Plymouth, IN January 20, 2020 – North American KTRADE Alliance, LLC, a provider of open architecture recordkeeping services to the retirement industry, today announced that they have successfully completed a System and Organization Controls (SOC) 1® Type II Audit examination for their Retirement Plan Recordkeeping System. North American KTRADE Alliance, LLC retained international CPA and business advisory firm, Skoda Minotti, for its SOC 1® audit work. Skoda Minotti was selected after an intensive search based on their reputation as a leading risk advisory and compliance firm.
Ben Osbrach, CISSP, CISA, QSA, CICP, CCSFP partner-in-charge of Skoda Minotti’s risk advisory group says, “We were excited to work with KTRADE from the very start. They are an intriguing organization delivering high quality services and their business adds to our growing SOC reporting practice.”
SOC 1® engagements are performed in accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ SSAE 18, Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 18, Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization. The SOC 1® Type II examination is performed by an independent auditing firm and is intended to meet the needs of the management of user entities and the user entities’ auditors, as they evaluate the effect of the controls at the service organization on the user entities’ financial statement assertions. These reports are important components of user entities’ evaluation of their internal controls over financial reporting for purposes of complying with laws and regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the user entities’ auditors as they plan and perform audits of the user entities’ financial statements.
Skoda Minotti’s testing of KTRADE’s control environment included examination of their policies and procedures regarding physical security, environmental security, computer operations, information security, data communication, and record keeping. Upon completion of the examination, KTRADE received a Service Auditor’s Report with an unqualified opinion demonstrating that their policies, procedures, and infrastructure controls were suitably designed and operating effectively to achieve the related control objectives throughout the examination period.
“The successful completion of our SOC 1® Type II examination audit provides KTRADE’s clients with the assurance that the controls and safeguards we employ to protect and secure their data are in line industry standards and best practices,” said Lynn Morris, CFO.
About – North American KTRADE Alliance, LLC
KTRADE was incorporated in 2006 and began operations in April 2006. The Company was formerly a division of NLG, a third party retirement administrator located in Plymouth, Indiana. KTRADE delivers open architecture recordkeeping services to the retirement industry within the continental USA. Targeted prospects to utilize KTRADE’s services include TPAs, RIAs, broker dealers, CPAs, payroll companies, and banks that serve 401k and other defined contribution plans.
The KTRADE model is centered upon selling a modest ownership stake in the Company to TPAs, similar to NLG, who are geographically dispersed around the country. Through ownership, the TPA gains access to the KTRADE recordkeeping services and a share of the profits.
KTRADE provides directed daily valuation recordkeeping services as outlined in the services agreement between KTRADE and its plan sponsors (employers). The Plan Sponsor works with an investment professional to select security options for the retirement plan. KTRADE is a neutral party in the selection of investment products, supporting custom portfolios, load-waived funds, lifecycle, and lifestyle funds, among others.
About – Skoda Minotti
Skoda Minotti is a Certified Public Accounting Firm based in Cleveland, OH offering a variety of tax, finance, and business advisory services in virtually every area of business. The Risk Advisory practice specializes in SOC Reporting, PCI DSS Compliance, HIPAA Compliance and HITRUST validation, FISMA, NIST, ISO 27001, Vulnerability and Penetration Testing, and other regulatory information security assessments. Staffs in Skoda Minotti’s Risk Advisory hold several industry certifications including Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN), and GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester (GWAPT). For more information about Skoda Minotti’s Risk Advisory Services, please visit skodaminotti.com/risk.
