Who runs First Audit Radar
A one-person data service based near Vienna, Austria, built on public U.S. Department of Labor filings. I build the list; you do the audit.
Built by one person, from public filings
I'm Christoph Ploner - Chris to most people. I build data services from public government records. First Audit Radar started with a simple observation: most plans that will need their first audit next year can already be spotted in the Department of Labor's Form 5500 data – but finding those plans means matching several large files, every month.
So that work is automated. Each month the new filings are loaded, the 80-120 participant rule is applied, the forecast is checked against last year's plans (81% of them filed an audited return the next year) and the result is published by state. Every number on this site comes from that pipeline, with its source and date.
What you can rely on: no invented figures, company-level data only, a 30-day refund if the list is not useful to your firm.
First Audit Radar is independent. It is not affiliated with the Department of Labor, the AICPA or any audit firm, and it does not sell plan data to plan sponsors or recordkeepers.
Why a U.S. data service run from Austria?
Does it matter where the list is built?
The source is public U.S. government data: the Form 5500 datasets the Department of Labor publishes online through EFAST2. Anyone can download them; the work is matching several large files every month and applying the participant rules. That work does not depend on where it is done.
How do payment and invoices work?
Prices are in U.S. dollars. When online checkout opens, Paddle acts as merchant of record: it takes the payment and issues the invoice, including any sales tax. Until then you can reserve the founding price and nothing is charged.
What if the list is not useful to my firm?
Every subscription has a 30-day money-back guarantee: use our contact form and the full amount is refunded. Founding Firms pay nothing at all.
How do I reach you?
In writing, through our contact form. Austria is six to nine hours ahead of U.S. time zones. There are no sales calls.
See the plans in your state today.
Five real plans with sponsor names, the state count and the auditor market. Free, no sign-up, one click.