Audits of Employee Benefit Plans Conference (E2205220)

As the Chief Accountant, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Mr. Auerbach is responsible for managing the resources of the Office of the Chief Accountant and implementing various comprehensive, nationwide enforcement programs relating to certain provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). He also provides ERISA related accounting and auditing technical expertise within the Employee Benefits Security Administration and is the liaison with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and other professional organizations. Mr. Auerbach provides executive oversight and leadership for EBSA’s fiduciary oversight program for the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The TSP is the largest defined contribution plan in the world, with assets of in excess of $500 billion and 5.0 million participants.

Mr. Auerbach is a certified public accountant and earned his B.S. in accounting, from the University of Maryland.

Jennifer joined the firm in November 2005. Her corporate audit experience spans over 20 years, providing audit, consulting and assurance services to entities ranging from small locally owned companies to multi-state and international consolidated groups, in both public and private sectors. She has substantial corporate audit experience in healthcare, broker-dealer in securities, manufacturing and not-for-profit industries.

Jennifer also has extensive auditing and consulting experience associated with employee benefit plans. Her plan audit experience includes DOL disclaimer and full-scope audits of defined contribution plans, audits required to accompany 11-K filings, defined benefit plan audits and audits of employee stock ownership plans.
Additionally, she regularly provides consulting services on plan document compliance, IRS/DOL correction methodologies, and significant or complex plan corrections. She serves the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as an oversight reviewer to peer reviews over employee benefit plans.

David currently serves as a senior vice president and financial advisor. He serves as the lead consultant for a broad range of clients, including defined contribution plans, pension plans, endowments, and foundations. His primary responsibility is advising investment committees on all phases of their fiduciary duties. David joined CAPTRUST from Portfolio Evaluations, Inc., where he served as a senior investment consultant for the firm. He has extensive experience with all aspects of fiduciary oversight including investment policy statements, performance evaluation, investment manager due diligence, and fee benchmarking. David holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) and has been in the industry since 1999. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gettysburg College and a Master of Business Administration from Seton Hall University.

Heather is a Managing Director in the Philadelphia office of Grant Thornton LLP with over 16 years of auditing and accounting experience. She is an Employee Benefit Plan practice dedicated Managing Director who has supervised and managed the performance of numerous employee benefit plan audits for both large and small companies across various industries including not-for-profit, healthcare and commercial. She is experienced in audits of both limited and full scope 401(k), 403(b), 401(a), defined benefit plans, health and welfare, 11-K filings and ESOPs. Heather has extensive experience in addressing reporting and disclosure issues related to benefit plans.

In addition, Heather annually participates both writing and delivering Grant Thornton’s employee benefit plan audit training. She annually participants in internal practice reviews and peer reviews. Her clients include private, publicly held and not-for-profit companies

Michael M. Kulick, CPA, MBA is a Senior Manager at WithumSmith+Brown. His public accounting experience includes auditing, financial statement analysis and preparation, as well as business consulting with a focus on privately-held entities. Mr. Kulick has extensive accounting and auditing experience including a concentration in businesses in the manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, information technology, and retail sectors. He has expertise in performing full and limited scope audits of employee benefit plans of publicly and privately held companies. He also serves on the WS+B Employee Benefits & Pension Plans Leadership Committee. Mr. Kulick attended Providence College and the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University. He is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) and a member of both the AICPA and NJSCPA.

Kevin Nardone is a Director in the Private Business Services Group at EisnerAmper, with over 10 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. He provides advisory services for privately held businesses and individuals including income tax compliance and accounting services.

Kevin manages engagement teams performing audit services for diverse clients, including those in the food and beverage, manufacturing and distribution industries, and construction companies. Additionally, he has experience in employee benefit plan audits, 401(k)s and defined benefit plans for single and multiple employers and knowledge and experience surrounding multi-employer benefit plans.

Kevin consults with clients and is responsible for the supervision and review of staff and work product, including detailed testing. He understands the reporting and regulatory requirements unique to these types of audits and stays abreast of changes, including recent accounting standards updates and required implementation.

Donna Nevolo, CPA is a partner based in the Whippany, NJ, office and has over 15 years of experience serving large, publicly held multi-national companies. As a member of the Firm’s Financial Services and Employee Benefit and Pension Plans Services Groups, Donna has extensive experience with auditing broker-dealers, hedge funds and other commercial businesses as well as retirement plan auditing. She consults clients on tax compliance and supervises the preparation of corporate and individual tax returns.

Elliot is a Member of the Business Department at McDonald Hopkins, and part of the firm’s Tax and Benefits and Executive Compensation and Governance practice groups. He has more than 30 years of experience from a career that includes nearly a decade holding senior in-house legal counsel positions at Fortune 500 companies and serving as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Elliot’s practice includes advising C-suite executives, business owners, HR and finance teams, fiduciaries, and plan service providers on all types of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including plan design and implementation, plan governance and fiduciary duties, service provider contracting and management, operational compliance and issue resolution, IRS, DOL, and PBGC examinations, transaction support, and post-closing integration. As someone who listens deeply to his clients’ issues and invests time in getting to know their business, Elliot is able to break down complex benefit and executive compensation challenges and provide bespoke and practical legal solutions.