The NASPP Blog

The 23rd Annual NASPP Conference is just 21 days away and, as is the case every year, I am so excited about it I can hardly contain myself!  It’s always energizing to reconnect with colleagues and catch up on industry developments. And this year, we have a lot of new and innovative programs planned, as noted in my column in the most recent issue of the NASPP Advisor. It’s going to be a whole new experience!

I have a long list of sessions I hope to get to at the Conference (or to listen to audio recordings of afterwards); for today’s entry I highlight just five of them.

Family Feud–NASPP Style: This keynote, in which our contestants will try to guess the results of our poll on hot topics in executive and equity compensation (a la Family Feud), promises to be fascinating.  We’ve put together a great panel of experts, but will their answers align with the popular vote? It’s going to be a lively, fun, and interesting session.

Decisions, Decisions: Offering Employee Choice Plans: I am asked about programs in which employees are allowed to choose their own equity awards with some frequency, but I rarely encounter companies that do this. I’m excited to hear how two companies (3M and Coach) use employee choice programs.

FTCs, TEQs, IAPs, Oh My! Learn to Speak Mobility: Finally, a session that will explain all the mobility terminology that I find so confusing! I expect to leave with a much better understanding of all the issues involved in mobile employees.

The IRS and Treasury Speak:  This might seem like an odd choice what with ASC 718 and Dodd-Frank rulemaking overshadowing tax rulemaking in the past year, but we’ve asked the panel to cover some nagging unanswered questions on stock compensation and I’m excited (and maybe a little nervous) to hear what the panel has to say about them.

Choose Your Own Adventure: Audience-Driven Hot Topics: And, of course, I’m looking forward to my own session.  This will be a great run-down of today’s hottest topics in a very innovative an interactive format.  We are doing the session twice and each iteration could be completely different.  My only regret is that I wasn’t able to sneak a video of my cat into the slide deck (but if anyone wants to see it, I’ll be happy to show it to you).

The 23rd Annual NASPP Conference will be held from October 27-30 in San Diego.  I’m looking forward to seeing all of you there!  If you haven’t registered yet, don’t wait any longer.

– Barbara