The NASPP Blog

March 4, 2010

NASPP Conference Announced

This week I have a grab bag of announcements for you, including the date and location of this year’s NASPP Conference, why the UK tax year ends on April 6, changes in store for our friends at RiskMetrics, and the CEP exam.

NASPP Conference Announced!
The 18th Annual NASPP Conference will be held from September 20-23 in my hometown of Chicago. I know you all saw the picture of me with my snow pile from last December but don’t worry, it hardly ever snows in Chicago in September.

Pre-conference programs will be held on September 20. New this year, we are offering an intensive one-day course of performance-based awards; I’m not aware of any other offerings like this and this may be the only time we offer it, so don’t miss it. The 5th Annual Proxy Disclosure Conference will also be held on September 20.

The NASPP Conference will begin in the evening of September 20 with the opening reception. Sessions will begin on September 21; the 7th Annual Executive Compensation Conference will be held on that day as well. The Conference will close with a half-day of sessions on September 23.

We are offering a $300 early-bird discount if you register by April 15–don’t delay; you don’t want to be rushing to mail your tax return and submit your Conference registration all at the same time.

My Last Word on UK Taxes
Mark Miller of Deloitte tells me that the reason the UK tax year ends on April 6 has something to do with England changing from the Gregorian calendar to the Roman calendar back in the day and not wanting to lose tax revenue. Now you know.

Mark also said that he is seeing increased interest in UK tax-qualified plans and passed along a handy summary of how these plans work, which we’ve posted in the NASPP’s Global Stock Plans Portal.

RiskMetrics Acquired, Again
RiskMetrics, formerly ISS, will be acquired by MSCI, a global provider of investment decision support tools. Broc Romanek, of TheCorporateCounsel.net blogged about the announcement on Tuesday, noting that this is the fourth sale of ISS/RiskMetrics in this decade. I don’t remember the last sale of ISS having a significant impact on their corporate governance policies and I don’t expect that this one will have that much of an impact either, but who knows. I wonder if they’ll have to change their name again, now that we’ve all finally gotten used to the RiskMetrics moniker.

NASPP Members Eligible for Discount on CEP Exam
If you’ve been thinking about enrolling for the Certified Equity Professional exam, now is the time to do it. Because the NASPP serves on the CEP Institute Advisory Board, we are able to offer NASPP members a $200 discount on the June 5, 2010 exam.*

The CEP program is the certification standard for the equity compensation industry, comprised of a three-level, self study program in the technical regulatory issues affecting equity compensation. I completed the program in 1995 and it has been one of the cornerstones of my education in the field of equity compensation.

Visit the CEPI website for more information on the program. To take advantage of the NASPP member discount, contact the CEPI at (408) 554-2187.

* The Fine Print: Eligible registrations include new Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 registrations for individuals who are involved in administering or managing their own company’s equity programs. Deferrals and re-tests are not eligible for a discount. Individuals already registered are not eligible for a retroactive discount. Candidates from service providers do not qualify. Questions regarding eligibility can be directed to the CEPI at (408) 554-2187.

NASPP “To Do” List
We have so much going on here at the NASPP that it can be hard to keep track of it all, so I keep an ongoing “to do” list for you here in my blog. 

-Barbara