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RSM McGladrey and McGladrey & Pullen LLP Announce Major Expansion of Employee Benefits Plan Practice in New York

Posted on: Thursday, 30 April 2009, 09:28 CDT

Audit Partner Ian Benjamin Named EBP Practice Leader

NEW YORK, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- RSM McGladrey, Inc. and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP announced today a major expansion in the visibility of the Employee Benefits Plan (EBP) practice in their New York office. The expansion will be led by Ian Benjamin, an audit partner with extensive experience in the EBP sector.

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"Companies are paying more attention than ever to their benefits plans as a result of the financial turbulence and increasing regulator scrutiny," said Donald Lipari, Executive Managing Director of McGladrey's New York office. "Our EBP practice draws on our long experience in this field to help clients manage every aspect of their plans."

Nationally, McGladrey's EBP practice audits more than 2,500 benefit plans and provides services to more than 400 Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).The practice's benefit plan auditors have access to RSM McGladrey Retirement Resources, a group that includes certified pension consultants, certified employee benefit plan professionals, certified public accountants and enrolled actuaries who dedicate all of their time to employee benefits consulting and retirement plan administration.

The practice's professionals are involved in leading industry organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Employee Plans Expert Panel. McGladrey was also a founding member of the AICPA Employee Plans Audit Quality Center. Professionals take part in the AICPA Audit Guide Revision Task Force, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Advisory Council, the ESOP Association of America and the Pension Rights Council. They have also testified before the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the U.S. Congress.

"Pension advisors are grappling with challenges from several directions," said Benjamin, a member of the firm's national EBP Leadership Team. "The value of their plans has fallen sharply, and that causes great concern on the part of employees. Advisors are also facing heightened attention from regulators on such issues as the quality of financial information and compliance with regulations. They need knowledgeable, experienced auditors and advisors to guide them on these challenges."

Benjamin was named the practice's leader based on his experience at the firm and work with EBP clients. In addition to serving on the firm's EBP Leadership Team, he is the national leader of the Not-for-Profit practice. He has 25 years of experience serving both EBPs and not-for-profit organizations.

Benjamin speaks frequently at industry conferences on topics such as plan implementation, FAS-157 and related accounting matters. A native of the United Kingdom, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and earned his B.A. in law from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England.

"We want to tell companies about our capabilities, both the skills of our professionals and our record of serving clients with every type of benefit plan," Benjamin added.

About RSM McGladrey, Inc. and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP

RSM McGladrey, Inc. is a leading professional services firm providing accounting, tax and business consulting. RSM McGladrey operates in an alternative practice structure with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, a partner-owned CPA firm that delivers audit and attest services. Through separate and independent legal entities, they work together to serve clients' business needs. Together, the companies rank as the fifth largest U.S. provider of accounting, tax and business consulting services (source: Accounting Today), with 8,000 professionals and associates in 100 offices. RSM McGladrey, Inc. and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP are member firms of RSM International, an affiliation of independent accounting and consulting firms. RSM McGladrey is the official accounting, tax and business consulting firm of the PGA of America.

SOURCE RSM McGladrey, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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