AUDITS OF EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS The Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 requires employee benefit plans to file an annual report with the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service. Plans effected by this filing requirement include defined benefit pension plans, defined contribution plans, 401(k) plans, certain welfare benefit plans, and most fringe benefit plans. The type of annual report to be filed is based on the number of participants in the plan at the beginning of the year. Generally, a plan with 100 or more participants at the beginning of the plan year must file Form 5500, and a plan with fewer than 100 participants must file Form 5500 C/R. There is an exception for plans that have between 80 and 120 participants at the beginning of a plan year. In most cases, a plan which is required to file Form 5500 must engage an independent accountant to perform an audit of the financial statements of the plan. Again, there are exceptions to this requirement based on the type of plan and the assets held by the plan. If an audit is required, the audited financial statements and required supplemental schedules must be attached to the Form 5500 which has a filing due date of the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends. At Dwight Darby & Company, we currently perform audits of several different types of employee benefit plans. We are available to review the specifics of your plan or the plan of a company you know who needs assistance in this area to determine that all the filing requirements are being properly met. Contact either Brad Tushaus or Kathy Tushaus for additional information about this area. Additional information is available on the industries noted below: Industries Served Automobile dealerships Financial institutions Nonprofit organizations Common interest realty associations