Resources - Simple List

  • Cryptocurrency Compensation: A Primer on Token-Based Awards

    March 22, 2018

    Tokens have nudged into the mainstream with “initial coin offerings” (ICOs) and the blockbuster rises—and drops—in the prices of cryptocurrencies. An emerging trend sees companies leveraging the value of tokens to compensate founders, directors, employees, consultants and others. Just as with traditional equity-based compensation, token-based compensation has significant legal implications.
  • Treatment of Stock Compensation in Diluted Earnings Per Share

    November 28, 2023

    This article summarizes how various types of stock awards impact diluted earnings per share and includes several examples.
  • SEC Issues Guidance on Pay Ratio Disclosure

    September 27, 2017

    A summary of the SEC's newly issued guidance on the CEO pay ratio disclosure, with easy-to-read bulleted lists.
  • White Paper on Beneficiary Designations in Equity Plans

    September 05, 2017

    The purpose of this white paper is to highlight the problems with using beneficiary designations in equity plans.
  • GRIST Report: 'Grant date' communication requirement for stock compensation

    September 04, 2017

    This GRIST was revised to provide further explanation of the old APB 25 and FAS 123 "grant date" definition and the changes in FAS 123(R) in the Grant date definition and Existing practice and new interpretation sections 
  • Balancing Act: Trends in 10b5-1 Adoption and Oversight

    August 16, 2017

    Report on the Morgan Stanley/NASPP 10b5-1 Survey of 325 companies.
  • Complying with New Section 409A Guidance

    August 13, 2017

    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued interim guidance on Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code in the form of Notices 2006-100 and 2006-79.
  • Vendor Evaluation and Analysis

    August 13, 2017

    Working well with your product and service providers is a key component to a successful equity compensation program. Whether you utilize third-party vendors to support recordkeeping systems, outsourcing, brokerage, or other advisory services, you depend on them to supply critical assistance to keep the administration of your stock plans humming, your financial reporting and compliance accurate, and your employee participants happy. When one of these relationships doesn’t work as expected, this may present an opportunity to evaluate your current provider’s product offerings and performance and determine if a replacement is needed.
  • Beware of HSR Filing Requirements For Option Exercises or Vesting of Restricted Stock

    August 13, 2017

    The Federal Trade Commission obtained a $250,000 civil penalty against James Dondero, the operator of the Highland Capital hedge fund and a director of Motient Corporation, for making a late Hart-Scott-Rodino Act filing in connection with his 2005 exercise of options to acquire 10,000 Motient shares.
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plans and the Calculation of Basic and Diluted Earnings per Share

    August 13, 2017

    Earnings per share (EPS) is the most common and complex performance measurement that a publicly held company presents in its quarterly and annual reports (Josef Rashty and John O’Shaughnessy, “Restricted Stock Units and the Calculation of Basic and Diluted Earnings per Share,” The CPA Journal, June 2011, pp. 40–45). Guidance for calculating and reporting EPS can be found in two parts of the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC): Topic 260, “Earnings per Share,” which provides for the calculation and presentation of the basic and diluted EPS, and Topic 718, “Compensation—Stock Compensation,” which provides for certain unique characteristics of stock compensation that impact the EPS calculation.
  • Grant Date of Equity Awards under FAS 123R and FSP No. 123(R)-2

    August 13, 2017

  • FASB Guidance: Grant Date, Tax Accounting, and Market Valuations

    August 13, 2017

    The FASB proposed new Staff Positions on determining the grant date of a share-based payment and on a simplified transition method for computing the available excess tax benefits in additional paid-in capital at the time Statement 123R is adopted, 1 and the SEC’s economists reported their analysis of using market instruments to value employee stock options.2 This edition of Defining Issues summarizes the new guidance.
  • Estimating Stock Price Volatility

    August 13, 2017

  • Estimating Expected Term for Stock Options

    August 13, 2017

  • Determining FAS 123R Expense: Straight-Line vs. Accelerated Attribution

    August 13, 2017

    By now many of us have come to grips with FAS 123R's requirement for publicly traded companies to estimate the fair value of employee stock options at their grant date and to subtract this value from earnings. Determining the fair value is a process that has been receiving the most attention, but once we have the fair value, how do we determine expense?
  • Definition of Grant Date Under FAS 123(R)

    August 13, 2017

    Statement 123(R), Share-Based Payment, provides that share-based payments exchanged for employee services and classified as equity awards generally are measured at their fair value on the grant date.
  • Cancellations and Modifications of Underwater Stock Options Require Careful Consideration

    August 13, 2017

    As a result of declines in employer stock prices, companies may consider strategies intended to maintain value or provide alternative incentives associated with employee share-based awards that are "under water" (i.e., the award's exercise price is greater than the current market price of the stock). Careful consideration should be given to the accounting for such strategies. This HRS Insight discusses the accounting for various strategies that may be considered and provides practical examples for each strategy.
  • Applying the Two-Class EPS Method to Share-Based Payments

    August 13, 2017

    Companies that issue share-based payments that entitle employees to receive dividends even if the awards do not vest may report lower earnings per share under the requirements of a new FASB Staff Position.
  • Accounting for Stock Compensation Under FASB ASC Topic 718

    August 13, 2017

    Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 718, Stock Compensation (formerly, FASB Statement 123R), requires generally that all equity awards granted to employees be accounted for at “fair value.”
  • FASB Issues Final Update to ASC 718

    August 07, 2017

    On March 30, 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-09, which finalizes the FASB's updates to simplify the operation of ASC 718, including changes to the accounting treatment of the tax effects of stock compensation, forfeitures, and share withholding.