Woodbury, NY (PRWEB) March 14, 2014
Many business owners set up an employee retirement plan and think that once it's set up, it can take care of itself. Unfortunately, it cannot. Not arranging for plan maintenance or not submitting a qualified, thorough audit can have serious implications to the assets held in their plan and their bottom line. Leading New York City and Long Island CPA firm Gettry Marcus CPA, P.C. highlights the importance of following employee retirement plan fiduciary responsibilities.
Howard Fine, CPA/ABV/CFF, CVA and partner at Gettry Marcus, says, “A fiduciary’s primary responsibility under ERISA is to act prudently. If a fiduciary does not follow the basic ERISA standards, he or she may be personally liable to restore any losses to the plan. Fiduciaries may be able to limit their liability by documenting the processes used to carry out their fiduciary responsibilities. Gettry Marcus can assist you in understanding these responsibilities.”
The rule of thumb for whether audited financial statements of the plan are needed is based on the number of eligible participants at the beginning of the plan year. If this equals or exceeds 100 participants, generally an audit could be required. It is important to note that a participant includes all eligible participants, even if they are not contributing, as well as terminated, retired or deceased participants with account balances.
Among other duties, fiduciaries have a responsibility to ensure that the services provided to their plan are necessary and that the costs of those services are reasonable.
Unfamiliarity of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act is not an excuse, even though it is difficult to understand. With the right guidance, however, costly penalties as well as year- end problems and delays can be avoided.
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.
Gettry Marcus CPA, P.C. is a top New York City and Long Island CPA firm with offices in Woodbury, Long Island and New York City. We provide accounting, tax, and consulting services and employee benefit plans to commercial businesses, high net worth individuals and various industries which include real estate and health care. We have one of the premier and most credentialed business valuation, litigation and forensic accounting groups in the New York Area. Our experience in diverse industries and a highly talented and experienced professional staff gives us the ability to share valuable insights into our clients’ businesses, to better understand their goals and problems and to help them attain the vision they have for their company.
Gettry Marcus is "Always Looking Deeper" to build value for our clients.
Media inquiries: Contact Fayellen Dietchweiler at 516-364-3390 ext. 225 or via email at Fdietchweiler(at)gettrymarcus(dot)com.
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