Caron Bletzer: A National Practice Built Around Employee Benefit Plan Audits

More than three decades in business. A dedicated specialty. Experience that reaches well beyond its New Hampshire roots.

An employee benefit plan puts an employer's promises into numbers: contributions made, benefits paid and assets reported. The people reviewing those numbers need to understand the plan behind them.

Caron Bletzer, PLLC has built its practice around that work. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in New Hampshire, the firm reports conducting approximately 1,200 plan audits annually, with all of its revenue coming from ERISA-related services. It describes itself as one of the country's largest dedicated employee benefit plan audit practices. Firm background

Specialization at meaningful scale

Caron Bletzer's published services span 401(k), 403(b) and 401(a) plans; defined benefit and cash balance plans; employee stock ownership plans; funded welfare plans; and audits for plans filing SEC Form 11-K. The firm also reports maintaining a fully U.S.-based workforce. Services and practice overview

For a plan sponsor, the appeal of that model is straightforward: access to professionals whose daily work centers on employee benefit plans and their financial reporting needs.

Why specialization matters

Benefit-plan audits require procedures tailored to how a plan operates. The Department of Labor's auditor-selection guidance emphasizes plan-specific training and experience, including familiarity with testing contribution timing, benefit payments under plan terms and, where applicable, participant account balances. For sponsors, that makes the engagement team's background a practical consideration: Who will perform the work? Who will review it? What experience do they have with comparable plans? These questions help turn a firm's stated specialization into a focused conversation about the people and approach proposed for the engagement. DOL auditor-selection guidance

Experience that lives in the team

According to the firm's leadership biographies, Managing Partner John Bletzer and Partner Ann Driscoll joined in 1999; Senior Partner Jeff Polchlopek joined in 2000. Their backgrounds bring decades of audit experience to the practice. The biographies also identify specific responsibilities for maintaining and developing that expertise: Samantha Hutton oversees quality-control monitoring and internal inspections and assists with peer reviews, while Kimberly Jarry oversees the firm's internship and training programs. Meet the team

That combination—experienced leadership, defined quality responsibilities and investment in developing new professionals—is a meaningful part of the firm's story.

An audit process designed around the client

An audit also has to work for the people managing it.

Caron Bletzer describes a process that starts with a planning discussion and uses a centralized collaboration platform for document sharing, communication and progress tracking. Its team coordinates with recordkeepers and, where possible, payroll providers to obtain information directly. The process includes a closing meeting and communication of audit findings. Working with Caron Bletzer

For finance and HR teams balancing an audit with everyday responsibilities, that approach addresses practical concerns: knowing what is needed, seeing where the engagement stands and understanding the results.

Published results sponsors can review

In its inspection report dated April 28, 2025, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board reported that it reviewed portions of two issuer audits for fiscal years ending in 2023 and identified no Part I.A or Part I.B deficiencies. This is a positive result within the work reviewed; the report expressly cautions that an inspection does not assess all of a firm's audit work. 2025 PCAOB inspection report

Separately, the Minnesota Board of Accountancy's December 10, 2025 minutes list the firm among those submitting peer-review reports rated Pass. Neither record is a regulatory endorsement, but both give sponsors something specific to review when evaluating the practice. Board minutes, pages 5–6

A resource for the wider accounting profession

Caron Bletzer also offers a partnership model for other accounting firms that need dedicated benefit-plan audit capabilities. Its published approach keeps that work focused on employee benefit plan audits while the referring firm maintains its broader client relationship. Accounting-firm partnerships

Caron Bletzer's story is one of sustained focus: developing a dedicated team, undertaking substantial plan-audit work and organizing its services around a specialized field. For employers and advisers looking for that depth of experience, it is a practice worth getting to know.