Norse Solutions is a majority employee-owned com­pany and is the largest supplier of software and services for the efficient administration of share-based compensation plans in the North-European region. Norse has a substantial number of Clients of all sizes in 11 countries with plan participants located all around the world. Having started our business in Europe, we have had to adopt a wide range of different share-based payment instruments into our software, as well as various local GAAPs. We also have exten­sive experience with complex instruments including caps, rising strikes, intricate vesting schedules, contribution plans, RSUs/RSAs etc. Based on the complexity and non-core business nature of such instruments, most of our Clients have chosen to outsource their Plan Administration completely to us.

Norse Solutions has the longest experience related to IFRS-2 in the world today, and our Top Down architecture puts our software above and beyond our competitors. Norse Solutions has developed corporate finance and accounting software since 1986. During the late 90’s, we decided to shift focus to more complex accounting- and disclosure issues in order to increase our competitive advantage. We identified the share-based payment market as a growing niche with few competitors in Europe. In 2002, the founders invested gains earned through own share-based payment from previous employment as start capital for Norse Solu­tions. Thus, Norse was founded as a result of share-based payment “By Options”, and aims to play a significant role in developing the share-based payment industry “for Options”.

We started coding our comprehensive web-based software Norse Options™ from scratch, in accordance with our “Top Down” architecture principle. In retrospect, our timing was excellent as it allowed us to take all the changes in IFRS-2 as well as Sarbanes Oxley requirements (SAS 70 type II etc.), into account during our continuous development.

Outsourcing of Plan Administration

We offer Plan Administration and tailored outsourcing of share-based payment to fit the needs of any given Client. We cover all activities related to Corporate Finance, Corporate Tax, Accounting, reporting and disclosures, HR-functions as well as information to and interaction with employees and financial institutions. Our software can ensure a smooth tran­sition from X-GAAP reporting to the new IFRS-2 standard without disturbing the current setup and administration of beneficiaries.

By feeding all transactions between company records, employ­ees and broker(s) into our system, we will be able to provide you with all relevant IFRS-2 reports in real time including; fair value calculations and amortization by tranche/installment, liability accounting, fair value accrual of social security, mobility tracking, performance vesting, deferred tax asset (DTA), all required IFRS-2 disclosure reports, etc. 

Unique Software - Norse Options™

Norse has continuously developed the comprehensive web-based software Norse Options for more than 10 years and released version 3.0 in February 2009. Norse Options is designed for streamlined administration and reporting of all forms of share-based payment programs according to the prevailing standards and requirements and we are proficient with IFRS.

Norse Solutions has focused on developing Norse Options using what we call a “Top Down” approach. We view the Cli­ent from a corporate perspective. Therefore, Norse Options has strong reporting capabilities, all of which are in real-time. Standardized and customized reports can be instantly exported from the system. Clients are able to report figures on consolidated level as well as distributed costs between dif­ferent subsidiaries. Norse Options allows for up to 6 account­ing dimensions, enabling the Client to “slice and dice” the company any which way needed. This increases the efficiency of quarterly- and annual reporting, as disclosures can be reported per employee, subsidiary or at consolidated level.

The “Top Down” approach

With a single system, Norse Options provides solutions on 3 Levels:

1. Corporate Finance and Consolidated Reporting, including quarterly/annual consolidated reports, stock market notifi­cations, audit trail, and calculations of fair value, volatility, complex options, corporate tax and social accrual;

2. Corporate Accounting and Monitoring, including tracking of all transactions and costs, and internal information flow between payroll, HR, accounting and other systems; and

3. Employee Administration, including account access, exer­cises, transfer of shares, settlements, dissemination of tax information, notifications and general correspondence.