Annoyed thought: Auditors & prior 5500's

Why do auditors ask for prior year 5500's?

All the filings going back to 2009 are online, and can be downloaded in an instant.

Not really surprising.  Even the IRS, when they audit plans, asks for prior year 5500's.  Never made sense to me.

Probably for the same reasons clients never have their document, or anything else we send them! 

1 hour ago, ratherbereading said:

Probably for the same reasons clients never have their document, or anything else we send them! 

They disappear to another dimension.  Few have crossed over, only one has returned, matthew mcconaughey.  He reported vast wastelands full of 401k plan documents, annual reports, and participant notices.  And socks.  Soooooo many socks.  And yet, not a single matching pair.

I need coffee...

Are you talking IRS, or independent CPA audits of large plans?  If it's the latter, you gotta realize the mindset of auditors.  They audit that which is provided to them.  It's not the auditor's role to go outside to gather data (even confirmations are officially requested by the client to go back to the auditors).  If they want something changed, they tell the client to change it and send it to them, they don't do it themselves.  I get it, but taken to extremes it seems weird and highly inefficient. 

Good point, shERPA

For me... it's IRS audits of plans, where they ask for prior 5500's...

When we are asked to take over an existing plan among the things we ask for are the 5500s.  The more that the plan sponsor is able to provide on their own the better an idea of the type of client that we are taking on.

As both a TPA and an auditor, when I'm wearing my "auditor" hat, I go pull the prior 5500 from EFAST. You'd be surprised at how many auditors that have no idea what EFAST is!