AboutVanessa Powell Expertise I am experienced with general bookkeeping, payroll, journal entries, adjusting entries, all types of pension accounting, compliance issues, ERISA, benefit plan auditing, financial statements, payroll tax, Form 5500, retirement planning, and related issues.
Please no homework questions. Only US accounting, please.
Experience I am a CPA candidate and in the running for the Watt Sells award for 2010 (for top exam scorers.) I audit employee benefit plans for the large accounting firm I work for, as well as performing compilations, planning, and tax services.
Organizations California Society of CPAs.
Education/Credentials Graduated summa cum laude from Colorado Technical University. Our firm requires CPA continuing education for all staff accountants, whether licensed or not, so I take 80 hours of CPE every two years. Much of it in the field of accounting, auditing, and employee benefit plans.
Awards and Honors Graduated summa cum laude (with highest honor). Watt Sells candidate.
Past/Present Clients I have clients from all over the world, in nearly every industry. Most of my audit clients are employee benefit plans and not-for-profit entities. Most of my compilation engagements are manufacturing and restaurants.
Question Our small business (5 employees) has a 401K profit sharing plan. All annual reporting is completed by a pension services accounting firm. Historically, they have asked for a paper and pencil ledger of transactions for the year. I would like to put this information into an electronic format. Do you have a suggestion for the best format to accomplish this? Ledger? Journal? I have been looking for an excel template, but without success.Any suggestions would be appreciated
Answer For a small company, the easiest thing to do is to merge your payroll and pension functions. Paychex and ADP both provide pension recordkeeping services. Then, all transactions go through them, and you don't need to provide anything other than beginning (new hire) information.
If that's not an option, then use an excel spreadsheet. Using different tabs, you can track total employee contributions, employer contributions, loans, loan payments, and distributions.
Although I'm confused as to why they are asking you for an accounting of transactions- if they're doing their job, they shouldn't need anything from you, other than for you to enter the weekly payroll summary into their system. You may want to look into using someone else. I've worked with several different recordkeeping services- both large and small- and I've never heard of them asking for you to, essentially, do their job for them. Why pay them? You have better things to do.
