Our popular “Meet the Speaker” series, featuring interviews with speakers at the 25th Annual NASPP Conference, is a great way to get to know our many distinguished speakers and find out a little more about their sessions in advance of the Conference.
For today’s “Meet the Speaker” interview, we feature an interview with Keyoor Mankad of My Equity Comp, who will lead the session “Best Practices for Insider Trading Policies.” Here is what Keyoor had to say:
NASPP: What are some of the things companies need to think about when it comes to insider trading compliance?
Keyoor: Insider trading compliance is very critical to every company, from new IPOs to established companies. There have always been questions and debates about who should be designated as insiders, what transactions are subject to insider reporting, and who is responsible for filing these reporting requirements. Brokers are a critical component in this process and there is always confusion around preclearance requirements. Dealing with insiders can be a challenge. How can all of us, from stock plan administrator to legal counsel and brokers, work as a team to successfully report all transactions accurately? My panel has combined experience of over 50 years and consists of an issuer, a broker, a lawyer and a consultant.
NASPP: What is one best practice companies should implement?
Keyoor: The most important part of this whole process is clearly documenting procedures. Ideally, a clear copy of each and every step involved in the process should be handy to all of the parties involved.
NASPP: What is the worst horror story you can tell on your topic?
Keyoor: We do have a horror story involving a senior level executive, but you will have to attend our session to witness all the details.
NASPP: What is your favorite memory from a past NASPP Conference?
Keyoor: Watching Huey Lewis and The News at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas.
Don’t miss Keyoor’s session, “Best Practices for Insider Trading Policies,” at the NASPP Conference!
About the NASPP Conference
The 25th Annual NASPP Conference will be held from October 17-20 in Washington, DC. This year’s program features close to 100 sessions on today’s most timely topics in stock and executive compensation; check out the full agenda and register today!
Our popular “Meet the Speaker” series, featuring interviews with speakers at the 22nd Annual NASPP Conference, is a great way to get to know our many distinguished speakers and find out a little more about their sessions in advance of the Conference.
For today’s “Meet the Speaker” interview, we feature an interview with Ellie Kehmeier of Steele Consulting, who will lead the session “What You Don’t Know About Tax Accounting CAN Hurt You.” Here is what Ellie had to say:
NASPP: What is a common misperception about your topic?
Ellie: A very common misperception is that tax accounting for equity compensation is only relevant to members of the tax department. However, this issue is just one of many that the tax department deals with, and most tax professionals don’t specialize in equity compensation. A stock plan administrator that understands these concepts can help make sure numbers are correct, errors in the financial statements are avoided, and can streamline the process by making sure the right reports are run the first time around.
NASPP: What common mistake do companies make and how can they avoid it?
Ellie: One common mistake that I see relates to the requirement that companies reclassify excess tax benefits (“windfalls”) from operating to financing cash flow on the statement of cash flows. I can look at a company’s financial statements and spot potential problems in two minutes. This reporting requirement is often handled by the SEC reporting group instead of tax, with data from stock plan administration. If the stock plan administration professional knows what is needed here, this is a really easy mistake to avoid. A number of other common mistakes are made because people don’t understand this area very well or don’t understand when they need some specialized help. Our panel’s goal is to demystify the issues, and help the tax and stock plan admin people learn ways to help each other get it right with the least amount of pain possible!
NASPP: What is the silver lining to your topic?
Ellie: A silver lining to the complexities of tax accounting for equity comp? Does having this be my main source of revenue for the last ten years count? Okay, a silver lining to this topic is that if people follow our suggestions, then tax and stock plan admin will develop a deeper appreciation and (we hope) fondness for each other. And the stock plan admin professionals will minimize the time they spend running reports out of their equity-tracking software, because they’ll better understand what they need, and what questions they need to ask of their tax counterparts, to get it right the first time and keep the tax folks out of trouble!
NASPP: Tell us three things people don’t know about you.
Ellie: Gosh, I’m such an open book. Okay, let me try:
I was supposed to be a forest ranger when I grew up.
