Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteEBPAQC 401(k) Basics: Part 3 is a two-hour, basic-level AICPA & CIMA webcast for professionals who are new to 401(k) plan auditing. Its published scope combines distribution testing, plan investments and investment disclosures, the distinction between ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) and non-Section 103(a)(3)(C) audits, and audit wrap-up issues. It is professional education—not a consumer investment product, individualized 401(k) advice, or a substitute for current auditing and Department of Labor requirements.
Course details at a glance
The official course listing identifies the webcast as a digital product in the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC) 401(k) Basics series.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
| Attribute | Published detail |
|---|---|
| Course title | EBPAQC 401(k) Basics: Part 3 – Distribution Testing, Investments, and Audit Wrap-Up |
| Level | Basic |
| Format | Webcast and digital product |
| Length | Two hours |
| Continuing education | Two CPE credits |
| Access period | Three months after purchase |
| Displayed price at the time of the listing review | $149 for nonmembers and $125 for AICPA/CIMA members |
| Instructor | Marilee Lau |
Prices, access terms and availability can change. Confirm the live listing before paying or relying on the quoted CPE information.
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallWho the webcast is designed for
The listing names U.S. CPAs, CGMAs, accounting and finance professionals, and auditors who are new to 401(k) plan auditing. That positioning matters: the course is intended to establish a working map of recurring audit topics rather than serve as an advanced manual for a specialist who already has a mature employee-benefit-plan audit practice.
#1 Best Overall
A new plan auditor can use the webcast to organize questions such as:
- Which kinds of distributions must be considered when planning and completing testing?
- What types of investments may appear in a plan and which disclosures describe them?
- How does the chosen audit approach affect the auditor’s responsibilities and report?
- Which errors and disclosure problems occur often enough to deserve focused review?
- What should be resolved before the engagement is wrapped up?
The public page does not identify prerequisites beyond the professional audience description. It also does not publish an exam, a transcript or a detailed list of required prior courses.
What “distribution testing” means in this course’s context
Distribution testing is the part of the title most likely to attract an auditor who is learning the mechanics of a 401(k) engagement. In a plan audit, distributions are payments or transfers out of participant accounts. Testing them generally involves understanding the population and the plan’s records, then evaluating whether selected transactions are supported and recorded consistently with the information available to the auditor.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →That paragraph describes the subject area, not a procedure prescribed by the webcast. The public listing says the course covers distribution testing, but it does not disclose its sampling method, selections, documentation requirements, timing, substantive tests or conclusions for particular distribution types. Those details must come from the engagement’s applicable professional standards, the plan documents, the administrator’s records and current Department of Labor guidance.
Questions a learner should bring to the distribution section
- How are distributions identified in the plan’s records, and how is the completeness of that population assessed?
- What supporting records are available for participant requests, approvals, calculations and payments?
- How are unusual, rejected, corrected or returned transactions distinguished from ordinary payments?
- How are distribution findings evaluated when they affect participant accounts, financial statement amounts or disclosures?
- What evidence should be retained so another experienced auditor can understand the work performed and the conclusion?
The webcast may help a beginner recognize these decision points, but the public course description does not establish the answer to each one.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
Investments and investment disclosures
Investments are the second major subject. A 401(k) plan can hold more than one category of investment, and the audit team needs to understand how those holdings are described in the financial statements and related disclosures. The course listing specifically says learners should identify types of plan investments, distinguish required investment disclosures, and recognize frequent issues surrounding those disclosures.
Types of plan investments
“Types of plan investments” is a stated learning outcome, not a published inventory of every investment permitted by a particular plan. The relevant population depends on the plan’s governing documents and records. A learner should therefore connect the webcast’s concepts to the actual holdings, custodial statements, valuation evidence and financial-statement presentation for the engagement at hand.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Required disclosures
The listing promises coverage of required investment disclosures, but it does not reproduce disclosure language, identify every applicable accounting paragraph or explain how a specific fair-value or participant-directed arrangement should be presented. Do not treat the course page as authority for a current disclosure conclusion. Use the standards and regulator or Department of Labor materials that apply to the plan’s reporting framework and audit period.
Common disclosure problems
The course description highlights “frequent issues surrounding investment disclosures” and asks learners to identify common issues and errors. That signal is useful for planning: disclosure review should be an explicit part of the engagement rather than an afterthought once investment balances have been tested. The page does not, however, publish a ranked list of errors or claim that any one problem is universal.
Section 103(a)(3)(C) and non-section 103(a)(3)(C) audits
The webcast says it covers both ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) audits and non-section 103(a)(3)(C) audits. For a new auditor, the practical lesson is that the audit approach is a central scoping decision, not a label to add at the end of the report.
The public listing does not explain the substantive requirements of either approach. It does not set out management’s election and responsibilities, the role of an investment certification, the responsibilities of a certifying institution, the auditor’s procedures over certified investment information or the resulting reporting language. Those matters require current authoritative standards and engagement-specific analysis.
| Comparison point named by the course scope | What the public listing establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Audit approach | Both Section 103(a)(3)(C) and non-section 103(a)(3)(C) audits are covered topics. | It does not state which approach a particular plan should choose. |
| Learning objective | Learners should recall unique qualities of the two approaches. | It does not provide the detailed requirements or a decision test. |
| Reporting and procedures | The distinction is part of the course’s audit-wrap-up and fundamentals scope. | It does not publish procedures, report examples or conclusions for a specific engagement. |
Use this comparison as a study outline. Before signing an audit, consult the current professional literature and confirm that the engagement team has documented the selected approach and its consequences.
