Key Professionals
PrintLaurence Wagman, CPA
Principal, Golden Parachute Tax Solutions LLC
Laurence Wagman is the founding principal of Golden Parachute Tax Solutions LLC. His expertise is in the area of taxation of executive compensation, and is a nationally known resource within the area of golden parachute tax penalties (Internal Revenue Code Sections (“IRC”) 280G and 4999. Laurence has previously written several articles for both the Journal of Compensation and Benefits and the Taxation of Executive Compensation and Retirement on IRC Section 280G related matters this list includes: Structuring Change in Control Arrangements Within the Current Executive Compensation Environment (Sept 2009), The Golden Parachute Excise Tax; Why it’s about to Become More Expensive, Why a Gross-Up May be Necessary and How to Structure it to be Performance Based (July 2010), The Golden Parachute Excise Tax – Not Just a Public Company Issue (Sept 2011), and Canadian Employers – Beware the United Stated Golden Parachute Excise Tax as Not Just a U.S. Problem.
Laurence has had a number of recent speaking engagements. This list includes: Speaking at the 19th Annual National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (“NASPP”) Conference entitled After the Gross-Up Is Gone: Avoiding and Managing the 280G Excise Tax (Nov 2011). In 2012, Laurence gave a 280G Presentation entitled for the benefit of the NASPP NY/NJ (June) and CT (September) Chapters entitled Beware of the Golden Parachute Excise Tax: How Best to Structure Compensation Plans to Minimize 280G Risk. In 2013, Laurence once again spoke at NASPP’s National Conference as the lead panelist for the presentation Using Non-Competes to Reduce 280G Exposure). Also in 2013, Laurence was also a co-panelist at the Practicing Law Institute (“PLI”) for the presentation Hot Issues in Executive Compensation M&A Topics/Change in Control.
Prior to forming Golden Parachute Tax Solutions, Laurence was a tax manager with a “Big 4” executive compensation/employee benefits tax practice, and thereafter was an executive compensation consultant with James F. Reda and Associates, an independent executive compensation consulting firm. Laurence’s practical experience includes a unique perspective from both an executive compensation tax and executive compensation consulting disciplines.
Laurence is a graduate of Lehigh University (1995), received his Master of Science in Taxation at Seton Hall University (2002) and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of New Jersey. Laurence can be reached at lwagman@280Gsolutions.com.
Ari Benjamin, JD
Principal, Golden Parachute Tax Solutions LLC
Ari Benjamin is a Principal at Golden Parachute Tax Solutions, LLC. He is a nationally recognized resource in the golden parachute area. He has written articles and has been quoted in tax publications on IRC Section 280G. He has been an expert speaker in Tax/M & A conferences on golden parachutes. Ari has also been a CLE presenter on golden parachutes, and has created a CD for CLE credits titled Golden Parachutes and Executive Compensation. Most Recently, Ari wrote an article in the Journal of Compensation and Benefits entitled The Golden Parachute Excise Tax – Not Just a Public Company Issue.
Ari has been one of the most influential figures in the golden parachute area for over 20 years. Ari has extensive experience in the golden parachute and executive compensation area. Prior to joining Golden Parachute Tax Solutions, Ari was the Managing Director in a “Big 4” accounting firm in charge of their golden parachute practice for over 13 years. Ari has extensive experience dealing with all sizes and types of transactions. His expertise includes dealing with companies ranging from small private companies to fortune 100 public companies.
Ari has an accounting degree from SUNY at Binghamton, and a JD from Hofstra School of Law. Ari can be reached at abenjamin@280Gsolutions.com.
Barry Bidjarano, JD, LLM Taxation, CPA
Managing Director, Golden Parachute Tax Solutions LLC
Mr. Bidjarano is a managing director at Golden Parachute Tax Solutions, LLC. He is nationally recognized as a leading expert in the golden parachute tax rules (Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Sections 280G and 4999). Prior to joining GPTS, Mr. Bidjarano spent his career with a “Big 4” Accounting Firm ("Accounting Firm") from which he retired on June 30, 2016 after 37 years - 25 years as a partner. Since his retirement in 2016 and until December 31, 2021, he has consulted for the Accounting Firm on Section 280G matters as a client-serving contractor.
Prior to his retirement, Mr. Bidjarano was the National Leader responsible for the Accounting Firm’s Golden Parachute Tax Services and served as the Firm’s national resource on IRC Sections 280G and 4999 since their enactment in 1984. Having more than 30 years of specialization in employee benefits, ERISA and executive compensation tax matters, he was recognized as the Firm’s leading expert on the “golden parachute payment” rules.
