Blue Ridge ESOP Associates Industry News

 

Find the information, ideas, and advice you need to make better ESOP decisions at The Fall ESOP Forum in Tampa, FL, this October 3-4, 2017. Both experienced attendees and newcomers will leave the Fall ESOP Forum better informed and better prepared to evaluate and implement the next steps for their companies. 

Blue Ridge ESOP Associates is proud to be sponsoring this conference with Renee Stadtmueller presenting in the following session.

“ESOP Distribution and Diversification Practices”

Distribution rules have more flexibility than many people think, and finding the right approach can help you make your plan more sustainable

Tuesday, October 3 - 9:30-10:15 a.m.

Renee Stadtmueller, CPA, QPA

Renee is a Director at Blue Ridge ESOP Associates. She has more than 19 years of experience providing administration and consulting advice to ESOP clients. She is a CPA and holds the QPA designation from ASPPA. She works closely with plan sponsors, accountants, advisors and legal counsel to provide guidance on plan design, compliance and operation. She is a member of the NCEO, The ESOP Association, and ASPPA. She has served as a chairperson for ASPPA's Education and Examination ESOP Certificate Subcommittee and as the vice president of programming for the Wisconsin Chapter of The ESOP Association. Renee received her bachelor of business administration in accounting and finance from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

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Should Twitter be bought out by its employees and customers? Joseph Blasi and Doug Kruse show why employee ownership could be a smart move for this tech company in this article.

Tom Roback's interview about ESOPs. Listen here.

Is New York City going to lead a trend in supporting ESOPs to help companies thrive after the owner retires? As more and more small business owners retire, their employees are left without a job. Take time to read this article written by Oscar Perry Abello which explores the vision of helping owners facing retirement transition their businesses to employee ownership.

For many companies, it’s time once again for the annual distribution of ESOP participant statements. Are you ready to make the most of the opportunity? Unfortunately, many firms miss this great chance to build ESOP knowledge and engage employees as owners.

If you want to enhance your ESOP’s power as a recruitment, retention and employee engagement tool, the statement is a great place to start.  After all, your firm is investing significant amounts of money to provide employees with a retirement benefit. If you’re not informing them about how your ESOP benefits them, you’re missing a great opportunity.

Here are three practical ideas to make more of your annual statements:

Congratulations to Thomson-Shore and Wiley Wilson for their awards at this year's Annual Awards for Communication in Excellence hosted by The ESOP Association.

The ESOP Association's 40th Annual Conference is being held May 10-12. Several of our staff will be attending the AACE awards dinner on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, May 11 at 10 am, Dolores Lawrence will co-present Administration Cycle - Part I - How Balances Accumulate.  The session covers  ESOP eligibility and allocations to participant accounts as well as an overview of ESOP compliance testing.

Members of the Blue Ridge ESOP Associates team will be attending on Friday, April 28, the 31st Annual Ohio Employee Ownership Conference.

Tom Roback will be co-presenting at the Exit Planning Institute's monthly meeting in Tyson's Corner on April 19. This meeting will review the different options available in transitioning the ownership of a company. For more information and to register for this meeting click here.

Blue Ridge ESOP Associates is pleased to announce the addition of Renee M. Stadtmueller to our team as a Director of Plan Administration. Renee is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) as well as a Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA). She has over 18 years of experience in the retirement industry and brings to Blue Ridge ESOP Associates a robust background in providing technical, administration and consulting advice to ESOP clients. Her office will be located in Menasha, Wisconsin.