Upcoming Webinar

VPS Straight Talk Series



Tuesday, December 3rd, 1:00 – 3:00 pm EST

ESOPs – What They Are, How They Work, and Why You Should Care

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Speaker:

Greg Weiss, MBA, CPA/CFF, CVA 

Webinar Description:

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) present a tremendous opportunity for CPA firms. Whether it is consulting, valuation, audit, or tax work, CPA firms will benefit from developing a knowledge-based ESOP practice. Attendees will gain an understanding of ESOPs and how services they already provide can be tailored to grow this niche.

Learning Objectives:

After completing the session, attendees will be able to:

  • Identify the different stages of an ESOP’s lifecycle.
  • Determine what services ESOPs need at each lifecycle stage.
  • Apply professional expertise to help ESOPs succeed.

Webinar Outline:

  • History of employee ownership in the U.S.
  • Brief History of ESOP provisions of ERISA
  • What ESOPs are
    • Defined contribution plan
    • Succession planning
    • Acquisition tool
  • Common myths
  • Establishing an ESOP
    • How it was done in the past
      • The great recession
      • DOL/Trustee Process Agreements
    • How it is done now
      • Buy-side roles
      • Sell-side roles
      • Formal DOL regulation on adequate consideration?
    • Mechanics of an ESOP transaction
  • Operating an ESOP
    • Annual requirements
      • Annual valuation
      • Valuation nuances specific to ESOPs
      • Maintaining participant accounts
      • Annual audit
    • Repurchase obligation studies
    • Rebalancing
    • DOL and other litigation
  • Benefits to
    • The selling owners
    • To the employees
    • To the company
    • To the economy
    • To practitioners
  • ESOP company statistics
  • Resources
    • Organizations
    • Publications

Handouts:

  • VPS webinar PowerPoint slides
  • Following the webinar, attendees will have access to a video recording of the program

About the Presenter:

Greg Weiss, MBA, CPA/CFF, CVA

Partner at Harper Hofer & Associates, LLC, in Denver, Colorado where he leads the firm’s commercial litigation and ESOP services practices. Greg is a Certified Public Accountant (Colorado) Certified in Financial Forensics and a Certified Valuation Analyst. He has been a CPA for more than 20 years and has focused on business valuation and litigation support assignments for the past 15 years. Greg has testified in federal and state courts throughout the United States, as well as arbitrations and administrative hearings.

Greg is a founding board member of the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center (RMEOC) and has presented at conferences and events sponsored by the AICPA, NACVA, the National Association for Employee Ownership, National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Colorado BAR Association, the Front Range Business Valuation Group, the RMEOC, and several law firms


Jim Hitchner’s Valuation Products and Services (VPS) provides tools to assist practitioners in business valuation, litigation services, and forensics and fraud.

Valuation Products and Service, LLC is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Web site: www.nasba.org.

The VPS StraightTalk webinar series brings you outstanding continuing professional education on business valuation and litigation topics. Unless otherwise noted, all webinars are targeted at an intermediate program level, qualify for two hours of CPE credit, and begin at 1:00 p.m. ET. With our simple flat pricing plan, your entire office (up to 20 people) can join us for this 100-minute presentation, earn two hours of CPE credit, and receive an archive recording for $239. Contact jkern@valuationproducts.com if your firm will have more than 20 attendees. More information on the VPS StraightTalk webinar series can be found here.