For small CPA firms that audit benefit plans
Test every participant row. Review every exception.
An assistant built to chase PBC items, test contributions and eligibility against your plan parameters, and draft the workpaper. You approve each step.
Built for firms that perform roughly 6 to 30 employee benefit plan audits a year.
Three exceptions were found across the tested population. Each is cited to its source row for the reviewer to confirm. Conclusions are left to the auditor.
The grind of a plan audit, row by row
Most of the hours go to work that is repetitive and easy to get wrong when the team is busy.
Chasing PBC items
Census and payroll files arrive late, in pieces, or in the wrong shape. Someone has to keep asking.
Reformatting reports
Recordkeeper reports have to be cleaned up before anyone can test them.
Testing every participant
Eligibility, entry dates, compensation, deferrals, match and deposit timing, checked for each person. Auditors commonly test a sample. Testing the full population is possible when the data is on hand.
Uneven documentation
Staff document the same test in different ways, so review takes longer.
Relearning each year
Firms with a few plans meet the same traps once a year and have to remember them.
The Department of Labor's November 2023 report 'Assessing the Quality of Employee Benefit Plan Audits' reviewed 307 audits from the 2020 form year and found one or more major deficiencies in 30% of them. AuditDesk has no connection to the Department of Labor.
The first job is one test on the whole population
What goes in and what comes back
The first job AuditDesk is built to do is one test, run on the whole population.
It will take payroll and recordkeeper files for one plan year, with names, SSNs and addresses removed. It is built to test 100% of participants against the plan's rules. The arithmetic is meant to run in code, never in the language model, so the same input should give the same result.
Every exception points to its source
You will get back an exceptions file. Each exception is built to name the file, sheet, row and cell, the rule, the expected value and the actual value. You will also get a draft workpaper, a list of items it could not settle, and a PBC list with chase drafts. Every output is marked DRAFT. A row count check is planned so every input row is tested or excluded with a reason.
Four steps, and you stay in charge
- Upload
payroll and census files with names, SSNs and addresses removed. - Confirm
the plan rules. The assistant is built to read them from the plan document, show the page for each one, and ask you about anything unclear. You approve the test parameters before anything runs. - Review
the exceptions. Each one is built to link to a source row. - Approve
the results and export the draft workpaper. Nothing is sent or filed until you say so.
What stays with the CPA
- Professional judgment stays with you. That covers engagement acceptance, independence, risk conclusions, whether the evidence is enough, reliance on service organization reports, the opinion and sign-off.
- AuditDesk is built to draft, flag and cite. It does not form conclusions and it does not sign anything.
- It makes no promise about audit quality, peer review results or compliance.
How we handle data
To start, we work only with payroll and recordkeeper files with names, SSNs and addresses removed. You remove those before upload and keep a participant key, dates of birth, and hire and termination dates.
Real participant data is not accepted in the early pilots. We are not SOC 2 certified today. Before any firm shares a file, we agree the terms in writing, including how long files are kept and how they are deleted. We intend to use encrypted storage, never train models on your files, and delete files on request.
Check your own engagement letters and professional standards on client data and AI tools. That call is yours.
Questions
Does it replace our judgment?
No. It drafts and you decide. You approve the parameters and the results, and the opinion and sign-off remain yours.
Does it guarantee audit quality or compliance?
No. It makes no guarantee about audit quality, peer review, Department of Labor review or compliance. It is built to cite a source row for every exception so a person can check each one.
Where does my data go?
Early pilots accept only payroll and recordkeeper files with names, SSNs and addresses removed, and no real participant data, under terms agreed in writing first. The plan is encrypted storage, no model training on your files, and deletion on request. There is no SOC 2 report yet.
Which recordkeepers does it work with?
It starts with CSV and XLSX exports, so no connection to any recordkeeper is needed. If it cannot read a format, it flags the file and asks you.
How accurate is it?
We do not know yet. The arithmetic is meant to run in code, and we plan to measure it on synthetic plans with errors planted on purpose. We have no results to show today and will share them when they exist. Real exceptions still need your review.
What does it cost?
We will tell you the price before you send any file. There is no price on this page.
Request a pilot on a real plan audit
Request a pilot, or leave your email and we will write when there is news.
One quick question helps us a lot: how many plan audits did your firm perform this year? A one line reply is enough.