Archives for April 2026

What U.S. Importers Should Know About the New Tariff Refund Portal

April 29, 2026 by Nick Magone, CPA, CGMA, CFP®

A recent Supreme Court decision has created an unexpected opportunity for businesses that import goods into the United States — the chance to recover tariffs that a federal court determined were not legally valid.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has created a portal where qualifying businesses can submit refund requests for tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), following the court ruling. The process is rolling out in stages, so timing matters.

Eligibility comes down to three questions:

Did your business bring goods into the U.S. during the affected period?
Was your company the importer of record on those Customs entries?
Were the tariffs you paid collected under IEEPA authority?

If the answer to all three is yes, your business may have a refund coming.

Where things stand today

Right now, the program covers only IEEPA-related tariffs. Other trade duties and tariff programs are not included.

In addition, only two types of entries are covered in this first phase: those still awaiting finalization by Customs, and those that were closed within roughly the last 80 days. More entries are expected to become eligible as additional phases roll out.

Taking the next step

Refund requests must be filed through the ACE Secure Data Portal, either by your company directly as the importer of record, or through the customs broker who handled the original filing. Because import histories vary, we recommend consulting with a professional who understands the process before you file.

This document is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or financial advice. Be sure to consult with a knowledgeable financial or legal advisor for guidance specific to your unique circumstances.

Does Your Retirement Plan Require an Audit?

April 24, 2026 by Nick Magone, CPA, CGMA, CFP®

For many plan sponsors, it starts with a letter.

You receive a notice that your retirement plan now has 100 participants, and you’re required to have an independent audit.

This may be the first you’ve ever heard of an employee benefit plan audit, and here’s what you need to know:

Who needs an employee benefit plan audit?

The Department of Labor (DOL) requires audited financial statements for any retirement plan with 100 or more eligible participants at the beginning of the plan year. Eligible refers to anyone who qualifies to participate, whether or not they’ve actually enrolled in the plan.

Why does the DOL require this?

Your retirement plan holds your employees’ money. And an independent audit ensures that your plan is healthy, having the funds to pay benefits to your participants.

It provides assurance that plan assets are being handled properly, contributions are going in correctly, distributions are being processed and nothing is slipping through the cracks.

What can you expect during the process?

During the audit, a CPA will examine the plan’s financial statements to:

Confirm that plan sponsors are fulfilling their fiduciary duty to plan participants
Evaluate internal controls and identify any weaknesses
Verify that contributions, distributions and loans are being processed in accordance with plan documents and regulations
Flag operational errors, compliance issues or potential fraud risks

What happens if you skip an audit?

If your plan qualifies as a large plan (100 or more participants), you cannot file your Form 5500 without an audited financial statement attached.

Miss the filing deadline? DOL penalties start at $2,259 per day. Beyond the financial hit, failing to comply can also expose your company to fiduciary breach claims from participants, meaning personal liability, not just penalties assessed against the plan.

Keep in mind, you may not know you need an audit until after the plan year has already started. For example, your plan year begins January 1st with 105 eligible participants. That triggers the audit requirement — but the audit itself can’t begin until after the plan year closes on December 31st. Your Form 5500 is due July 31st (or October 15th with an extension). If you’re approaching 100 participants, we recommend that you start the conversation with your CPA before you cross that threshold.

If your plan had fewer than 100 eligible participants at the beginning of the prior plan year and filed as a small plan, you may be able to continue filing as a small plan even if you’ve crossed 100, as long as you don’t exceed 120.

This transition period gives growing businesses a little more leeway, but it has specific conditions that you should also discuss with your CPA.

Ensuring a smooth process

Your first employee benefit plan audit may seem daunting, but here are a few things you can do to make go smoothly:

Get organized. Pull together your plan documents, investment review records, contribution calculations and any other supporting documentation. More importantly, make sure your plan is operating the way those documents say it should. We’ve found that discrepancies between the written plan and actual practice are one of the most common audit issues.
Know what will be tested. Auditors will typically cover contributions, participant data, payroll records, loans, distributions, non-discrimination testing and any prohibited transactions. Have the relevant documentation ready before they ask for it.
Loop in your third-party administrator (TPA) and recordkeeper. The audit team will need data from them too, and getting everyone aligned upfront saves a lot of back-and-forth. Having the right people accessible keeps things moving.

A health check for your employee benefit plan

An employee benefit plan audit protects your employees and provides confidence that everything is running the way it should.

The CPAs at Magone & Company can walk you through exactly what to expect. Our team has 30+ years of expertise with employee benefit plan audits across a wide range of industries. Reach out for a free consultation or call (973) 301-2300.

Internal Controls 101: What Your Auditor is Looking For

April 10, 2026 by Nick Magone, CPA, CGMA, CFP®

Most business owners assume an audit is about checking whether their numbers add up. But there’s a lot more to an audit than ensuring the accuracy of your financial reporting, and it all comes down to internal controls.

Internal controls are the checks and balances your organization puts in place to mitigate risk and protect your financials. It’s an ongoing system of policies and procedures that should be directed by management and carried out by your team.

In our 30+ years as experts in audit and assurance, evaluating those controls is always one of the first orders of business. Here’s a closer look at the process and how to get ahead of it.

What’s at risk?

Under Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS), auditors are required to obtain an understanding of your internal controls. They’re looking for any unintentional or intentional errors that could cause your financial statements to be wrong.

For example, a company that processes vendor payments without a secondary approval could allow fraudulent disbursements to go undetected, raising red flags during an audit.

Auditors assess your current controls to determine how much additional testing they need to do to satisfy audit requirements and sign off on your financials. In a nutshell, strong controls mean less testing while weak controls mean more.

What do auditors evaluate?

Auditors typically zoom in on five areas. They follow a structured framework to gain a closer look at how your organization manages financial risk.

Control environment. Does management take financial integrity seriously? Are ethical standards clear and enforced?
Risk assessment. Does your organization identify and respond to risks as the business changes? For example, a company that grows from five to fifty employees, but never updates its approval workflows, can cause a breakdown of oversight.
Control activities. Are there specific policies and procedures that put controls into action, including approvals, reconciliations, physical safeguards and IT access? This is where most of the hands-on audit testing happens.
Information and communication. Are the right people getting accurate, timely financial information? Are issues escalated appropriately?
Monitoring. Does management regularly check that controls are working? Controls that were effective three years ago might not be applicable to your business today.

Once your audit is completed, any control deficiencies are outlined in a letter with recommendations on how to address them. You’ll be expected to respond with a remediation plan.

If the same weaknesses continue to pop up audit after audit, that’s a signal to auditors, lenders and investors that you’re not working to address problems and improve the overall fiscal health of your organization.

Staying a step ahead

Don’t wait for an auditor to find problems. Make sure your policies are documented and followed. Walk through your key financial processes and pinpoint who’s responsible for each task. Look for anywhere one person controls an entire process from start to finish, which can put your organization at risk for fraud.

Need more support? The CPAs at Magone & Company are experts in internal control assessments. Whether you’re preparing for your first audit or need a more constructive approach to improving your processes, reach out or give us a call today at (973) 301-2300.