Audit wrap-up: where the topics come together
“Audit wrap-up” signals the final integration of the work rather than a separate investment product or administrative service. Distribution findings, investment evidence, disclosures and the selected audit approach all have to be considered together before the engagement is completed.
A practical wrap-up agenda for a new auditor
- Resolve open items. Identify unanswered requests, missing support and review notes related to distributions, investments and disclosures.
- Connect exceptions to the financial statements. Consider whether an error or missing disclosure affects an account balance, participant information or the form of the report.
- Confirm the audit approach. Make sure the file consistently reflects whether the engagement is a Section 103(a)(3)(C) audit or a non-section 103(a)(3)(C) audit, based on current authoritative requirements.
- Evaluate communication. Determine what matters need to be communicated to plan management, those charged with governance or other parties under the applicable standards.
- Complete documentation and review. Retain evidence supporting significant judgments, conclusions and the final report.
This is a general organizing framework, not a checklist published by the webcast. The course page does not provide an audit-wrap-up program or specify the required sign-off steps.
Learning outcomes stated by the publisher
The official listing describes five outcomes:
- Identify types of 401(k) plan investments.
- Distinguish required investment disclosures.
- Recall unique qualities of Section 103(a)(3)(C) and non-section 103(a)(3)(C) audits.
- Identify common issues and errors.
- Recognize what the listing calls current and hot issues for the 2022 audit season.
These outcomes describe what the course is intended to teach. They do not prove that a learner will receive a complete audit program, detailed sampling instruction or a current-year compliance answer.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Rank #4
How to interpret the “2022 audit season” reference
The product page uses 2022 language for its hot-topic description. That wording should be read as historical course-description language, not as evidence that the same issues remain current in 2026. Accounting standards, Department of Labor interpretations, reporting expectations and common practice can change. A professional taking the webcast now should use it for fundamentals and then verify every time-sensitive conclusion against current authoritative sources for the audit period.
Instructor and publisher context
The listing names Marilee Lau as instructor and describes her as a former national partner who led KPMG’s employee benefit plan audit practice, a founding member and former chair of the EBPAQC Executive Committee, and an experienced consultant and educator in employee benefit plan accounting and auditing. Those are publisher-provided biography claims; the course page does not include a direct quotation or independent evidence beyond the biography.
The EBPAQC resource hub places Part 3 alongside audit-planning and documentation tools, investment-valuation resources, plan-investment reporting materials, Section 103(a)(3)(C) resources, tax and compliance materials, and other 401(k) Basics webcasts. The hub is a useful catalog for locating related education. Its catalog entries do not establish that a particular tool is included with Part 3 or that any resource replaces authoritative professional standards.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the public listing does not provide
A buyer should know the boundary between the course description and the underlying webcast. The public page does not expose:
- Detailed distribution-testing procedures or sample-selection instructions.
- Investment valuation tests or required evidence for a specific holding.
- A complete investment-disclosure checklist.
- Audit-wrap-up forms, review notes or sign-off templates.
- A transcript, slide deck or examination content.
- A current-year conclusion about a particular plan, client fact pattern or audit report.
That boundary is especially important for a professional who needs defensible workpapers. The listing supports expectations about subject coverage and level; it does not support attributing a technical interpretation or procedure to the webcast.
Best Value
- It can be a gift option
- Comes with secure packaging
- Helpful in various ways
Is Part 3 a good fit?
It is a reasonable fit when you need orientation
- You are new to 401(k) plan audits and need the main topics arranged in one short course.
- You want a basic-level introduction to investments, disclosures, distributions and the two audit approaches.
- You need two CPE credits tied to employee benefit plan auditing.
- You plan to use a webcast as a starting point before consulting engagement-specific standards and guidance.
Look beyond the listing when you need procedures
- You are designing or updating a detailed audit program.
- You need current-year conclusions for a report, certification or disclosure.
- You are resolving a difficult valuation, distribution or compliance exception.
- You need templates, sampling instructions or evidence requirements.
In those situations, the course may be one element of professional development, but the public description does not establish that it supplies the specialized materials you need.
Cost, access and purchase checks
At the time of the listing review, the displayed range was $125–$149: $125 for AICPA/CIMA members and $149 for nonmembers. The digital product was described as available for three months after purchase and carrying two CPE credits over a two-hour webcast. Verify the current price, membership treatment, CPE eligibility, access window and any cancellation terms on the live course page before checkout.
Because the course is a paid professional product, prospective learners should also confirm that their employer or state licensing authority accepts the credit in the intended reporting period. The public listing alone does not establish state-specific CPE acceptance.
How to use the webcast effectively
- Review your firm’s current methodology first. Note where it addresses distributions, investments, disclosures and each audit approach.
- Take the course with an open issue list. Map each topic to a real question from an upcoming or recently completed engagement.
- Separate concepts from authority. Mark points that require confirmation in current standards, Department of Labor material or plan documents.
- Update your workpapers only after verification. Do not copy a general course concept into a template without checking the applicable period and facts.
- Document follow-up research. Record the source, date and conclusion for decisions that affect testing, disclosures or reporting.
This approach keeps a basic webcast in its proper role: an efficient orientation and CPE resource that supports, but does not replace, the authoritative work required on an actual plan audit.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
