Know which plans need their first audit, before the engagement is decided.
Every year more than 2,000 retirement plans cross the participant threshold and need an independent auditor for the first time. First Audit Radar finds them in the Department of Labor's Form 5500 data, months before the first audited return is due.
How the forecast works
1. The rule
Plans with 100 or more participants with account balances at the start of the plan year must attach an independent auditor's report to Form 5500. Under the 80-120 rule, a plan that filed the short form can keep doing so up to 120.
2. The signal
A plan that filed Form 5500-SF and reported 121 or more participants with balances at year-end will start the next plan year above the threshold. That plan generally needs its first audit.
3. The test
We back-tested the rule on all 2,166 such plans from plan year 2023: 81% filed an audited Form 5500 for 2024. Only 5% stayed on the short form. We publish the hit rate every year.
What you get
Forecast list
Every plan expected to need its first audit next year: sponsor, EIN, plan number, city, industry, participant trend, net assets and the audited return deadlines.
Watch list
Plans at 100-120 participants with balances, the candidates for the year after, with their trend.
Market view
Who audits plans in your state today, new large plans that went straight to an audit, and monthly updates through the filing season.
Example row (fictional, for illustration)
AUDIT DUEFirst audited plan year 2026. Audited Form 5500 due 31 Jul 2027 (15 Oct 2027 with Form 5558). No prior auditor on record.
Pricing
Annual subscription. Founding prices for the first firms, guaranteed for the first year.
- One large state or a group of smaller states
- Forecast list, watch list, market view
- Monthly updates, CSV and PDF
- All states
- Everything in Region
- National market view
Questions
Where does the data come from?
From the public Form 5500 datasets published by the U.S. Department of Labor (EBSA), updated monthly. We combine filings across years, remove duplicates and plan mergers, and apply the participant rules.
Is there any personal data in the lists?
No. The lists contain company-level information only: plan sponsor, EIN, plan, location, industry and plan figures. We remove names of signers and preparers and do not include phone numbers.
How accurate is the forecast?
81% of comparable plans filed an audited return the following year in our back-test. The rest were terminated, merged, filed late or changed EIN. Each row shows the underlying figures so you can judge it yourself.
Why not just use the raw data?
You can. It takes three plan years of files, matching by EIN and plan number, the 80-120 rule and a deduplication step. We do that every month and add deadlines and a market view.
Can I cancel?
Yes. The subscription runs for one year and you can switch off renewal at any time. It is for businesses only.