How far back would you go to correct late deposits?

Year after year client answers 'no' tot he question 'were and deferrals deposited late.'  The accounts are brokerage accounts for which we only get the 12/31 statements with the YTD figures.  Often this is good enough to cobble together my 5500's.  (side note, this is my first year servicing this client)

They switch investment houses in 2019 so I needed some help from the client to reconcile the deposits.

I got a list of all the remittances to the trust accounts by date and type.  Turns out, they were transmitting funds once a month, but the employees get paid every other week.

We are, of course going to calculate lost earnings for 2019 and 2020 and try to right the ship going forward.

I'm pretty sure that this has been going on for a while.

How far back would you go looking to correct this stuff?

Ugh. When you say it is your first year, does that mean someone else in your firm has been doing it and now it has just passed to you, or it came over from an entirely different TPA? If the latter, then I'd be inclined to make it the client's decision - we'll fix for 2019 and 2020 - for all prior years, they should be fixed, and I'll do it (for a princely fee), but if you choose not to do it, you are liable for the consequences.

Alternatively, if they refuse to fix, give them their walking papers.

How big a plan, and how much interest might this turn out to be - lots, or "not too bad 'cause it is only 11 participants" or something like that?

These types of situations make me question my career choices. I should have been an optometrist!

I would correct the things for the period you were hired to work on. And give them a letter advising them of the issues and your concerns. Since you haven't reviewed the prior years, you don't really "know" there's an issue. Our engagement says we're under no obligation to audit or review prior years. If they want to fix it, they can hire you to do so. If not, it's not on you.

Don't make their problem your problem.

There are two answers - of course.  In our experience with the DOL is that you must go back to the beginning of time (and in one case, that was 12 years).  Our advice (after explaining the DOL's position, it to go back at least past the open years (4 years).  But if it was "significant", and the DOL get's involved, they may require more.  As far as what you do for the client, that's your business decision.

Why wouldn't you document your concerns and suggest they seek counsel's advice? I'm not a lawyer

Small plan.  2 owners and 2 other ee's.  Biggest annual deferral (besides owners) was ~$1,500 ($60/pay). I am fixing '19 & 20 and leaving it up to him to decide if he wants to fix prior years.

We did the years past, but we never before received a schedule of deposits, and the client always answered 'no' to the late deposit question.