What ROBS Providers Publicly Promise for Audit Support

A provider promise can be valuable, but it is not a risk transfer. Sponsor duties do not transfer. IRS materials identify ROBS examination concerns such as Form 5500, Form 1120, valuation, discrimination, employee access and operational issues, while DOL guidance keeps fiduciary selection and monitoring duties with the plan sponsor.^{[1][2][4][5][6][8]} No public provider statement reviewed here shows that a provider prevents an audit, guarantees an agency outcome, pays unscoped taxes or penalties, or cures owner error.

The practical comparison is simple: ask which agency is covered, what work the provider performs, who pays professionals, which years and errors are excluded, and whether the promise survives cancellation, sale or shutdown. The calculation behind this page still uses the same 22-point public-scope model across all 14 providers, but the score is only a prompt for contract questions, not a recommendation by itself.

Broad phrases such as Audit Shield, audit guarantee, audit protection, compliance support, attorney access or ongoing administration should not be stretched beyond the words the provider publishes. A phrase that names IRS help does not automatically include DOL help, response drafting, power of attorney, outside counsel fees, valuation-dispute support, EPCRS/VCP work, DFVCP filings, tax or penalty coverage, covered years, owner-error exclusions or cancellation survival.^{[3][7][9][10][11][13][17]}

The public-scope score gives full credit when a provider states a task directly, half credit when the provider says it coordinates the task, and no credit when the term is optional, unavailable, excluded or not stated. Generic administration and guarantee language receives credit only for the exact task named by the provider passage. Affiliate relationships, brand familiarity and lead value do not affect the calculation.

The cards below keep all 14 providers in the reviewed directory universe. Each card shows the cited public source, the exact tasks publicly supported when any were found, and the questions still unresolved. On small screens, these cards are the primary comparison so readers do not have to scroll a wide table sideways.

Use these scenarios to translate provider marketing language into operational questions. Each situation may require different records, professionals, signatures and correction paths.

Before treating a protection label as useful, ask the provider to answer these points in the agreement or a written service scope.

• Agency covered: IRS, DOL or both
• Audit notice intake deadline
• Records the provider gathers
• Responses the provider prepares
• Who signs and who can speak
• Representative/POA status
• Attorney or outside counsel fees
• Valuation challenge and appraisal rebuttal
• EPCRS, VCP and DFVCP work
• Covered plan years
• Owner-error, fraud and missing-record exclusions
• Tax, penalty and correction-cost treatment
• Cancellation, sale, exit and survival terms
• Refund and fee limit

IRS ROBS materials explain exam concerns; DOL fiduciary guidance requires prudent service-provider selection and monitoring. The official sources support why questions matter, not which provider fits a specific founder. EPCRS/VCP and DFVCP are correction paths; ordinary audit assistance is not automatically correction work.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Use these adjacent guides when the audit-support question turns into administration, valuation, filing, provider selection or plan-correction diligence.

These answers summarize the comparison without turning provider language into guarantees.

Sources were checked July 30, 2026. Provider-controlled pages are used only for provider promises. Official IRS and DOL pages are used for audit, correction, filing, valuation and fiduciary boundaries. Compensation, affiliate status, brand familiarity, and lead value contribute exactly zero. Update triggers include provider contract changes, new public audit language, provider review changes, IRS ROBS updates, EPCRS revisions, DOL DFVCP/Form 5500 changes, valuation guidance changes and correction-program changes.

1. 1. IRS ROBS compliance project

   IRS page last reviewed or updated November 16, 2025. Establishes IRS examination concerns including Form 5500, Form 1120, valuation, discrimination, employee-access, promoter-fee and operational issues; it does not prove provider audit support.

2. 2. IRS ROBS examination guidelines

   IRS memorandum dated October 1, 2008. Establishes examination steps and issue areas for ROBS arrangements; it does not transfer sponsor duties to a provider.

3. 3. IRS EPCRS overview

   IRS correction-program overview. Establishes that correction/VCP/EPCRS work is distinct from an audit-response promise.

4. 4. DOL fiduciary responsibilities

   DOL fiduciary guidance requires prudent selection and monitoring of service providers; hiring help does not transfer fiduciary responsibility.

5. 5. DOL working with service providers

   DOL service-provider guidance states that selecting a provider is a fiduciary act; sponsors should define needed services, compare services/experience/costs, understand contracts, obtain update commitments, document the process, and monitor performance and actual fees.

6. 6. DOL Form 5500 reporting

   DOL reporting guidance establishes filing boundaries and late-filing context; DFVCP/correction help must be expressly scoped.

7. 7. DOL DFVCP

   DOL Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program guidance establishes that late Form 5500 correction is separate from general audit assistance.

8. 8. DOL employer-stock adequate consideration

   DOL adequate-consideration fact sheet dated January 16, 2025 supports employer-stock valuation context: adequate consideration for assets without a generally recognized market means fair market value determined in good faith by the trustee or named fiduciary; provider valuation-dispute help must be proven separately.

