Ten Best Practices for Granting Global Equity Awards
Article
October 2011
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At a time when legislators and regulators introduce new compliance requirements for US based companies on an almost daily basis (or so it seems), most companies struggle with properly managing their global equity programs. These programs are often necessary to compete for and retain talent, but can be very complex to maintain due to rapidly changing laws and regulations around the globe.
Keeping abreast of new developments and ensuring that the equity plan remains compliant can require resources (both monetary and workforce-related) that many companies do not have. Therefore, some companies are forced to make tough choices: either significantly cut back the equity plan to ensure compliance in the few places where the plan is offered, or take on the risk of non-compliance in various countries or areas of the law.
Unfortunately, we need to preface this article by admitting that there is no silver bullet for achieving lasting compliance for global equity plans without at least some initial and ongoing efforts. However, in our experience, companies often approach compliance in a way that is not optimal and can waste resources. Therefore, in this article, we will focus companies on the issues which involve the greatest risks to companies or present the greatest opportunities to maximize the benefit of their global equity programs. In addition, we will suggest certain strategies which are intended to mitigate the biggest risks without creating exorbitant expense or effort for the company.