employer as defined in section 408(p)(2)(C)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, applied— (I) by substituting 500 for 100 in subclause (I) thereof, (II) by substituting 5 for 2 each place it appears in subclause (II) thereof, and (III) without regard to the last sentence of subclause (II) thereof. . (2) Simplified reporting for small multiple employer plans Section 104(a) of such Act ( 29 U.S.C. 1024(a) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (7) (A) In the case of any eligible small multiple employer plan, the Secretary may by regulation waive the requirement under section 103(a)(3) to engage an independent qualified public accountant in cases where the Secretary determines it appropriate. (B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term eligible small multiple employer plan means, with respect to any plan year— (i) a qualified multiple employer plan, as defined in section 3(2)(C)(ii), or (ii) any other plan described in section 413(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that satisfies the requirements of clause (v) of section 3(2)(C). . (b) Conforming amendment Section 3(2)(A) of such Act ( 29 U.S.C. 1002(2)(A) ) is amended by striking Except as provided in subparagraph (B) and inserting Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C) . (c) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to years beginning after December 31, 2017. 18. Clarification of treatment of individual retirement plans with payroll deduction (a) In general Section 3(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1002(2) ), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (E) Neither an individual retirement plan (as defined in section 7701(a)(37) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) nor an automatic deferral IRA arrangement (as described in section 408B of such Code) maintained in connection with any such individual retirement plan shall be considered a single employee pension benefit plan merely because an employer establishes a payroll deduction