Deals & People March 3, 2011

Great-West Hires Regional Sales Director

Scott T. Waite is the new regional sales director for the metro-Detroit and western Michigan market for Great-West Retirement Services.
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Waite is responsible for developing 401(k) plan business through brokers, financial advisers, consultants, wire houses, and third-party administrators. He reports to Scott Barnett, regional vice president.

Prior to joining Great-West Retirement Services, Waite was with John Hancock Retirement Services for 14 years, where he served a similar market. Before John Hancock, he worked as an assistant vice president at First National Bank, responsible for developing leads, training financial consultants, and maintaining sales efforts for retirement and insurance customers.

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Waite has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Towson State University.

Products March 3, 2011

Principal Gets Auditor Opinion for ESOP Services

The Principal Financial Group obtained an independent audit addressing its procedures for public and private employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) clients.
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The Principal requested the audit according to the Statement of Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70). The Principal says it has the SAS 70 audits for all four core retirement plan types: defined contribution, defined benefit, nonqualified, and both public and private ESOP plans.

The SAS 70 audit report gives ESOP auditors easy access to information they need about the processes The Principal has in place. In turn, this helps ESOP sponsors ensure the efficiency of their plan operations, the company said.

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“By streamlining the audit process, the SAS 70 audit can reduce ESOP sponsors’ costs and gives an added layer of assurance and accuracy,” says Jacque Mohs, vice president of retirement and investor services. “The SAS 70 audit can also help reduce the number of questions ESOP sponsors receive from their auditor.”

In addition to streamlining the audit process, the SAS 70 audit can also help ESOP sponsors comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, The Principal said. These regulations require ESOP sponsors to determine if processes for generating financial statements can consistently produce accurate information.

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