Use First Audit Radar free for three months - six with your feedback
We have 20 Founding Firm places in total, at most 2 per state or region, for audit firms that use First Audit Radar in their daily work before we open it widely. You get the full service for one state or region; we get honest written feedback. No calls, no meetings, no sales pitch.

What we ask in return - in writing only
- From week 3: a short written feedback in your subscriber area. A small box asks "How is it going?" - a star rating and, if you like, one sentence in your own words. As soon as you send it, your free access is extended from three to six months - whether or not you allow a quote.
- If you are happy: one sentence we may quote on our website - with your name and firm, or anonymously (for example "Partner, CPA firm, Texas"). Only if you tick that box yourself. Quotes from Founding Firms always appear with the note "Founding Firm – received free access in exchange for feedback".
- No conversations needed. No interviews, no calls, no case study.
What the list is: plans that filed Form 5500-SF and crossed 120 participants with account balances are likely heading for their first audit. Historical back-test: 81% of flagged plans filed an audited return the following year - likely, not certain.
Apply
Firms we already know from public Form 5500 filings get their access link by e-mail right away. Other applications we check by hand and answer within one business day; an application holds a place for 14 days while we review it. Business e-mail addresses of audit firms only.
Your access link arrives by e-mail - right away for firms we know, otherwise within one business day. Nothing to install, no payment details.
Questions before you apply
Is contacting these sponsors consistent with the AICPA Code?
The Code permits advertising and solicitation that is not false, misleading or deceptive (ET 1.600.001). The list is company-level public data; how and whom you contact remains your decision and responsibility.
What exactly is on the list?
Company-level data from public DOL Form 5500 filings: plan sponsor, EIN, plan number, business address, company phone, industry, participant trend, assets, deadlines and the typical audit fee range. No personal data.
Who runs First Audit Radar?
Christoph (Chris) Ploner, a one-person data service near Vienna, Austria, independent of the Department of Labor, the AICPA and any audit firm. About · Method · Track record
Pilot terms
- Free. The pilot costs nothing. We do not ask for payment details.
- Scope. One state or regional package, for one office, with up to 10 team members of that office.
- Three months, six with feedback, then it ends by itself. Access ends automatically three months after the start. If you send the written feedback in the subscriber area before then (a star rating and your choice whether we may quote you are enough), access is extended once to six months after the start; we confirm the new end date by e-mail. It is not a subscription and nothing renews; there is nothing to cancel. We e-mail you 30 and 7 days before the end that applies. Afterwards your account continues as a free basic plan: the five highest-priority plans in your state or region each month, without company contact details (phone, address, links, service providers), team access, templates, exports or downloads; your own work list and notes stay available. You can end it at any time.
- Founding price. If you subscribe within 30 days after the pilot ends, or later while the general founding-price offer is still open (until March 31, 2027), you pay the founding price of $390 per year for the same package, guaranteed for as long as the subscription continues without interruption. Plus applicable taxes, if any, charged by our payment provider. After that the regular price applies ($490 per year for a state or region). Your reminders state the exact date.
- Feedback. We ask for one short written feedback in the subscriber area; the box appears after three weeks. It is a request, not a condition - without it the pilot simply ends after three months. There are no calls or meetings. Permission to quote is never required for the extension.
- Quotes only with permission. We publish a quote only if you choose that option yourself, only in your own words (we may shorten, marked with "…", never reword), named or anonymous as you choose. You can withdraw the permission at any time by e-mail; we then remove the quote from our website without delay.
- Selection. We choose pilot firms: applications from the business e-mail of an audit firm we can identify in public Form 5500 filings are accepted automatically while a place is open, others are reviewed by hand; there is no right to a place. Either side may end the pilot early by e-mail.
- Everything else follows our terms of service (section 5c) and privacy notice. Your work data stays while you use the free basic plan and is deleted 30 days after it ends.