Effective July 1, 2024, ESOP Economics is now part of the Principal Financial Group®. For more details, visit www.principal.com/ESOP
Repurchase Obligation Studies
A FuturePlan by Ascensus repurchase obligation study is more than just numbers on a page. We provide the crucial information you need to make educated decisions for the future. Using our Telescope software, we prepare robust forecasts of future repurchase obligations (“Repurchase Obligation Studies”).
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Our focus is on the development of accurate, reasonable assumptions and interpretation of results. This requires extensive ESOP knowledge and a thorough understanding of your company’s issues and challenges.
You can rely on us to:
• Understand your planning issues and concerns
• Collaborate with you to develop appropriate assumptions
• Identify and analyze strategies for managing benefit levels and funding the repurchase obligations
• Help your management team and Board of Directors understand your company's repurchase obligation issues and alternatives
• Present the results in an understandable, comprehensive report that provides the information you need to plan for repurchase obligations
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If you are new to repurchase obligation planning, we recommend that we work closely with you on your first Repurchase Obligation Study rather than undertaking it on your own. Then, you can update the forecast on your own by subscribing to our Telescope software with your Study already loaded or look to us for future updates.
“After working with ESOP Economics through several scenarios with varying assumptions, we completed our Repurchase Obligation Study with a much better understanding of the potential impact to cash flow, so we can better plan for the future. The ESOP Economics team was thorough, knowledgeable, patient and always willing to answer questions and share insight that would help us reach our intended outcome. I would highly recommend ESOP Economics not only for a Study, but also the (optional) Telescope software subscription that allows us as a company to modify any of the numerous assumptions used in the initial Study.”
-Gary Chisling, Team Horner
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Sustainability Analysis & Financial Modeling
A Sustainability Analysis is intended to answer the question:
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“Will we have enough cash to meet our repurchase obligations as well as the other needs of the business?”
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A Sustainability Analysis builds on a Repurchase Obligation Study by integrating the repurchase obligation forecast into a dynamic three-statement financial model (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow). This allows you to see your repurchase obligations in the context of your projected income and cash flow so that you can determine how much cash will be available. This analysis can also help you understand alternative strategies for managing and funding the ESOP, by capturing their effect on income, cash flow, and share value.
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Our clients find Sustainability Analyses to be an essential tool for planning for the future, providing them with an understanding of how their repurchase obligations will fit into their overall financial picture.
"ESOP Economics has an experienced staff of professionals who are able to guide your company through the maze of variables that affect repurchase liability, many of which are unique to each ESOP.
- Fred O Dwyer, NCM Associates, Inc.
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ESOP Strategy Analysis
Every ESOP company faces decisions about how to manage its ESOP to achieve objectives such as optimizing benefit levels, avoiding “have and have-not’ issues, and managing cash flow.
Aspects of this include:
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Distribution policy – how quickly will you pay out terminated participants?
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Repurchase method – is it better to redeem shares or to recirculate them within the ESOP?
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Segregating terminated participant balances – understanding the additional cost versus the benefits
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Refinancing existing loans or releveraging
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Funding alternatives – should funds be accumulated in advance, and if so, should they be held in the company or in the ESOP?
These issues can be examined as a natural extension of an ESOP Repurchase Obligation Study or Sustainability Analysis, or they can be explored in a separate project. Having worked with hundreds of ESOPs, we have a deep understanding of the available tools and techniques and a unique ability to quantify the implications of different strategies. The result is an objective analysis to help you make educated decisions.