Related to number 1, I love camping. When our youngest goes off to college in the fall, we’re going off camping with our new air mattress and sleeping bags. Looking forward to waking up to birds chirping and my husband’s mean camp “mcmuffins.”
I’m a chocoholic, especially good dark chocolate with nuts. I’m currently addicted to home-made banana splits with vanilla ice-cream, peanuts and chocolate sauce (and it doesn’t even have to the good stuff).
About the NASPP Conference
The 22nd Annual NASPP Conference will be held from September 29-October 2 in Las Vegas. This year’s program features 60+ sessions on today’s most timely topics in stock compensation; check out the full agenda and register today!
Our popular “Meet the Speaker” series, featuring interviews with speakers at the 22nd Annual NASPP Conference, is a great way to get to know our many distinguished speakers and find out a little more about their sessions in advance of the Conference.
About the NASPP Conference
The 22nd Annual NASPP Conference will be held from September 29-October 2 in Las Vegas. This year’s program features 60+ sessions on today’s most timely topics in stock compensation; check out the full agenda and register today!
Our popular “Meet the Speaker” series, featuring interviews with speakers at the 22nd Annual NASPP Conference, is a great way to get to know our many distinguished speakers and find out a little more about their sessions in advance of the Conference.
NASPP: Why is your topic particularly timely right now?
Neta: Almost everyone has a laptop and a smartphone, and many have a tablet as well. As we interact with our devices we experience subtle shifts in our expectations and behaviors. It is no longer convenient to pick up the phone and get an answer to your question, or scan and return a form to enroll in a new opportunity. We expect easier methods of interaction, and our employees are no different. Attending our session on technology and the participant experience will give you some great ideas on how you can ensure you are using technology to its fullest, so that the value of your plans do not fall behind.
NASPP: What actions should companies be taking now?
Neta: Register for the NASPP Conference and attend this session! Also, companies should review their current technology use in plan automation and education practices and implement improvement plans where needed.
NASPP: What is the most innovative solution/response you’ve seen to your topic?
Neta: Advanced technology solutions to expensive and risk-laden problems in our industry, like tax mobility.
NASPP: If you had a store on Etsy, what would you sell in it?
Neta: I would sell advice. Look out for my weekly specials.
About the NASPP Conference
The 22nd Annual NASPP Conference will be held from September 29-October 2 in Las Vegas. This year’s program features 60+ sessions on today’s most timely topics in stock compensation; check out the full agenda and register today!
Our popular “Meet the Speaker” series, featuring interviews with speakers at the 22nd Annual NASPP Conference, is a great way to get to know our many distinguished speakers and find out a little more about their sessions in advance of the Conference.
NASPP: Why is your topic particularly time right now?
Geoff: In our post-Sarbanes-Oxley, post Dodd-Frank world, getting governance right is no longer a “nice to have.” Rather, it’s a necessary element of corporate survival. By ensuring alignment of executive interests with those of shareholders, share ownership policies (share ownership guidelines + share retention requirements) represent a critical tool in a company’s corporate governance arsenal. And while the prevalence of share ownership guidelines has remain fairly steady over the past five years, the use of share retention requirements as an enforcement mechanism has more than doubled during this same period. This added wrinkle of share retention can add layers of complexity to the issuer/vendor relationship and is one of many administrative challenges we’ll be covering in our session.
NASPP: What are some best practices companies should implement?
Geoff: Many executives and Board members are starved for information about their share ownership guideline compliance status. Frequent questions include: What are my requirements? Have I met them? What happens if I sell after an upcoming vesting? While measuring compliance with share ownership guidelines is most commonly a once-a-year process, we find that leading companies take a more holistic, ongoing approach to bridging potential knowledge gaps among its executive and Board populations. Some companies have created modeling tools demonstrating the compliance impact of anticipated sale transactions. Others have incorporated ownership guideline “chats” as part of the pre-clearance process. But one theme that runs central through these best practices is that of more frequent, more expansive communications efforts.
NASPP: What is a common misperception about your topic?
