Lax Pension Plan Audits Criticized

CONGRESS: Report will warn that many funds are never examined. Some accountants are allowed to skip scrutiny of key areas.

by Robert A. Rosenblatt

from The Los Angeles Times, Business, Part A, Page 4, November 15, 1989
partial reprint; contact The Los Angeles Times for complete text

EXCERPT:

"Nearly half of all pension plan assets are never audited, making the funds dangerously vulnerable to fraud and theft, the Labor Department inspector general will tell Congress today."


OTHER POINTS:

-- "(S)pecial investigative report says pension plan administrators frequently tell their auditors to skip the investigation of billions of dollars in assets held in banks and other financial institutions."

-- Report "most widespread finding to date" that there's inadequate supervision of pension plans.

For complete text, contact The Los Angeles Times.