The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has issued the following Technical Questions and Answers (TQAs) on auditing employee benefit plans to assist the auditor in designing and performing audit procedures in relation to relevant plan provisions that affect the risk of material misstatement for classes of transactions, account balances and disclosures (COTABDs) (ref. AU-C 703.20):
- TQA 6933.13, Background to Sections 6933.14 - .17
- TQA 6933.14, When a Plan Provision is Considered “Relevant” in Accordance With AU-C 703
- TQA 6933.15, Testing of Plan Provisions in Accordance With AU-C 703
- TQA 6933.16, Documenting the Auditor’s Consideration of Plan Provisions
- TQA 6933.17, Deciding to Test Other Plan Provisions
The TQAs provide nonauthoritative guidance on implementing the requirement in paragraph .20 of AU-C 703, Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA, which requires the auditor to consider relevant plan provisions that affect the risk of material misstatement at the relevant assertion level for COTABDs.
