【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 igations, presented as a separate statement or included on one of the other financial statements Information concerning benefit obligations is not applicable to defined contribution pension or health and welfare plans because under this type of plan the plan39。s obligation is limited to the amounts that have accumulated in each participant39。s account. Under both SFAS No. 35 and SOP 926, plan benefits or benefit obligations of defined benefit plans and the related activity are excluded and separately presented from the statement of net assets available for plan benefits and the statement of changes in net assets available for plan benefits, respectively. Information about benefit obligations of defined benefit health and welfare plans should include the following: Claims payable and currently due Premiums due under insurance arrangements Claims incurred but not reported to the plan Accumulated eligibility credits for active participants Postretirement benefits for participants and their beneficiaries and covered dependents The statement of net assets available for benefits should be presented in enough detail to allow users to identify which of the plan39。s resources are available for benefits. Generally, all assets (except certain contracts with insurance panies) are presented at fair value. Similarly, the statement of changes in net assets available for benefits should contain sufficient detail to enable significant changes in net assets during the year to be identified. Paragraph 15 of SFAS No. 35 specifies the minimum disclosure requirements for information regarding changes in net assets available for benefits under pension plans. The requirements are the same for health and welfare plans, under SOP 926. SFAS No. 102, Statement of Cash FlowsExemption of Certain Enterprises and Classification of Cash Flows from Certain Securities Acquired for Resale (Accounting Standards Section Pe5), provides an exemption from presenting a statement of cash flows for defined benefit pension plans and certain other employee benefit plans. This statement formalized what generally had been followed in practice prior to its issuance. Accumulated plan benefits of participants of defined benefit pension plans are required to be shown at the present value of the future benefit payments attributable under the plan39。s provisions to employees39。 service rendered to the date of the actuarial valuation (discussed further in Section 3, Auditing Benefit Information). Disclosure of the actuarial present value of accumulated plan benefits (which can be made in the financial statements or acpanying notes) should be segmented into at least the following categories: Vested benefits of participants currently receiving payments Other vested benefits Nonvested benefits Current employees39。 accumulated contributions to a defined benefit pension plan as of the benefit valuation date (including interest, if any) also should be disclosed. The actuarial benefit calculations as of the end of the most recent plan year may not be pleted at the time the financial statements are prepared。 accordingly, often the actuarial present value of accumulated plan benefits is presented as of the beginning of the year. In these circumstances, a parative statement of net assets available for benefits as of the beginning and end of the current year, parative statements of changes in net assets available for benefits for the preceding and current plan years, and information regarding changes in the actuarial present value of accumulated plan benefits also should be presented. Disclosures for a defined contribution pension plan, which are similar to those for a defined benefit plan, are contained in the audit guide. In March 2000, the AICPA issued a proposed statement of position, Accounting for and Reporting of Certain Health and Welfare Benefit Plan Transactions, that would amend the audit guide and SOP 926. The proposed SOP was developed because many employers recently have amended their plans to reduce benefits, introduce costsharing arrangements, or both. To the extent that cost sharing has been introduced or increased, the total cost of benefits has remained essentially the same, whereas the portion paid by the plan sponsor has decreased. Such benefit reductions and costsharing arrangements were not prevalent when SOP 926 was issued, and thus they were not addressed in that SOP. In addition, there has been confusion among preparers and auditors in understanding and implementing some of the requirements of SOP 926. If adopted in its current form, the proposed SOP would revise standards for measuring, reporting, and disclosing estimated future postretirement benefit payments to be funded partially or entirely by plan participants, specify the presentation requirements for benefit obligation information, set forth requirements for accounting for and reporting of postemployment benefits, clarify the measurement date for benefit obligations, and require the identification of investments that are 5 percent or more of net assets available for benefits. AUDITING PLAN ASSETS, LIABILITIES, REVENUES, AND EXPENSES The audit strategy for an employee benefit plan varies depending on the nature and operation of the plan as well as the scope of services to be performed (discussed below). If the plan39。s auditor is also the auditor of the sponsoring entity, many of the auditing procedures discussed below will be performed as part of the audit of the sponsor39。s statements。 those procedures need not be repeated in auditing the plan. Auditing employers39。 accounting for employee benefits is discussed in Chapter 20. In planning the audit, the auditor should obtain sufficient information to identify inherent risks and assess control risk. The auditor39。s understanding of internal control may need to enpass controls that are maintained by others, including controls over transactions initiated by plan participants for which there is no written documentation. The audit guide provides guidance