ESOP Pathway
For private companies with ESOPs filed with the Department of Labor — defensible common-share value estimates for current and former employees, supported by a methodology of quarterly reviews of company performance and industry dynamics.
Workers' retirement security, and often their livelihood, depend on the fiduciaries getting the price right. For that reason, ERISA prohibits plan fiduciaries from causing ESOPs to pay more than fair market value for employer stock. When done right, these employer-stock transactions both give workers an ownership interest in the company and are a source of valuable retirement benefits.
Built for ESOP fair value support.
- Support trustees and their designated valuation advisors in year-end share appraisals (ERISA and IRC compliance).
- Streamline data gathering and manage key compliance needs for audit and Form 5500 reporting.
- Capture, comment, organize, and store qualitative audit evidence to support Level 3 valuation assumptions.
- Track KPIs from quarter to quarter and their impact on projections.
“The valuation should consider all the relevant facts and circumstances to assess what the price of the equity security would be in the principal marketat the measurement date.”
Nick Says supports the annual appraisal cycle end to end — ERISA and IRC compliance documentation, Form 5500 preparation, and quarter-over-quarter evidence the trustee and the auditor both need to see.
A year-round record for the year-end appraisal.
Support trustees and their designated valuation advisors through the annual appraisal cycle — ERISA and IRC compliance documentation, organized for the reviewer.
Streamline data gathering for the plan audit and manage the key compliance needs for Form 5500 reporting — reducing year-end scrambles.
Track KPIs from quarter to quarter and their impact on projections — the contemporaneous evidence that supports the appraiser's assumptions at year-end.
Capture, comment, organize, and store qualitative audit evidence to support Level 3 valuation assumptions — ready for the auditor and the DOL.
Calibration is used with various valuation techniques. To estimate fair value on subsequent measurement dates following initial investment or funding round, the calibrated inputs are carried forward and adjusted to reflect current comparable data and any changes in the company itself.
Start ESOP Compliance
Bring structure, continuity, and a methodology record to your quarterly fair value practice.