Win
gsP
lus: S
tatuto
ry fin
ancial rep
ortin
g from
the clo
ud
The Roving Reporter
A Special Interview with
Shannon Betz
Cypress Benefit Administrators
Wrapping his conversation with Mike George at First Carolina Care
Insurance Company in Pinehurst, NC, our nattily attired Roving Reporter
(still sporting the knickers he donned for his ill-fated golf outing),
became enamored of finding out what a Clackamas is. Since he couldn’t
think of a better place to find out than Clackamas, Oregon, he traveled
cross-country in search of meaning … well … one meaning anyway.
Win
gsP
lus: S
tatuto
ry fin
ancial rep
ortin
g from
the clo
ud
When, just five minutes after getting to town,
he learned Clackamas is a river, he thought he’d
make his time in Clackamas worthwhile by stopping
by Cypress Benefit Administrators to chat up
Shannon Betz about Wings Plus —
and whether the Sah-Hah-Lee Golf
Course is open in December.
RR: Goodmorning,Shannon.
Shannon: Hi.Whyareyouwearingknickers?
RR: Well,youseewhathadhappenedwas…couldwestartsomewhereelse?
Shannon. Sure.
RR: Thankyou.Mysourcestellmeyou’reaWingsPlususer.Canyoutellmewhatcapabilitiesyouuse?
Shannon: Rightnow,wejustuseAnnualStatement.Sofar,givenourbusinessstructure,wedon’treallyneedany
oftheotherfunctionality.Wedohavetopaypremiumtaxesbutonlyintwostates.Ifthatresponsibility
grows,we’llcertainlyconsideraddingWingsPlusPremiumTax.Butrightnow,premiumtaxesarenot
creatingalotoflegworkforus.
RR: Thatsoundsquitepractical.Howlonghaveyoubeenwiththecompany?
Win
gsP
lus: S
tatuto
ry fin
ancial rep
ortin
g from
the clo
ud
Shannon: IwaswithWesternBenefitsfor10yearswhentheywereacquiredbyCypressinFebruaryof
2011.So,youcouldsayI’vebeenhereabout11years.
RR: AssumingyouwerearoundwhenthecompanystartedusingWingsPlus,wastheirsome
kindofduediligenceorselectionprocessconductedpriortotheselection?
Shannon: SomeonefromCypresshadgoneouttotheNAICwebsiteinsearchofvendorsin2005.
Afteridentifyingafew,CypressspokewithafewofthemandwereimpressedwithETM,as
wellastheuser-friendlinessofWingsPlus,whichiswhatsoldthem.
RR: So,ETMwasessentiallychosenoutoftheblue?
Shannon: Idon’tknowthatI’dputitquitethatway.ETMisaverysolid,customer-serviceoriented
company.They’realwaysupdatingandkeepinginlinewithNAICupdates.Theyhaveall
therequisitechecksandbalancesinplacetoensureyou’llneverfileaninaccuratereport.
WingsPlusensuresyouconformwiththeNAIC’sstrictregulations.AndETMalways
provideswonderfulhelpwithtechsupport.
RR: Haveyoufoundyourselfrelyingonthattechsupport?
Shannon: Infact,Ihaven’t.Andthat’sbecausethesystemreallyisuser-friendlyandhasaccuratedirections.
ETMalsoprovidesawebsitetoaccessforhelp,andthesystemupdatesandupgradesareadded
automaticallybecauseETMhostsit.Plus,theysendusemailtoletusknowwhenthoseupdatesand
upgradeshavebeenmade.Ifindthatveryhelpful.
RR: I’veknownothersoftwarecompaniesthatdidn’thavethebestproductsintheworld.Buttheydid
providetop-notchserviceand,so,hadmanyveryloyalcustomers.ItseemsETMhasboth.
Shannon: I’dagree.
RR: WhenyoustartedusingAnnualStatement,didyouhaveitlocallydeployed—ordidyoualwaysuse
WingsPlusfromthecloud?
Shannon: We’vebeenrunningAnnualStatementfromETM’sserverssincedayone.Itwastherightdecisionin
termsofcost,accessibility,maintenance,andservice.
Win
gsP
lus: S
tatuto
ry fin
ancial rep
ortin
g from
the clo
ud
RR: Andwithanendorsementlikethat,comingheretospeakwithyouwastherightdecision.
Thankyouverymuch.
Shannon: You’rewelcomeverymuch.Doyouwanttotalkabouttheknickersnow?
RR: Notsomuch.
Win
gsP
lus:
Sta
tuto
ry fi
nan
cial
rep
ort
ing
fro
m t
he
clo
ud
ETM
©2018 ETM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
805 TOWER TERRACE ROAD
HIAWATHA, IA 52233
PHONE: 855.737.1688
FAX: 319.393.3117
WEB: BYETM.COM