Patrick Griffin to share plan-audit expertise at ASPPA Annual 2026

Patrick J. Griffin, CPA, a partner at Caron Bletzer, PLLC, is scheduled to join Colleen Windham of Independent Retirement for “Plan Auditor Insights: Best Practices for a Smooth and Efficient Audit.” ASPPA lists the pre-conference session for Sunday, October 18, 2026, from 2:00 to 2:50 p.m. CDT at ASPPA Annual 2026 in San Antonio.

The subject is a natural fit for Griffin. His career has centered on employee benefit plan audits governed by ERISA, including complex plan types, while his responsibilities have also reached into the design of the workflow systems behind the audit process. The result is a perspective that connects technical audit work with the practical question every plan team faces: how do we get the right evidence to the right people at the right time?

Why Patrick Griffin’s background fits the session

Caron Bletzer’s published team profile identifies Griffin as a Massachusetts CPA who joined the firm in 2011 and has concentrated his practice in employee benefit plan audits. It lists a particular focus on large and complex defined contribution plans, Form 11-K filings, multiple employer plans and defined benefit plans.

Those are not interchangeable engagement types. Each adds a different layer to audit planning and coordination:

• Large and complex defined contribution plans can involve substantial participant, payroll, contribution and service-provider data that must be reconciled to the plan’s financial reporting.
• Form 11-K plan audits add an SEC reporting context and PCAOB requirements to the employee benefit plan audit environment.
• Multiple employer plans add participating-employer and service-provider relationships that make clear ownership and consistent documentation especially important.
• Defined benefit plans bring actuarial information, assumptions and specialist coordination into the audit.

ASPPA’s description does not say the session will teach each of those plan types. The breadth is relevant because it shows the setting in which Griffin has developed his approach: engagements where technical requirements, multiple data owners and filing deadlines must work together.

An auditor focused on how the work moves

Griffin’s firm biography also says he is responsible for designing and implementing Caron Bletzer’s audit-workflow processes. That responsibility is particularly relevant to a presentation about preparation, recurring delays and more effective collaboration with auditors. A process can be technically sound and still struggle if requests are unclear, documents arrive without context or responsibility shifts between the sponsor, TPA, recordkeeper, payroll provider and auditor.

His current work adds a product perspective. In a June 2026 LinkedIn announcement, Griffin said he had become chief product officer of Atlura while continuing as a partner at Caron Bletzer, building on six years of work with the platform’s development team. A contemporaneous CPA Practice Advisor report describes Atlura as connecting workflow, scheduling, time and billing, client collaboration and reporting for accounting firms.

That combination of audit practice, process design and accounting technology makes Griffin’s expertise concrete. He works not only with what an audit must conclude, but also with the operating system that moves an engagement from request list to completed reporting.

What the session will cover

According to ASPPA’s published description, Griffin and Windham will focus on practical ways retirement-plan professionals can prepare for an audit and work more effectively with the auditor. The agenda identifies four connected themes:

• preparing records and documentation with auditor expectations in mind;
• recognizing recurring issues that contribute to delays or findings;
• understanding where Form 5500 reporting errors intersect with the audit; and
• improving collaboration so audit-related filings are more accurate and complete.

The published outline places the 50-minute session at the point where plan administration, Form 5500 reporting and the audit of the plan’s financial statements meet. It is the set of handoffs that can either keep an engagement moving or create another round of questions.

Why it matters to plan teams

• For TPAs and administrators, the session offers a view into what auditors need, where Form 5500 preparation can intersect with audit questions and why supporting documentation matters.
• For plan sponsors, it highlights the value of preparing before fieldwork begins rather than trying to reconstruct the year under deadline pressure.
• For auditors and CPA firms, it is an opportunity to make expectations more usable for the professionals assembling the information.
• For advisers and other providers, it clarifies how their records and timely responses can support the sponsor and the broader plan team.

None of those practices guarantees a finding-free audit. They can, however, reduce avoidable back-and-forth and make it easier to distinguish a missing document from a substantive plan issue. The same discipline carries into the Form 5500 process: identify the source, confirm the applicable year and keep the reported fact connected to the evidence behind it.

Credentials and professional background

Griffin received a Master of Science in Accounting from Southern New Hampshire University. His firm biography lists him as a member of the AICPA and the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. His public LinkedIn profile also identifies his Massachusetts CPA credential and Southern New Hampshire University education.

The personal note in the firm’s profile is concise: Griffin is an avid winter skier and enjoys boating in the summer. It is a small detail, but it rounds out a professional biography otherwise defined by specialized audits, process design and accounting technology.

Griffin will co-present with Colleen Windham, Director of Retirement Plan Services at Independent Retirement. ASPPA’s agenda positions their perspectives together—one from the audit practice and one from retirement-plan services.

ASPPA Annual 2026 at a glance

The 2026 ASPPA Annual Conference is scheduled for October 18–21 in San Antonio as a live, in-person event. ASPPA, founded in 1966, serves professionals working across retirement-plan administration, compliance, design, actuarial services, law, recordkeeping and related fields.

Griffin and Windham’s presentation appears in the Sunday pre-conference program. Attendees can review the session description, speaker listing and current conference schedule on the official ASPPA Annual 2026 agenda.

Quick answers

Who is Patrick Griffin?

Patrick J. Griffin is a partner at Caron Bletzer, PLLC and a Massachusetts CPA. He joined the firm in 2011 and has concentrated his practice in employee benefit plan audits governed by ERISA.

What plan-audit experience does Patrick Griffin have?

His firm biography identifies a particular focus on large and complex defined contribution plans, Form 11-K filings, multiple employer plans and defined benefit plans. It also credits him with designing and implementing the firm’s audit-workflow processes.

When is Patrick Griffin speaking at ASPPA Annual 2026?

ASPPA lists the session for Sunday, October 18, 2026, from 2:00 to 2:50 p.m. CDT. It is part of the pre-conference program in San Antonio.

What is Patrick Griffin’s ASPPA session about?

“Plan Auditor Insights: Best Practices for a Smooth and Efficient Audit” covers audit preparation, documentation, common causes of delays or findings, Form 5500 reporting issues and better collaboration with the auditor.

Who is presenting with Patrick Griffin?

Colleen Windham, Director of Retirement Plan Services at Independent Retirement, is listed as the co-presenter.

Where is ASPPA Annual 2026?

The conference is scheduled to take place in San Antonio, Texas, from October 18 through October 21, 2026.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, accounting or audit advice.