SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 11-K ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 [ X ] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 (No fee required, effective October 7, 1996) FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1996 OR [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 (No Fee required) FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM _________ TO ________. COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 0-7201 A. FULL TITLE OF THE PLAN AND THE ADDRESS OF THE PLAN, IF DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE ISSUER NAMED BELOW: POE & BROWN, INC. EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN AND TRUST AGREEMENT B. NAME OF ISSUER OF THE SECURITIES HELD PURSUANT TO THE PLAN AND THE ADDRESS OF ITS PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICE: POE & BROWN, INC. 220 SOUTH RIDGEWOOD AVENUE DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA 32115 <PAGE ii> POE & BROWN, INC. EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN AND TRUST AGREEMENT FORM 11-K REQUIRED INFORMATION Pursuant to Item 4 of the required information, in lieu of the requirements of Items 1, 2 and 3, the financial statements and schedules prepared in accordance with the financial reporting requirements of ERISA are submitted as follows: Page REPORT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS 1 STATEMENTS OF NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1996 AND 1995 2 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS, WITH FUND INFORMATION, FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1996 3 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 4 SCHEDULE I: SCHEDULE OF ASSETS HELD FOR INVESTMENT AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1996 8 SCHEDULE II: SCHEDULE OF REPORTABLE TRANSACTIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1996 9 SIGNATURE 10 CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS 11 <PAGE 1> REPORT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS To the Trustees of the Poe & Brown, Inc. Employees' Savings Plan and Trust Agreement: We have audited the accompanying statements of net assets available for plan benefits of the Poe & Brown, Inc. Employees' Savings Plan and Trust Agreement as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the related statement of changes in net assets available for plan benefits for the year ended December 31, 1996. These financial statements and the supplemental schedules referred to below are the responsibility of the Plan's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedules based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the net assets available for plan benefits of the Plan as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the changes in its net assets available for plan benefits for the year ended December 31, 1996, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Our audits were made for the purpose of forming an opinion on the basic financial statements taken as a whole. The supplemental schedules of assets held for investment and reportable transactions are presented for the purpose of additional analysis and are not a required part of the basic financial statements but are supplementary information required by the Department of Labor's Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The Fund Information in the statement of changes in net assets available for plan benefits is presented for purposes of additional analysis rather than to present the changes in net assets available for plan benefits of each fund. The supplemental schedules and Fund Information have been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the basic financial statements and, in our opinion, are fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole. /S/ ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP Tampa, Florida, June 27, 1997 <PAGE 2> POE & BROWN, INC. EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN AND TRUST AGREEMENT STATEMENTS OF NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1996 AND 1995 1996 1995 INVESTMENTS (Notes 2 and 3): At fair value- SEI Balanced Fund $ 5,810,917 $ 5,250,137 SEI Bond Index Fund 103,014 2,142 SEI Capital Appreciation Fund 7,766,467 6,955,384 SEI Core International Equity Fund 784,269 421,485 SEI S&P 500 Index Fund 1,773,025 145,697 SEI Small Cap Growth Fund 3,236,914 2,123,099 Employer Common Stock 4,108,587 3,856,819 Participant loans 1,595,998 1,432,315 SEI Prime Obligation Fund 9,004 54,146 ___________ ___________ 25,188,195 20,241,224 At contract value- SEI Stable Asset Fund 4,631,820 5,084,286 ___________ ___________ Total investments 29,820,015 25,325,510 CASH 194,340 246,090 EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVABLE 645,569 501,530 PARTICIPANT CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVABLE 70,976 61,614 ____________ ___________ Total assets 30,730,900 26,134,744 ACCOUNTS PAYABLE 194,340 246,090 ____________ ___________ NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS $30,536,560 $25,888,654 =========== =========== The accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements. <PAGE 2> POE & BROWN, INC. EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN AND TRUST AGREEMENT STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS, WITH FUND INFORMATION, FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1996 SEI Core SEI SEI SEI Bond SEI Capital International SEI S&P Small Cap SEI Stable Balance Index Appreciation Equity 500 Index Growth Asset Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund _____ ________ ____________ ___________ _________ _________ __________ ADDITIONS: Interest and dividends $1,029,204 $ 3,009 $2,088,407 $ 49,157 $ 18,569 $643,450 $331,602 Dividends on employer common stock - - - - - - - Net realized and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) in fair value of investments (263,105) 2,885 (525,224) 32,208 198,851 (61,381) - Participant contributions 478,734 9,422 680,589 142,508 112,424 507,468 368,786 Employer contributions 268,041 4,990 339,174 49,916 48,043 247,654 217,190 __________ _______ __________ ________ ________ _________ ________ Total additions 1,512,874 20,306 2,582,946 273,789 377,887 1,337,191 917,578 __________ _______ __________ ________ ________ _________ _______ DEDUCTIONS: Benefits paid to participants 620,059 2,734 517,682 30,731 53,651 354,045 1,457,041 Administrative expenses 19,841 179 25,746 2,130 4,407 9,725 18,435 __________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ _________ Total deductions 639,900 2,913 543,428 32,861 58,058 363,770 1,475,476 __________ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ _________ NET ASSETS TRANSFERRED BETWEEN INVESTMENT FUNDS (312,194) 83,479 (1,228,435) 121,856 1,307,499 140,394 105,432 _________ _______ __________ ________ _________ _________ _______ NET INCREASE (DECREASE) 560,780 100,872 811,083 362,784 1,627,328 1,113,815 (452,466) NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS, December 31, 1995 5,250,137 2,142 6,955,384 421,485 145,697 2,123,099 5,084,286 __________ _______ __________ ________ _________ _________ __________ NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS, December 31, 1996 $5,810,917 $103,014 $7,766,467 $784,269 $1,773,025 $3,236,914 $4,631,820 ========== ======== ========== ======== ========== ========== =========== (TABLE COLUMNS FOR THE TABLE ABOVE ARE CONTINUED BELOW FOR EDGAR PURPOSES ONLY - THESE COLUMNS CONTINUE ACROSS THE PAGE ON HARD COPY) Employer Common Participant Stock Loans Other Total _________ ___________ ________ ______ ADDITIONS: Interest and dividends $ - $127,669 $ 1,422 $ 4,292,489 Dividends on employer common stock 76,023 - 76,023 Net realized and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) in fair value of investments 366,850 - - (278,916) Participant contributions 358,429 - 9,362 2,667,722 Employer contributions 200,124 - 144,039 1,519,171 __________ _________ _________ ___________ Total additions 971,426 127,669 154,823 8,276,489 __________ ___________ ________ ___________ DEDUCTIONS: Benefits paid to participants 302,919 200,117 - 3,538,979 Administrative expenses 9,141 - - 89,604 ________ __________ ________ __________ Total deductions 312,060 200,117 - 3,628,583 NET ASSETS TRANSFERRED BETWEEN INVESTMENT FUNDS (407,598) 236,131 (46,564) - _________ __________ ________ __________ NET INCREASE (DECREASE) 251,768 163,683 108,259 4,647,906 NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS, December 31, 1995 3,856,819 1,432,315 617,290 25,888,654 _________ _________ ________ __________ NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR PLAN BENEFITS, December 31, 1996 $4,108,587 $1,595,998 $725,549 $30,536,560 ========== ========== ======== =========== The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement. <PAGE 4> POE & BROWN, INC. EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN AND TRUST AGREEMENT NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DECEMBER 31, 1996 AND 1995 1. PLAN DESCRIPTION: General The Poe & Brown, Inc. Employees' Savings Plan and Trust Agreement (the Plan), established effective January 1, 1985, and as amended effective October 1, 1996, is a defined contribution plan under which substantially all employees who are at least age 18 and who have completed 30 continuous days of service are eligible to participate. The Plan is intended to assist Poe & Brown, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the Employer) in its efforts to attract and retain competent employees by enabling eligible employees to share in the profits of the Employer and to supplement retirement income. The Plan is subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Distributions Benefits under the Plan are payable upon normal (after age 65) or early (after age 59-1/2) retirement, death, disability, severe financial hardship or termination of service and are based on the balance in the participant's account. Distributions of vested account balances will be made in the form of a