Payroll Compliance Audits | Proven Methodology | Resources

Payroll Compliance Audits

Lindquist LLP was one of the first accounting firms in the country to recognize the importance of payroll audits to employee benefit plans, and we have developed an extensive payroll audit program, which we conduct for our clients nationwide.

Our Firm has been conducting payroll audits since the mid-1980's. We conduct over 1,300 payroll audits annually and we maintain a separate staff of payroll auditors in each of our locations dedicated exclusively to this service.

Our auditors use an in-depth payroll audit program, which is adjusted as necessary for each client. This program can be implemented at a single site or nationwide for those clients with national employer reporting environments. We tailor our payroll audit programs based on a thorough understanding of your collective bargaining agreements.

Benefits and Compliance

A payroll audit program provides these major benefits:

• Enables the trustees to determine whether the Plan is receiving the proper amount of employer contributions that are due.
• Helps enable trustees to determine whether the Plan has accurate and complete participant records.
• Serves notice that the trustees are monitoring contribution collections.

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Proven Methodology

We perform payroll audits using our Lindquist LLP payroll audit program. We developed this tool by drawing upon the performance of thousands of such audits over the years. This program has been presented at a number of International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans seminars. It represents a field-tested approach to payroll auditing.

Our payroll audit program includes procedures that are time-tested in order to provide maximum coverage of employer records with efficiency, accuracy and confidence. Most importantly, the procedures are flexible. This enables us to customize our approach to meet the specific contract terminology of each client’s bargaining agreements.

Our approach to payroll auditing does not stop with determining the accuracy of an employer’s reporting compliance. If requested, we can also assist the employer and their personnel in understanding the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and proper completion and reporting of participants’ data to the benefit fund.

ERISA and other laws and regulations governing the operations of Taft-Hartley funds dictate the fund trustees’ fiduciary responsibilities in administering these plans. Our compliance approach is to work closely with the fund’s legal counsel and the fund’s staff to assist the trustees in safeguarding the assets of plan participants.

Through this approach and the specific procedures Lindquist LLP has established, we have served our clients over the years with timely, efficient and cost-effective payroll auditing.

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Resources

• Payroll Compliance Auditing 101 for Trustees of Multiemployer Plans
  Kyle S. Whittemore
• Employer's Guide to an Efficient Payroll Compliance Audit
  Kimberly R. Ray, CPA
• A Trustee's Guide to Data Security in Payroll Compliance Audits
  Tim Hallenbeck
  

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