Having attended the Great Lakes Regional ESOP Conference in October, I arrived back to work the following Monday a bit smarter. It was either because most of the break-out sessions had the word ‘fiduciary’ in the program title or because I discovered that putting your raffle ticket in the bucket that has the least amount of tickets could make you a winner!
Fiduciary responsibility, plan design, corporate governance, committee roles, accounting and tax issues, ownership behavior, litigation and DOL audits – ugh – what does this all have to do with administering a retirement plan? It can be so overwhelming.
Fortunately, the presenters at this conference have an incredible way of delivering their knowledge. So even if you felt like a small meerkat listening from the back of the jungle, the extensive expertise and uniqueness of all of the speakers, takeaway materials and new connections, combined with the great company of employee-owners, confirms your belief in employee ownership and leaves you feeling like you can conquer any task; even tackling that “fiduciary elephant” in the room.
For more information on fiduciary responsibility in an ESOP visit: www.esopassociation.org or www.nceo.org
