NASPP Chapter Ceetings for This Week
Seattle: Featuring the presentation “Never a Dull Moment — Latest Developments and Trends for Global Equity Plans.” (Wednesday, August 8, 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM)
Sacramento: Elizabeth Dodge presents “Everyday Egregious Errors in Equity Comp Accounting.” (Thursday, August 9, 11:00 AM)
Twin Cities: Corey Rosen presents “Equity Compensation in Closely Held Companies: Survey Data and Design Issues.” (Thursday, August 9, 9:00 AM, webinar only)
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 November 3, 2011 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.
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. Don’t wait; registration closes on September 21.
* 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.
Tags: CEP, CEP Exam, CEPI, NASPP Chapter Meeting
If you’ve been thinking about beginning the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) program or pursuing the next level, this year’s NASPP Conference is a great time to do it. Because the NASPP Conference is in November, for this year only, you have a unique opportunity to attend the Conference and take the CEP exam at the same time. To make it even more convenient, the CEP is hosting an exam site at the Conference hotel in San Francisco!
Take the CEP Exam, Attend the NASPP Conference, and Save!
The Certified Equity Professional (CEP) Institute will host an exam site at the 19th Annual NASPP Conference in San Francisco. The exam will be held on Saturday, November 5, following the conclusion of the NASPP Conference (which will be held from November 1-4). Catch up on the latest industry developments–including Dodd-Frank and Say-on-Pay–with the NASPP Conference and then reinforce your core knowledge with the CEP exam.
Why Take the Exam at the NASPP Conference?
I know you are thinking that you should spend the week before the CEP exam holed up in a conference room somewhere, all by yourself, meticulously reading the exam materials to the exclusion of everything else in your life and that the NASPP Conference is the last place you would want to prepare for the exam. But I think that’s the wrong strategy; here’s why you should consider taking the exam at the Conference:
- You’ll be surrounded by industry leaders, including many of the authors of the CEP exam texts. I’ll be there, as well as Takis Makridis, Mark Borges, Bill Dunn, Joshua McGinn, Christine Zwerling, Blair Jones, Scott Rodrick, and Dan Walter–to name just a few of the authors. These are the folks that, literally, wrote the books you are being tested on. The Conference is a great opportunity to meet them and clarify any points you are having trouble with in their texts.
- The CEP Institute staff will be on hand, as well as probably the largest population of CEPs to congregate in one place all year. If you stay home to prepare for the exam, it’s just you alone in that room and, frankly, if you had all the answers, you wouldn’t have had to sequester yourself like that. If you have questions as you prepare for the exam, the folks that can help you are going to be in San Francisco–don’t you want to be there with them?
- Let’s be honest, the “you in a room by yourself” scenario isn’t really going to happen. That conference room you’ve reserved is going to sit empty while you spend your week running reports for finance, putting out the fire caused by your CEO’s problematic stock trade, arguing with your spouse about who is going to pick the kids up from school and cook dinner, and helping your kids with their math homework. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave all that behind for someone else to deal with and spend the week before the exam really focusing on stock compensation to the exclusion of everything else?
Special Offer
Candidates that take the CEP exam at the San Francisco site can receive 10% off NASPP Conference registration and can receive 50% off NASPP membership for 2012. As an added bonus, candidates that take advantage of the membership offer will receive membership in the NASPP for the rest of 2011 for free, qualifying them for the member rate on the Conference. And, if that’s not enough of a deal, NASPP members that are issuers can receive $200 off the CEP exam.*
To receive the discount on NASPP membership and registration, first register for the CEP exam by calling the CEP Institute at 408-554-2187. Mention this offer to receive the $200 discount on the exam. Once you have registered for the exam, contact the NASPP at 925-685-9271 or naspp@naspp.com to register for the NASPP Conference and mention this offer to receive the discount on the Conference and, if you aren’t already an NASPP member, NASPP membership.
What is the CEP?
