Limited Scope Audits Of Employee Benefit Plans

The AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center has developed this primer to provide a general understanding of limited scope audits of employee benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This document provides a general description of the statutory and regulatory basis for the limited scope audit exemption, proper certifications from qualified institutions, the plan administrator’s responsibilities, the limited scope audit in the current environment, and the effect of the limited scope audit exemption on the scope of the independent auditor’s testing and reporting.