Mr. Bidjarano has extensive experience in dealing with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) on all aspects of the golden parachute tax rules. He authored comments on the golden parachute proposed regulations on behalf of the AICPA, which were submitted to Treasury during 1989. He has also authored and coordinated several private letter ruling submissions with the IRS dealing with the application of the golden parachute rules, including one of the first private letter rulings issued. Mr. Bidjarano is the principal author of BNA Portfolio 396-2nd T.M. Golden Parachutes, which is published by Tax Management Inc. (a subsidiary of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.).
Mr. Bidjarano graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a B.S. degree in departmental accounting. He received his Masters of Law in taxation from Georgetown University and a law degree from the Washington College of Law - American University. Mr. Bidjarano is a certified public accountant (CPA) licensed in New York.
Mr. Bidjarano has been published in the St. John’s Law Review and Journal of Taxation as well as quoted in Forbes, Money Magazine, Crains and other news and business publications. Barry can be reached at bjbidjarano@280gsolutions.com.
Nicole Ricci, CPA
Director, Golden Parachute Tax Solutions LLC
Nicole Ricci is a Director at Golden Parachute Tax Solutions LLC. She has over 15 years of experience including over 12 year of Big 4 experience, specifically within the area of Employee Benefits.
Prior to joining Golden Parachute Tax Solutions, Nicole was a Senior Manager in the Global Employer Services (“GES”) Group at Deloitte Tax LLP (“Deloitte”). There, she oversaw numerous IRC Section 280G projects and was a firm wide technical resource in this area. Nicole also advised clients on domestic executive compensation tax issues such as IRC Sections 83, 162(m), 409A and 4999. In addition, Nicole had a strong focus on international compensation matters, including U.S. taxation of foreign retirement plans, and income tax treaty implications. Nicole was also involved in developing training material for the GES Compensation and Benefits group and in overseeing the performance evaluation process for the group.
Nicole was a co-presenter for an audio CLE publication entitled “Golden Parachutes and Executive Compensation.”
Nicole is a New York Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA. She graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Accounting from St. Francis College. Nicole can be reached at nricci@280gsolutions.com.
Timothy Buckley, JD
Director, Golden Parachute Tax Solutions LLC
Timothy Buckley is a Director at Golden Parachute Tax Solutions LLC. He has over eight years of experience including over six years of Big 4 experience, specifically within the area of Executive Compensation.
Prior to joining Golden Parachute Tax Solutions, Timothy was a Manager in the People Advisory Services ("PAS") practice at Ernst & Young LLP. There, he oversaw numerous IRC Section 280G projects for both public and private companies. Tim also advised clients on executive compensation tax issues such as IRC Sections 162(m), 409A and 4999, and was a firm wide technical resource in the area of Wage & Hour compliance. Tim was also involved in developing and delivering 280G training material for the PAS Rewards group.
Tim graduated summa cum laude with a B.S.B.A in Finance from The Ohio State University and cum laude from the University of Dayton School of Law. Prior to college, he spent four years on active duty in the United States Air Force. Tim can be reached at tbuckley@280Gsolutions.com.
Mary McLaughlin, CPA
Director, Golden Parachute Tax Solutions, LLC
Mary McLaughlin is a Director in the Golden Parachute Tax Solutions practice based in Cleveland, Ohio. Mary has been practicing in the field of executive compensation for eighteen years, specializing in executive compensation and benefits, tax, and accounting issues including:
- Advising both compensation committees and management with respect to executive compensation programs, including working with publicly traded, private, and non-profit organizations on the design, implementation and operation of their compensation philosophy and strategy and the programs to support that strategy, including short-term and long-term incentive programs and total rewards;
- Advising on a number of compensation and benefit analyses including compensation benchmarking and proxy analyses;
- Assisting organizations with executive compensation issues in the context of financial restructuring, bankruptcies, IPOs, spin-offs, and mergers and acquisitions;
- Performing I.R.C. Section 280G golden parachute calculations in the context of an actual or hypothetical merger/acquisition;
- Performing reviews of the share based payment process related to ASC 718 and ASC 740 and putting together gap analyses reports for companies outlining the tax, accounting, and human resources issues; and
- Performing assessments of financial statement risks and controls related to employee benefit, executive compensation, and payroll processes for compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley 404.
Prior to joining Golden Parachute Tax Solutions, Mary was in the People Advisory Services practice of EY. She is a CPA in the state of Ohio and has spoken regionally and nationally on several technical training programs.
Mary graduated with a BS in Business Administration and a Masters in Accountancy from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Mary can be reached at mmclaughlin@280gsolutions.com