The CEPI’s self-study curriculum serves as the industry’s educational standard, focusing on the core disciplines of equity compensation: accounting; equity plan design, analysis and administration; corporate and securities law; and taxation. The CEP designation is granted to individuals who have passed the three program exams (Level 1, basic, through Level 3, advanced). Candidates can select to complete one, two or all three levels of the program.
I completed the program when I first began working in stock compensation and the knowledge I developed has been key to my success in this industry. I highly recommend the CEP program for anyone involved in any aspect of stock compensation.
*The Fine Print
The discount on NASPP Conference registration is available for new registrations only and the discount on NASPP membership is available to new members only. I’m sorry, but I can’t offer the discounts on a retroactive basis, for membership renewals for 2011 or 2012, or for additions to existing corporate memberships.
The CEP exam discount is available for new registrations for issuing companies only. Individuals already registered for the exam are not eligible for a retroactive discount. For full eligibility details contact the CEPI at cepi@scu.edu.
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.
Tags: CEP, CEPI, NASPP Annual Conference, professional development
This Tuesday, I had the privilege of attending the CEPI’s 5th Annual CEP Symposium at the Santa Clara University. NASPP’s own Robyn Shutak and Barbara Baksa both received 2008 Volunteer Excellence Awards, and Barbara had the exceptional honor of being a “Super-SME”(subject matter expert)! If you are a CEP already, don’t forget that the volunteer efforts by outstanding CEPs like Robyn and Barbara are an essential part of the CEP program. For more information on volunteering, visit the CEPI site for CEP designees at http://www.scu.edu/business/cepi/current_ceps.cfm. If you are still in the process of earning the CEP designation, there are some fantastic opportunities through the NASPP to gain the knowledge expertise you will need like the Stock Plan Fundamentals and the Restricted Stock Essentials.
The keynote address and general session of the CEP Symposium centered on an issue that most companies should be grappling with today: the idea vs. the reality of equity compensation programs. The keynote address delivered by author and professor Hersh Sefrin really highlighted for me not only how psychology dominates our markets, but also the success (or lack thereof) of our equity compensation programs. It ties closely with companies moving to performance-based compensation in an effort to tie principal (shareholder) interests with agent (executive) interests. One thing that stood out for me is the realization that people are more risk averse when they have the potential to lose a “sure gain”. In other words, once an executive has reached a point at which their equity compensation has significant value, they may be less likely to take productive risks with the direction of the company than they would be while they still want to see an increase in the value of their equity compensation. A real way to counter this is to balance out the carrot with the stick; to incorporate a potential for loss or penalty that will create incentive to continue to be innovative and engage in productive risk. For more information on performance-based equity compensation, check out the Performance Plans portal on our site.
The general session, delivered by Sheila Lyons and Miriam Solomon of BNY Mellon, was on communicating the value of your equity compensation program. An essential part of communicating your program is to have a solid idea of what goal (or goals) your company is pursuing with equity compensation. It is important to make sure that the goal of the company is being met by the program. One common example of misalignment that I see is when the company would like to promote an ownership culture across the board as the main goal, but is not able to give grants that are sizable enough to be of any significance to the participant. Another issue to watch out for is conflicting goals within the program. If a company wants to use stock as a part of compensation and as a way to promote an ownership culture, then these two goals may conflict with each other and create difficulty when trying to communicate the value of the program to employees (will you compare it to salary/compensation or promote share retention?). I thought the best idea to come out of this session is that companies should probably be looking at stock plan communications from a marketing viewpoint to promote the value of the program to employees. This means identifying employee needs and promoting education around those needs. Some great ways to do this are to interview or survey employees to understand their experiences with the program, to work with managers so that they can talk with employees in a smaller setting, and to bring financial planning education into the mix through a 3rd party that does not represent the company. Don’t be afraid to get outside your comfort zone and employ some clever marketing when it comes to your equity compensation!
Tags: CEP, CEPI, employee communication, equity compensation