Employee Ownership Blog

Matthew Licina

When Steward Ownership and Employee Ownership Meet: A Dialogue Between Two Traditions

As employee ownership trusts (EOTs) have grown in popularity in the US and abroad, the intersection and overlap between EOTs and steward ownership have become increasingly important. The post below presents a conversation between two EU-based figures, NCEO Fellow Graeme Nuttall and Maike Kauffmann of the Purpose Foundation, about the overlapping but distinct employee ownership and steward ownership models, and how it’s important to be clear when describing these separate but related initiatives.

Right-pointing arrow Continue Reading

Maria Lianos

Why Your December 31, 2025, ESOP Valuation May Surprise You, and What to Do About It

In a recent NCEO webinar titled What's Driving Your ESOP Valuation?, Andy Manchir and Dan Roach of KSM walked through the forces shaping year-end 2025 ESOP valuations and what ESOP companies can do to better understand and anticipate their results. This blog post provides an overview of the presentation.

Right-pointing arrow Continue Reading

Corey Rosen

New NCEO Paper Looks at How ESOP Companies Share Profits with Employees

Employees in companies with ESOPs share the rewards of work through ownership, but most ESOP companies also share some of their annual profits with employees. My new paper "How ESOP Companies Share Profits with Employees," found in the Culture and Communications section of our Document Library (NCEO member login required), explores the many approaches ESOP companies use to do this.

Right-pointing arrow Continue Reading

Corey Rosen

Bipartisan Policy Council Report Urges More Support for Employee Ownership

In the new report A Nation at Risk to A Nation at Work: The Case for a National Talent Strategy, the Bipartisan Policy Council urges Congress and the administration to improve incentives for employee ownership. Founded in 2007, the council holds meetings and issues reports on a wide variety of topics. Its current co-chairs are former Massachusetts Democratic governor Deval Patrick and former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam. The Council includes a variety of prominent former political leaders as well as thought leaders. 

Right-pointing arrow Continue Reading

Maria Lianos

The ESOP CEO Transition: A Framework for Getting It Right

A change in CEO is one of the most crucial events in the life of any company. In an ESOP company, where leadership is so deeply tied to culture, relationships, and the long-term health of the plan, getting that transition right is a fiduciary responsibility. In a recent NCEO webinar, NCEO board member Mike Frommelt of Strategic Talent Partners discussed how to prepare for leadership succession with a roadmap for CEO transition. 

Right-pointing arrow Continue Reading

Corey Rosen

FASB Advisors Question ESOP Repurchase Reporting Rules

A February 17, 2026, memo to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) from the Private Company Council (PCC), the primary advisory body to the FASB on private companies, raises the issue of whether the FASB should reconsider its current rules for accounting for ESOP repurchase obligations in private companies. Drawing on NCEO research, the memo says that private company ESOPs have grown significantly since the FASB last looked at this issue in 1993. At that time, FASB decided not to require private ESOP companies to record the repurchase obligation on their balance sheet but did require that companies provide a description of the obligation, the fair value of the shares allocated as of the balance sheet date, and the number of allocated and unallocated shares. It also concluded that redemptions of ESOP shares from participants are purchases of treasury stock, even if there is a put option, and thus are not obligations requiring recognition. The guidance can be found in FASB Accounting Standards Codification Subtopic 718-40, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, which originated in Statement of Position (SOP) 93-6, Employers’ Accounting for Employee Stock Ownership Plans. 

Right-pointing arrow Continue Reading

Corey Rosen

New DOL Report on Its Employee Ownership Initiative

The Worker Ownership, Readiness, and Knowledge Act (the WORK Act), part of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, directed the Department of Labor (DOL) to establish an Employee Ownership Initiative to promote employee ownership and employee participation. It also authorized funding through the office for state employee ownership outreach and education programs starting in FY 2025. Congress did not appropriate funds for this program, but the most recent DOL appropriation bill contains a “joint explanatory statement” from the appropriation committees directing that $2 million be allocated in the coming year.

Right-pointing arrow Continue Reading

Ramona Rodriguez-Brooks

Think Like an Owner: Building the Culture That Makes Employee Ownership Work

Employee ownership creates meaningful potential, but that potential is only realized when the organizational culture actively supports it. ESOP ownership combined with a strong ownership culture is what drives higher performance; the structure alone is not sufficient. That is the foundational premise of a recent NCEO webinar led by Matt Hancock, Principal Consultant at Praxis Consulting Group, who offered a practical framework for building a workplace where every employee can think, feel, and act like an owner.

Right-pointing arrow Continue Reading