Employee Ownership for Worker Cooperative CPAs & Tax Advisors

FACULTY: Bill Scott, Rebecca Thoune

$59

2.5 hours CPE

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Flexible schedule

Any time, self-paced

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For CPAs and tax advisors, employee ownership presents both opportunity and complexity. Worker cooperatives, in particular, require a clear understanding of financial structure, valuation, tax treatment, and compliance to ensure a successful transition. Advisors who can navigate these considerations play a critical role in helping business owners achieve succession goals while supporting long-term financial sustainability and employee engagement.

This Certified Employee Ownership Advisor elective course equips CPAs and tax advisors to confidently advise on worker cooperative transitions. You’ll gain practical insight into valuation, financing, and tax considerations, explore governance and compliance requirements, and learn how to support businesses through implementation in ways that align with owner goals and regulatory realities.

Learning objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Understand what a worker cooperative is and its financial implications
Learn the key steps in an employee ownership transition to a worker cooperative, including valuation, financing, and tax considerations
Explore best practices for managing governance, compliance, and employee engagement in a worker cooperative
Identify resources and professional networks to support worker cooperative employee ownership transitions

Faculty

Our faculty aren’t just educators—they’re leaders in the field, bringing decades of hands-on experience to help advisors translate knowledge into impact.

Bill Scott

Principal, CliftonLarsonAllen

Bill is a Principal in the Agriculture, Food and Beverage industry group at CliftonLarsonAllen, specializing in tax planning and compliance. With over 13 years of experience at CLA, he serves as the Western Ohio office AFB industry group leader. Industry practice areas include cooperatives, producers, and manufacturing and distribution. Bill is a leader on CLA’s national cooperative tax team and leads monthly team calls to discuss cooperative related tax topics. Bill is a frequent speaker on tax reform and other tax related topics, including industry-specific conference breakout sessions and seminars.

Rebecca Thoune

Signing Director, CliftonLarsonAllen

Rebecca is a seasoned tax professional with over two decades of experience in public accounting, specializing in cooperatives and agribusiness. In her current role as Signing Director at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) in Milwaukee (Wauwatosa), she leads tax planning and compliance efforts for cooperative entities—particularly in grain, dairy, nut, and fruit sectors.

Continuing education

Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive 2.5 hours CPE.

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Project Equity is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org.

Employee Ownership for Worker Cooperative CPAs & Tax Advisors has been approved for 2.5 hour(s) of continuing education (CE) credits by the Exit Planning Institute (EPI).

Employee Ownership for Worker Cooperative CPAs & Tax Advisors has been accepted by the Certified Financial Planner Board for continuing education credit. Upon successful completion of the program, 2.5 CE credit(s) will be granted by CFP Board.

Employee Ownership for Worker Cooperative CPAs & Tax Advisors

$59

2.5 hours CPE

Flexible schedule

Get certified