Calendar of Events

Learning Objectives:

 ·         Learn the latest news and updates from the DOL; discuss the current EBSA audit quality and other current regulatory and compliance initiatives.

·         Understanding of who is a fiduciary, what their roles are, and methods to protect the fiduciaries from potential liability.  Also, we will go over the current legislative changes that impact qualified plans as well as what is currently pending before Congress.

·         Examine recent cyber security attacks and the financial impact to businesses; tips on keeping employee and sensitive data safe; and discussion of managing cyber security risks and mitigating breaches.

·         Manage changes in health plan policies, as well as other programs that are influenced by ERISA standards, and recognize best practice strategies for keeping pace with variable/executive compensation planning, and retirement plan changes

7:30 am      Check-in, Continental Breakfast and Networking

8:00 am      Welcome and Introductions

8:05 am      Fiduciary Audit Quality: What's on the Horizon at

                       the Department of Labor

                       Marcus Aron, Senior Auditor, U.S. Department of Labor

9:00 am      Fiduciary Protection in Qualified Plans and

                        Legislative Update

                       Jeremiah Wood, Partner, Friday Eldredge & Clark

9:50 am      Break

10:05 am     Cyber Security Issues for Employee Benefit Plans

                       Cody Griffin, Partner, HoganTaylor LLP

11:00 am     Embracing the Inevitable – The Evolving Workforce

                       And Keeping Pace with ERISA

                       Jeff Wilkie, Consulting Executive, HoganTaylor LLP

11:50 am     Door prizes; HRCI/SHRM credits

SPEAKERS:

Marcus Aron—Senior Auditor, Division of Accounting Services, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor--Mr. Aron has over twenty years of experience in working with audits of ERISA-covered plans.  He is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of EBSA’s CPA Firm Inspection Program, providing technical assistance to plan filers and plan professionals, and providing ERISA-related accounting and auditing expertise within EBSA. Mr. Aron is a certified public accountant and holds a B.B.A. degree with a major in accounting from the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

Jeremiah Wood – Partner, Employee Benefits, Friday Eldredge & Clark--Jeremiah D. Wood practices in the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group. His practice includes experience in the design, implementation, administration and termination of tax-qualified retirement plans (including traditional pension plans, cash balance plans, profit sharing plans, 401(k) plans, and ESOPs), 403(b) plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans (including 457(b) and 457(f) plans and deferral compensation arrangements for executives) and health and welfare plans. He works for a variety of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, local and regional financial institutions, privately held business organizations, professional corporations, governmental organizations and non-profit organizations. Jeremiah assists his clients (as plan sponsors and fiduciaries) with regulatory compliance related to the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA and HIPAA as well as with state and local tax issues (including recent legislation) affecting retirement and welfare plans. In addition, he acts as counsel for his clients with respect to ERISA controversies and litigation and he regularly handles matters that involve correcting errors using the Internal Revenue Service Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) and the Department of Labor Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program. He also assists his clients with audits of qualified plans by the Internal Revenue Service and investigations of qualified plans by the Department of Labor.

Cody Griffin, Risk Assurance Partner, HoganTaylor LLP--Cody Griffin is a CPA, Certified Information Technology Professional and Certified Information Systems Auditor and is a Partner in HoganTaylor's Risk Assurance practice.  With more than 15 years of experience in both public and private industry, Cody's industry experience includes information technology, telecommunications, retail, financial institutions and energy, among many others.  Cody leads HoganTaylor's Attack and Penetration services which assists clients in identifying vulnerabilities in their IT infrastructure. Cody is a member of the AICPA, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.  Cody is also very active in various civic groups in the Little Rock area.

Gwen Bryant, Assurance Partner, HoganTaylor LLP--Gwen Bryant is a Partner and serves as the leader of HoganTaylor's Employee Benefit Plan practice, one of the largest in the Oklahoma/Northwest Arkansas region.  Gwen has nearly 20 years of experience in public accounting, specializing in audits of employee benefit plans.  She is experienced in working with various retirement plans of all sizes, from start-up plans to those with more than $500 million in assets. Gwen is a member of the AICPA, the Arkansas State Society of CPAs, Oklahoma Society of CPAs, among others, and is a presenter and committee member of the AICPA's National Conference on Employee Benefit Plans.

Jeff Wilkie, SPHR, SHRM-SCP – Consulting Executive, HoganTaylor LLP--Jeff Wilkie has made a career in human resources with an emphasis in employee development and workforce engagement strategies since 1992. Jeff went to work in the Training and Organizational Development field for First Data Corporation where he became the Senior Trainer for Professional Development and guided the 1500+ employees in activities focused on increasing communication and supervision capabilities in management and professional staff. In 1999, Jeff joined Williams as a Learning Specialist Consultant where he supervised a staff of eight while designing and implementing human resource development programs encompassing the entire enterprise organization by working in all three segments, Energy, Natural Gas and Communications. In 2003, Jeff founded Jeff Wilkie Consulting as a private consultant working in the field of change management and organizational development. In this role, Jeff has served as a trusted resource for many small to medium sized businesses to enhance their strategic growth and direction. In October 2007, Jeff joined the Mayor’s Office for the City of Tulsa as the Director of Organizational Development and Performance. Jeff served as the primary people officer directing human resources department staff for the City of Tulsa regarding its 4000+ workforce and all elements of organizational development including but not limited to labor relations, worker’s compensation, employee health, safety, training and wellness programming, proper administration of employee policies and procedures and the hiring and retention of employees. Jeff joined HoganTaylor as Chief Human Resources Officer 2012. As the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) he reported directly to the CEO and provided strategic leadership for human resource activities to ensure high quality staffing and retention of firm personnel. Jeff was directly responsible for the strategic planning and implementation of human resource programs across two states including the mission, vision and values. Currently, Jeff leads the Human Capital Strategies (HCS) niche under Financial Management Services at HoganTaylor. In this role, he works as a confidante and coach to organizational executive teams and assists in the focus and formulation of a company’s human capital strategies. Providing counsel around talent architecture, he collaboratively works to identify and build human capital critical to the present operations and future growth of organizations, and also provides valuable consulting around change management and organizational communications.

For more information, visit http://info.hogantaylor.com/still-time-to-register-for-the-2018-lr

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