What's new - OnPoint EBP 2021

Addresses Non-Section 103(a)(3)(C) audits

Content and functionality have been added to comprehensively address audits that are not performed pursuant to ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) (referred to as non-Section 103(a)(3)(C) audits after the adoption of SAS Nos.134 through 141 and full-scope audits before the adoption of SAS Nos.134 through 141). The main areas of impact include the engagement letter, auditor’s report, risk assessment for investments, audit program for investments, sampling template, and the investment testing workbook.

Expanded scope

The scope has been expanded to permit audits of plans with investments in a master trust and engagements involving the use of specialists (both management’s and auditor’s specialists).

Revised assessment of the risk of material misstatement (RMM)

The RMM table used to document the assessment of the risk of material misstatement (RMM) has been changed to reflect refinements in the audit methodology. The assessment now involves first determining if a risk is significant and, if not, whether the inherent risk is “higher” or “lower”. The combination of those determinations, along with the control risk associated with the decision to rely or not rely on controls, results in six different RMM levels:

  • Significant - rely

  • Significant

  • Higher - rely

  • Higher

  • Lower - rely

  • Lower

Enhanced sampling tools and methodology

A new sample size calculation template was added to address non-Section 103(a)(3)(C) (full-scope) audits. Additional changes have been made to reflect the revised RMM model.

Note to users about carry forward

The expansion of the scope of OnPoint EBP resulted in substantial edits to certain documents, including the engagement and management representation letters (documents 1010 and 4025, respectively). When creating a new engagement file and electing to carry forward data from a prior engagement, you will need to decide how to address changes made since the prior period (See further information here about the carry forward process).

Prior to making a decision about whether to carry forward or dismiss changes from the prior period, users are encouraged to closely review the marked changes. In certain documents, particularly the engagement and management representation letters, carrying forward all changes from the prior period will result in accepting all changes the user made in the prior engagement, while rejecting all changes made by the AICPA since the prior period. That situation exists solely in text areas where both the user and the AICPA made edits since the prior period.

Colored font (e.g., red and green) and symbols (e.g., plus and minus signs) indicate where changes have been made. Carrying forward all changes will result in the removal of content marked with red font and a minus sign while retaining content marked with green font and a plus sign. For further information and/or assistance with the carry forward feature, please contact Caseware customer technical support at 1-800-267-1317 or support@caseware.com.

New Documents page layout

The Documents page (the home page from where all documents can be accessed) has been substantially redesigned for a more efficient workflow and to better present and display the signoff information.

The following changes are important to note:

  • The Second Reviewer button is no longer available because signoff roles and schemes can be further customized (see below).

  • The View more actions () and Print options () icons are now located at the top left of the screen.

New signoff roles and schemes

Firms and engagement teams can now create custom roles and signoff schemes to track the required preparer and reviewer workflows on a document.

The default roles and schemes can be reviewed and revised through a new tab Signoffs now available in the product dialog. You have the ability to define various preparer and reviewer roles (such as "Preparer," "Reviewer," "Partner," and "EQR") to meet your requirements. Further, you can create different Schemes, which are combinations of preparer and reviewer roles for a specific document or a group of documents.

Four roles have been predefined (Preparer, Reviewer, Partner, and Sold Proprietor). The default scheme applies to all files within an engagement file and consists of one preparer and two reviewers (a reviewer and a partner).

Custom schemes can be applied to specific documents by selecting More actions () | Edit.

Note: Changes can be made by firm authors and end users. Schemes other than the default must be applied to each document individually. Users can modify the default scheme instead of creating a custom scheme if the desire is to change the scheme for all documents.

Removing signoffs

The logic for preparer and reviewer signoff has been enhanced. Users can now only remove their own signoffs.

A user that has been granted one or more administrator security roles (Admin, Settings Admin, Staff Admin, and Entities Admin) can remove signoffs by other users.

Enhanced review tools in checklists

You can now use review tools to track changes made in checklists after the reviewers have signed off.

If the Modified since last review option is activated on the Documents page and users open a checklist that has been modified after reviewer signoff, the Review tools dialog opens automatically, and the changes made since the last review display in the checklist.