single lump-sum payment or in some other optional form of payment elected by the participant and the participant's spouse, if any. The forms of payment are (1) joint and survivor annuities, (2) a life annuity with 120 guaranteed monthly payments, (3) a life annuity, (4) a single lump-sum payment for the entire balance of the participant's account, and (5) a direct transfer to either an individual retirement account or another qualified employer retirement plan. Administration The Plan is administered by the 401(k) Plan Employee Benefits Administrative Committee (the Committee) which has been appointed by the Board of Directors (the Board) of the Employer. Information about the plan agreement, such as provisions for allocations to participants' accounts, vesting, benefits and withdrawals, is contained in the Summary Plan Description. Copies of this document are available from the Committee. Administrative Expenses Substantially all administrative expenses are paid by the Plan. These expenses include recordkeeping, audit and trustee fees. <PAGE 5> Contributions Participants may elect to defer, subject to certain limitations, from 1 percent to 15 percent of annual compensation as contributions to the Plan. The Employer makes matching contributions to the Plan of 100 percent of each contributing participant's deferred contribution, but no more than 2.5 percent of each participants' salary. The Plan permits the Board of the Employer to authorize optional contributions allocated to participants based on salary. During each of the years ended December 31, 1996 and 1995, the Board authorized an optional profit sharing contribution of 1.5 percent of salary for all participants. Vesting Participants employed prior to October 1, 1996, are 100 percent vested in their entire account balance at all times. Participants employed on or after October 1, 1996, are immediately vested in their voluntary contributions plus actual earnings thereon. Vesting in the employer matching contributions and profit sharing contributions are based on years of credited service and are subject to the following vesting schedule: Years of Credited Service Vested Interest _______________ _________________ 1 20% 2 40% 3 60% 4 80% 5 or more 100% Plan Termination The Plan will terminate if the Employer is dissolved or declared bankrupt or insolvent. Although it has not expressed any intent to do so, the Employer may terminate the Plan at any time, either wholly or partially, by notice in writing to the participants and the trustees. Upon termination, the rights of participants in their accounts will become 100 percent vested. The Employer may temporarily discontinue contributions to the Plan, either wholly or partially, without terminating the Plan. 2. USE OF ESTIMATES AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES: Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of additions to and deductions from the net assets available for plan benefits during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. <PAGE 6> Basis of Accounting The accompanying financial statements of the Plan are presented on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Valuation of Investments SEI Investments -- The fair value of the participation units in SEI investments (excluding the SEI Stable Asset Fund) is based on the quoted redemption value of the units from SEI Trust Company on the last business day of the year. Employer Common Stock Fund -- The fund consists of the Employer's common stock which is valued at the last reported sale price as reported on the National Market System by the National Association of Securities Dealers. SEI Stable Asset Fund -- As of December 31, 1996 and 1995, the contract value of the SEI Stable Asset Fund approximated its fair value. 3. INVESTMENT PROGRAMS: Investments As of December 31, 1996 and 1995, contributions to the Plan are invested in one or more of eight separate investment funds at the direction of each participant. The funds are (1) SEI Balanced Fund, (2) SEI Bond Index Fund, (3) SEI Capital Appreciation Fund, (4) SEI Core International Equity Fund, (5) SEI S&P 500 Index Fund, (6) SEI Small Cap Growth Fund, (7) SEI Stable Asset Fund, and (8) Employer Common Stock. Investment Income and Expenses Each participant's account shall be allocated the investment income and expenses of each fund based on the value of each participant's account invested in each fund, in proportion to the total value of all accounts in each fund, taking into account any contributions to or distributions from the participant's account. General expenses of the Plan not attributable to any particular fund shall be allocated among participants' accounts in proportion to the value of each account, taking into consideration the participant's contributions and distributions. Participant Loans A participant may, with the approval of the Committee, borrow from his own account a minimum of $500, up to a maximum equal to the lesser of $50,000 or 50 percent of the participant's vested account balance. Additional loans to participants with more than one loan outstanding are consolidated into a single loan, and no more than five loans may be outstanding, including those which have been consolidated. Loans, which are repayable monthly over periods generally up to five years, are collateralized by notes and by a security interest in the borrower's vested account balance. The loans bear interest at the rate of prime plus 1 percent, determined at the time the loan is approved. <PAGE 7> 4. PARTY-IN-INTEREST TRANSACTIONS: All of the Plan's SEI investments are managed by the custodian, a party-in-interest. 5. FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS: The Plan obtained its latest determination letter on February 26, 1996, in which the Internal Revenue Service stated that the Plan was in compliance with the applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). The Plan has been amended since receiving the determination letter. However, the Plan's management believes that the Plan is designed and is currently being operated in compliance with the applicable requirements of the IRC. 6. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS: Effective January 1, 1997, the Board appointed Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc. as the recordkeeper of the Plan, and appointed Investors Bank and Trust Company of Boston, Massachusetts, as Trustee of the Plan. In connection with the changes, the new funds offered to Plan participants as of January 1, 1997, are the (1) Diversified Stable Five Fund, (2) Diversified Government/ Corporate Bond Fund, (3) Diversified Balanced Fund, (4) Diversified Stock Index Fund, (5) Diversified Equity Value Fund, (6) Diversified Special Equity Fund, (7) Diversified International Equity Fund, and (8) Employer Common Stock Fund. <PAGE 8> SCHEDULE I POE & BROWN, INC. EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN AND TRUST AGREEMENT SCHEDULE OF ASSETS HELD FOR INVESTMENT AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1996 Identity and Description of Issues Cost Fair Value __________________________________ _________ __________ SEI Balanced Fund (stock and bond investments)* $ 5,934,376 $ 5,810,917 SEI Bond Index Fund (bond investments)* 102,163 103,014 SEI Capital Appreciation Fund (stock investments)* 8,404,341 7,766,467 SEI Core International Equity Fund (foreign stock investments)* 804,412 784,269 SEI S&P 500 Index Fund (stock investments)* 1,622,728 1,773,025 SEI Small Cap Growth Fund (small company stock investment)* 3,457,128 3,236,914 SEI Stable Asset Fund (guaranteed investment contracts)* 4,631,820 4,631,820 Employer Common Stock (employer stock investment) 2,985,453 4,108,587 SEI Prime Obligation Fund (bearing interest at 4 percent)* 9,004 9,004 Participant loans (bearing interest at rates ranging between 7 percent and 11.5 percent) 1,595,998 1,595,998 ___________ ___________ $29,547,423 $29,820,015 =========== =========== *Represents a party-in-interest (Note 4). The preceding notes are an integral part of this schedule. <PAGE 9> SCHEDULE II POE & BROWN, INC. EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN AND TRUST AGREEMENT SCHEDULE OF REPORTABLE TRANSACTIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1996 Identify of Party Involved/ Purchase Selling Cost of Realized Description of Assets Price Price Assets Gain ___________________________ ________ _________ ________ ________ SEI Balanced Fund* $2,445,832 $ - $2,445,832 $ - SEI Capital Appreciation Fund* 3,734,896 - 3,734,896 - SEI S&P 500 Index Fund* 1,656,725 - 1,656,725 - SEI Small Cap Growth Fund* 2,008,990 - 2,008,990 - SEI Prime Obligation Fund* 4,909,445 - 4,909,445 - SEI Stable Asset Fund* 1,697,733 - 1,697,733 - SEI Balanced Fund* - 1,621,947 1,436,755 185,192 SEI Capital Appreciation Fund* - 2,398,589 2,244,940 153,649 SEI S&P 500 Index Fund* - 228,248 178,568 49,680 SEI Small Cap Growth Fund* - 833,794 550,093 283,701 SEI Prime Obligation Fund* - 4,954,587 4,954,587 - SEI Stable Asset Fund* - 2,150,199 2,150,199 - *Represents a party-in-interest (Note 4). The preceding notes are an integral part of this schedule. <PAGE 10> Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Trustee and other persons who administer the Plan have duly caused this annual report to be signed by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. POE & BROWN, INC. EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN AND TRUST AGREEMENT By: POE & BROWN, INC. By: /S/ WILLIAM A. ZIMMER ______________________________________ William A. Zimmer Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer <PAGE 11> CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS As independent certified public accountants, we hereby consent to the incorporation by reference of our report included in this Form 11-K, into the Company's previously filed Registration Statement File No. 33-1900, dated November 27, 1985, as amended by Post Effective Amendment No. 1 dated December 2, 1992. /S/ ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP Tampa, Florida, June 27, 1997