9. 9. Guidant pricing and ROBS

   Provider-controlled sources checked July 21/24, 2026: exact audit passage: Lifetime Audit Protection: covers qualified attorney defense fees if the IRS ever audits your plan. DOL assistance, document gathering, response preparation, named representative/POA, valuation disputes, corrections/VCP/EPCRS/DFVCP, covered years, owner-error exclusions, tax/penalty/correction-cost coverage and cancellation survival were not verified.

10. 10. Benetrends ROBS and franchise funding

    Provider-controlled source checked July 25, 2026: exact audit passage: Audit Shield protection and a track record of zero plan disqualifications. Because Audit Shield does not name IRS, DOL, document gathering, response preparation, representative/POA, outside counsel/legal fees, valuation disputes, correction programs, covered years, owner-error exclusions, tax/penalty/correction-cost coverage or cancellation survival, no granular dimension was verified.

11. 11. FranFund pricing

    Provider-controlled source checked July 25, 2026: exact audit passage: IRS and DOL audit assistance when necessary. Preparation of required plan amendments and restatements is routine administration/restatement wording, not verified VCP/EPCRS/DFVCP correction-program representation. Document gathering, response preparation, named representative/POA, outside counsel/legal fees, valuation-dispute advocacy, covered years, owner-error exclusions, tax/penalty/correction-cost coverage and cancellation survival were not verified.

12. 12. Pango ROBS and FAQ

    Provider-controlled source checked July 24, 2026: setup, registered agent, Certified business valuation for new businesses, and online account management. Audit assistance, IRS/DOL inquiry support, corrections and coverage/exclusion terms not verified.

13. 13. My Solo 401k Financial pricing

    Provider-controlled source checked July 24, 2026: Audit Guarantee, Mandatory Amendments including the year 2020 IRS Required Plan Update, Form 5500 preparation and Annual Routine Corporation Valuation for Form 5500 Preparation. Because Audit Guarantee does not name IRS/DOL tasks and mandatory amendments are routine administration rather than verified VCP/EPCRS/DFVCP correction-program work, all granular audit/correction dimensions remain unverified.

14. 14. IRA Financial ROBS

    Provider-controlled source checked July 24, 2026: setup, displayed first-year promotion, ongoing-maintenance wording and IRS audit-protection wording. Exact IRS/DOL assistance tasks, document gathering, response preparation, representative/POA, outside counsel/legal fees, valuation disputes, corrections, covered years, owner-error exclusions, tax/penalty/correction-cost coverage and cancellation survival were not verified.

15. 15. Tenet ROBS funding

    Provider-controlled source checked July 26, 2026: plan design, installation, administration, assigned administrator, Form 5500 help, employee eligibility and contributions tracking, start/buy use case and sale/dissolution administrator help. Audit assistance, corrections and coverage/exclusion terms not verified.

16. 16. Business Funding Trust ROBS and fees

    Provider-controlled source checked July 24, 2026: no-cost administration kit and optional professional help wording. Audit assistance, corrections and coverage/exclusion terms not verified.

17. 17. Accelefund pricing

    Provider-controlled source checked July 25, 2026: exact audit passage: IRS and DOL audit assistance when necessary. Preparation of required plan amendments and restatements is routine administration/restatement wording, not verified VCP/EPCRS/DFVCP correction-program representation. Document gathering, response preparation, representative/POA, outside counsel/legal fees, valuation disputes, covered years, owner-error exclusions, tax/penalty/correction-cost coverage and cancellation survival were not verified.

18. 18. ROBSPRO fees

    Provider-controlled source checked July 24, 2026: attorney-led turnkey setup, monthly administration and first-year Form 5500 help. Audit assistance, corrections and coverage/exclusion terms not verified.

19. 19. Aprio ROBS services

    Provider-controlled source checked July 24, 2026: C corporation, plan, rollover, annual administration, tax, business valuation, compensation, M&A and exit advisory scope. Audit assistance, corrections and coverage/exclusion terms require written quote scope and are not verified.

20. 20. Directed Equity directINVEST

    Provider-controlled source checked July 24, 2026: four-step directINVEST process, attorneys, CPAs and financing experts, franchise/acquisition use cases. Audit assistance, corrections and coverage/exclusion terms not verified.

21. 21. Nexus 401(k) pricing

    Provider-controlled source checked July 24, 2026: C corporation, plan/trust, rollover, stock issuance, Ongoing plan administration, including Form 5500 filing and required testing, bond, cap table and valuation recordkeeping. Audit assistance, corrections and coverage/exclusion terms not verified.

22. 22. ROBsAdvisor directory record: unavailable public record

    Directory record checked July 24, 2026 and reopened July 30, 2026: public website at robsadvisor.com timed out/unavailable, so this record is intentionally unavailable rather than a normal outbound source link; audit-support services, price and support claims remain unverified.