Hinweis: If the Modified since last review option is deactivated on the Documents page, users must manually turn on Review tools in a checklist to view modifications since the last review.

Users can choose to view changes made since engagement creation instead using the drop-down.

When users clear the Modified since last review notification in either the checklist or the Documents page, the Changes since last review option is no longer available in the review tools.

A confirmation message also displays to ensure users are aware that clearing notifications permanently deletes information about changes made since the last review.

Hinweis: Only the reviewer or a user that has been granted one or more administrator security roles (Admin, Settings Admin, Staff Admin, and Entities Admin) can clear the notification.

The following additions and updates are also now available for checklist review tools:

  • The Added and Overridden visibility review tools are replaced by:

    • Added predefined content - Marks content that has been manually forced visible by staff members.

    • Added engagement created content - Marks content that was created by staff members

    • Overridden to exclude - Marks content that has been manually forced hidden by staff members.

    • A new review tool Deleted is now available. It marks content that was added by staff members before review and then deleted after review. Note that this review tool is only available when using the Changes since last review option.

Replace external documents

Users can now replace external documents. They can either select More actions () | Replace or drag and drop a new document onto the old document to replace it. When users replace a document, they can choose whether to remove pre-existing signoffs or retain them.

Hinweis: Die Versionierung von Dokumenten wird nicht unterstützt (eine Versionshistorie bleibt nicht erhalten).

Enhanced Show/Hide logic for table columns

The Show/Hide (/) option for dynamic table columns now includes additional options.

  • Apply default behavior - the default behavior is applied to the column. Note that the default behavior differs based on the column type.

    • For trial balance columns:

      • The column always displays in the financial statements and the print copy (PDF).

      Note: Prior year columns do not display if there is no prior year data.

    • For input and custom calculation columns:

      • The column always displays in the financial statements and displays in the print copy (PDF) if the column contains data (at least one cell is not empty and its value is not zero).

  • Always display - the column always displays in the financial statements and the print copy (PDF).

  • Always hide - the column always hides in the financial statements and in the print copy (PDF).

Data Page

Users can now sign off on the Adjustments page and the Data page.

Date Format

A new setting, Medium date (e.g., Aug 9, 2020), is now available in the Product Settings dialog, so you can customize the medium date format for the Engagement Properties data links.

Improved query features

A new query layout now features a Submit Response button for contacts to submit their responses to each question.

When staff members review the query responses, they can use the buttons to Accept or Return each response. The status of each query question is also now displayed at the top right of the question.

The comments area in queries now displays the history of each question. The query question history includes the timestamp and username for the following actions:

  • Query is sent to the contact

  • Contact responds to the question

  • Contact marks the question as responded

  • Response is accepted

  • Response is rejected

Customize format settings

Users can now change the default engagement settings for the following format settings in an engagement file:

  • Währung

  • Date format (long, medium, and short dates)

  • Numbers (decimal places, negative numbers, etc.)

  • Measurement unit (inches or centimeters)

The selections made by users are retained when the engagement is carried forward.

Rearranging documents in bulk print

You can now drag-drop documents in the bulk print set to rearrange them, so they print in the order you desire.

Note that you can only rearrange documents in groups that you define. That is,

  • Firm authors cannot rearrange documents in groups predefined by primary authors

  • Users cannot rearrange documents in groups predefined by the firm authors or primary authors

Watermark in print settings

You can now add a watermark in the financial statements. The Apply watermark option is now available in the document print settings. Once you enable this option, you can add the content of the watermark in the associated text field.

To complement this feature, the Print () icon in the financial statements now displays two options:

  • Print Preview - Launches a print preview of the PDF output.

  • Note that the print settings () are also accessible in the print preview mode. You can make changes in settings and view them without having to close the print preview page and navigate back to the financial statements document.

    • In the print preview page, you can also select the print icon () to print the document or the downward arrow () to download the PDF.

    Download PDF - Initiates PDF output file download.

If the watermark option is enabled, the Download PDF option changes to Download PDF (WMK) to denote that watermark text will be displayed in the PDF.