401(k) Audit Basics, Part 1 - Introduction and Planning

Rachel is a Director within Grant Thornton’s National Employee Benefit Plan Practice, focusing on clients across the US. Rachel joined the Oklahoma City office of Grant Thornton in June 2006. Rachel has performed numerous audits on defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans, health & welfare plans, and employee stock ownership plans. Rachel is a leader for the employee benefit plan SOC 1 review project and instrumental in the development of tools to streamline our audit approach and increase effectiveness on our audits. With over 17 years of experience in the employee benefit plan industry, Rachel is involved in developing and leading national and local training for the Employee Benefit Plan practice. Furthermore, Rachel has been a speaker and a subject matter expert for national AICPA webcasts. Rachel currently serves on the advisory board for the College of Fine Arts and Design for the University of Central Oklahoma. She has also served as the treasurer and board member for Prairie Dance Theatre, and has served as the secretary and board member for the Oklahoma City Ballet. Rachel is a part of Grant Thornton’s business resource groups and actively participates in the Women & Allies, Equality GT, and the Disability Alliance.

Monica is an Assurance Director for the BDO Florida Assurance practice. She has more than 10 years of experience in public accounting and more than 11 year of experience in the accounting profession. She is a member of the National Employee Benefit Plan Professional Practice at BDO. She is also part of the Employee Benefit Plan Inspection Team at BDO Monica has experience in serving a variety of clients in the telecommunication, manufacturing, distribution, financial services, real estate, and employee benefit plan industries. She has significant experience auditing defined contribution and defined benefit plans for both public and privately held companies, including master trust, 401(k), 403(b) and ESOP plans. She is also involved in auditing complex financial statement accounts, evaluating clients' internal control systems, and providing recommendations to enhance and improve client operating and accounting systems. She has experience serving both public and privately-held companies. This experience includes performing due diligence procedures related to private offering, as well as assisting companies with operational and financial issues related to the implementation of new accounting standards.

Marilee Lau provides consulting services to firms specializing in employee benefit plans. She frequently presents at conferences and teaches educational programs on accounting and auditing for employee benefit plans. In 2020, Lau became the consulting CPA on staff for the Colorado Society of CPAs, overseeing the AICPA Peer Review Program for Colorado, New Mexico and Washington. Before retiring in 2009, she was the national partner in charge of KPMG’s employee benefit plan audit practice. She is a founding member and a former chair of the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center’s Executive Committee. Lau has served the AICPA in many roles; currently, she is a subject matter expert performing peer review oversights of EBP plans and a technical advisor for the AICPA-CPEA for ESOPs and served on the task force that is wrote the multiemployer chapter for the AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide. She has also served on the Accountants Committee for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Lau is a member of the AICPA, California Society of CPAs, Colorado Society of CPAs, and the International Foundation. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University with a B.S. degree in economics and an M.B.A. in accounting.