Is that just the way it needs to be or is there some sort of weighted average that could be used?
In accounting for a leveraged ESOP we always held our breath regarding the year end stock price as this drove our company contribution.
Answers
I've generaly seen company contributions to a leveraged ESOP be either; 1) an amount to cover the current principal and interest payments on the debt, or 2) the percent of eligible compensation as defined in the plan documents. I don't know that the stock price drives the contribution amount in any of the plans I've worked with. As stock in the plan is allocated to participants as the ESOP debt is paid down, to the extent the allocated stock is at a different fair value when it is allocated compared to when it was contributed to the plan, the difference is recorded as compensation on the income statement. Hopefully this helps, but if not, feel free to contact me directly and I can try to better answer your question.
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