• Mergers and Acquisitions/Exit Planning - QuickRead Top Story

    Exit Planning

    October 29, 2025

    Examining Available Sale Options and Steps to Maximize the Financial Outcome (Part I of II) Effective exit planning is essential for business owners to maximize financial outcomes when selling or transferring their business. This two-part comprehensive guide explores the strategic options available, the timing required for preparation, and key value drivers to enhance sale success. Effective exit planning is essential for business owners to maximize financial outcomes when selling or transferring their business. This comprehensive guide explores the strategic options available, the timing required for preparation, and key value drivers to enhance sale success. I have been involved in buying…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Essential Factors in Deciding

    June 25, 2025

    Whether to Establish an ESOP Not all companies are fit for an ESOP. The decision to create an ESOP is a significant one, and it requires careful evaluation beyond enthusiasm or the appeal of tax deferral. Two critical considerations stand out when evaluating whether to move forward: (1) independence of the valuation expert, and (2) whether the company is operationally, financially, and structurally suited for ESOP ownership. The author discusses the consequences of sponsoring an ESOP. For many closely held business owners, the question of succession planning often leads to consideration of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). ESOPs offer…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Understanding the Biden Administration’s NPRM on “Adequate Consideration”

    March 12, 2025

    And the Trump Administration’s Freeze This article is the latest installment of QuickRead articles on ESOP regulations. Specifically, it focuses on the request, and status thereof, for the Department of Labor to clarify “adequate consideration” for the valuation of entities held in ESOPs. This article is the latest installment of QuickRead articles on ESOP regulations.[1] Specifically, it focuses on the request, and status thereof, for the Department of Labor (DOL) to clarify “adequate consideration” for the valuation of entities held in employee stock option plans (ESOP). On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order freezing all former President…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Adequate Consideration Status Update

    January 8, 2025

    Part II For purposes of valuing an ESOP, the question of what is “adequate consideration” has vexed the author and other BV practitioners. In this article, the author shares an update on the DOL’s response to earlier inquiries. Her two previous articles published in QuickRead detailed the earlier efforts to clarify what constituted “adequate consideration” for the valuation of entities held in ESOPs. On October 25, 2024, the OMB received a proposal on the topic from the DOL intended to clarify how shares in ESOPs are valued via adequate consideration. To date, I have written two QuickRead articles (“Adequate Consideration”…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Business Valuations Used in ESOPs

    October 23, 2024

    Federal Rules and Regulations Governing ESOPs Business valuation reports of employer’s securities owned by ESOPs are subject to review by plan fiduciaries, government agencies, and IQPAs auditing the ESOP’s financial statements. Each of these readers have their own responsibilities to the participants and beneficiaries of the plans. This article will examine the federal rules and regulations governing ESOPS, the responsibilities of the report readers, and the use of the report as audit evidence. Introduction Business valuation reports of employer’s securities owned by Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) are subject to review by plan fiduciaries, government agencies, and independent qualified public…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Adequate Consideration Status Update

    August 28, 2024

    Awaiting Proposed ESOP Regulations In April of this year, the author wrote “Adequate Consideration” Defined? for QuickRead. Since then, the author has regularly checked for updates from the Department of Labor (DOL) with respect to the definition of adequate consideration as it pertains to section 408(e) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and employee stock ownership plans. Although there have not been any regulatory updates from the DOL (as it pertains to the definition of adequate consideration), there is some news on the topic to share. In April of this year, I wrote “Adequate Consideration” Defined? for…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    “Adequate Consideration” Defined?

    April 24, 2024

    A Legislative Approach? In April of 2023, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) committed to move forward with a regulation to clearly detail “adequate consideration” in section 408(e) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). For decades the DOL has utilized litigation versus heeding Congress’s edict to enact regulations regarding adequate consideration and it seems as though action is going to finally be taken. This article discusses recent developments suggesting a change in their approach. In April of 2023, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) committed to move forward with a regulation to clearly detail…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Best Practices for Reasonableness of Employee Compensation Analysis

    February 7, 2023

    (Part I of III) This article about excess compensation is comprised of three-parts. Part one summarizes the facts regarding Clary Hood, Inc. v. Commissioner and the U.S. Tax Court’s holding. Part two of this series describes the Tax Court’s analysis and conclusions regarding the reasonableness of compensation issues. Part three describes the Tax Court’s analysis and conclusions regarding Section 6662 penalty issues. Introduction There are many reasons why valuation analysts and other professional advisers are asked to analyze—and opine on—the reasonableness of the amount of compensation paid to the employees of a private company or institution. Assessing the reasonableness of…

  • QuickPress

    High-Flying Army Vet Becomes CFP Board Chairman

    February 28, 2018

    An Army veteran and former air traffic controller who recently was still piloting his own plane to work, Richard Salmen has become the CFP Board’s new chairman.  With his choice, the board has returned a working financial planner to lead the nation’s largest and most powerful planning nonprofit. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: High-Flying Army Vet Becomes CFP Board Chairman.

  • QuickPress

    Fiduciary Rule Final Stand: ‘Please Rethink This’

    September 27, 2017

    The future of the fiduciary rule is up for grabs, again, and clients, advisers, and firms are jumping in to make their voices heard at a crucial moment.  Via a public commentary board, the Department of Labor is hearing feedback on whether it should make changes to the fiduciary rule and delay the regulation’s second stage of implementation.  Scroll through to see some of the most passionate and insightful comments filed thus far. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Fiduciary Rule Final Stand: ‘Please Rethink This’.

  • QuickRead Featured - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Yes, Yet Another Article on the “Settlement” But With a Twist

    October 12, 2016

    Analysis of Unaudited Financial Statements—Who and How? There has been much discussion within the ESOP community about the “settlement” and its reverberations. As readers are likely aware, the settlement in question refers to the 2014 settlement agreement between GreatBanc Trust Company and the United States Department of Labor (DOL). The terms of the settlement include, among other things, an agreement concerning fiduciary engagements and process requirements for employer stock transactions. The settlement provides pause for thought for all trustees and their advisors, as the agreement can be viewed as a “playbook” that, if followed, could serve as evidence that the…