Author Archives:
Erin Carter

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant financial challenges for many businesses, individuals, and families. In January 2020, the unemployment rate in Atlanta was 3.2% but by June it had more than doubled to 7.6%.  These numbers reflect how the fear of virus transmission and new government orders conspired to create adverse circumstances. While companies were busy adapting operations to find new ways to serve customers, individuals and families were re-assessing financial priorities to weather the storm.

Many Atlanta businesses understand the complex challenges associated with managing a 401(k), 403(b), or other employee benefit plan. Maintaining compliance with the requirements set forth in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), ongoing DOL guidance, and IRS regulations is complicated often requiring the assistance of one, or more, outside consultants. The purpose of these regulations is to provide comprehensive protection of participant interests in several areas from plan communications and amendments to investments and loan procedures. Although Atlanta plan sponsors never intend to make a mistake, it is more than likely that at some point one will happen.

Managing a benefit plan can be a challenging task. There are multiple rules and regulations which must be followed including those mandated by both the IRS and the Department of Labor (DOL). Many of these originated with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) which was designed to provide a broad framework for how plans should function including rules on plan administration, participant access, annual audits, and more.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented several and significant challenges for many Atlanta nonprofit organizations. The stay-at-home orders combined with social distancing rules not only impacted daily operations, the ability to deliver programs and services, but also had a devastating impact on revenue generation. In-person fundraisers, annual events, award programs, and more, which generate needed funds were scrapped requiring many to heavily rely on online efforts.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been over 6,311 reported cases of fraud perpetrated against Atlanta individuals, families, and businesses. The primary communication method used to identify, manipulate, and extract financial information was email. The tactic, commonly referred to as a phishing attack, occurs when scammers (bad actors) attempt to solicit personal financial or other information by posing as a trustworthy organization or individual.

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant and serious challenges for Atlanta individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. The forced business closures, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing guidelines meant an almost complete disruption to daily activities. While necessary to prevent widespread infection, it also caused businesses to fail, unemployment to skyrocket, and left many without work. Despite these unique conditions, it appears the pandemic had little impact on retirement savings.

Over the past year, Atlanta businesses have endured new and unexpected financial, operational, and safety challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic created unpredictable conditions which forced many to make difficult expense-cutting decisions while seeking assistance from one of the many Small Business Administration (SBA) relief programs. Given these challenges, it is unthinkable that employees, customers, or vendors would be engaged in a fraud scheme draining precious funds so desperately needed.

The importance of robust cybersecurity controls and policies was on full display recently as the news of a ransomware cyberattack on the Colonial pipeline emerged. Cybercriminals were able to disrupt the delivery of fuel to the east coast pushing many into a frenzy due to dwindling fuel supplies.

Expanding retirement saving opportunities for American workers has been an ongoing priority for Congress over the past several years. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, made significant and important changes designed to increase saving opportunities.

The need for a robust cybersecurity program is essential to protect personally identifiable information (PII) such as social security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, financial account information, credit card information, and even physical and email address. Cybercriminals are increasingly looking to exploit IT systems to capture high-value information that can be used or sold to criminals.