together for 15 years to educate plan auditors through conferences and publications. Despite these efforts, AICPA peer review results and the DOL auditor work paper reviews have indicated that employee benefit plan audits are not complying with professional standards. The new Center will help members meet the highest standards in performing quality employee benefit plan audits."

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