Geoff: With many companies trading at or near all time highs, share ownership guideline (SOG) compliance is a complete non-issue. To which JFK may have responded—”the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” As we’ll highlight during our session, even the most basic SOG design can present formidable tracking and communication challenges. Add in the fact that markets often fall faster than they rise and you have a compelling case to ensure your SOG compliance house is in order.
NASPP: If you had a store on Etsy, what would you sell in it?
Geoff: Rainbow loom bracelets. I’ve been classically trained by three of the best U10 loomers around.
About the NASPP Conference The 22nd Annual NASPP Conference will be held from September 29-October 2 in Las Vegas. This year’s program features 60+ sessions on today’s most timely topics in stock compensation; check out the full agenda and register today!
We are excited to bring our popular “Meet the Speaker” series back to the NASPP Blog, featuring interviews with speakers at the 22nd Annual NASPP Conference. This is a great way to get to know our many distinguished speakers and find out a little more about their sessions in advance of the Conference.
NASPP: Why is your Section 16 compliance particularly time right now?
Alan: Section 16 compliance is a particularly timely topic because the importance of the reporting function for compliance personnel remains high. Mistakes result in highly visible delinquency disclosures in the company’s proxy statement, and the rule requiring disclosure leaves little room for forgiveness. The person responsible for Section 16(a) compliance needs to be aware of recent developments in an envirnoment of changing types of equity compensation.
NASPP: What are some best practices companies should implement?
Alan: Every public company should have a designated compliance person who is responsible for preparing and filing Section 16(a) reports and who is empowered to assure that directors and officers provide to him or her adequate information about their securities transactions in time to permit timely and accurate reporting on Form 4.
NASPP: There’s always a silver lining; what is the silver lining to Section 16 reporting?
Alan: Rarely does a failure to file a Form 3 or Form 4 on time result in any SEC interest in bringing an enforcement action. Disclosure of the deliqnency in the proxy statement is the extent of the insider’s punishment.
NASPP: Tell us something people don’t know about you.
Alan: I was serving as special counsel to SEC Chairman John Shad when some of the staff had the idea to start the George Fitzsimmons Memorial Golf Classic in honor of the late Secretary. I presented to Chairman Shad the “order” declaring the tournament an official SEC tournament. I came in second place in one of the early Fitzsimmons tournaments in the 1980’s, and won the event in 1990. My golf has never been as good since.
The 22nd Annual NASPP Conference will be held from September 29-October 2 in Las Vegas. This year’s program features 60+ sessions on today’s most timely topics in stock compensation; check out the full agenda and register today!
We are excited to bring our popular “Meet the Speaker” series back to the NASPP Blog, featuring interviews with speakers at the 22nd Annual NASPP Conference. This is a great way to get to know our many distinguished speakers and find out a little more about their sessions in advance of the Conference.
NASPP: What are you planning on covering during your session?
Cathy: Companies are now taking mobility to the next level and addressing the next tier of risk associated with business travelers holding equity awards. We are going to share some of the challenges and considerations that leading companies have experienced during this journey.
NASPP: What actions should companies be taking now with respect to business travelers?
Cathy: Companies should be educating themselves on the current domestic and global risks. They should be trying to quantify the exposure they have today and project for the next several years. From this, they can make decisions on policies and an approach forward.
NASPP: What is the silver lining here?
Cathy: If you haven’t fully tackled this, you are far from alone. However, it is trending as the next wave in audits and compliance efforts.
NASPP: If you had a store on Etsy, what would you sell in it?
Cathy: Probably short stories for children. I really enjoy making up stories with my daughter to teach, entertain and humor her.
The 21st Annual NASPP Conference is just two weeks away and I have Conference-brain. In light of that and the fact that this is my last entry before the Conference, I thought we’d have a little fun today.
If you’ve been paying attention, you know that we’ve been publishing interviews with our Conference speakers for the past few months. Each interview includes a question in which the speaker shares something personal. Today I’ve created a short quiz based on the interviews. I’ll raffle a jar of my coveted, limited edition homemade jam or apple butter (from fruit grown in my very own backyard) to those of you that score the highest. Don’t wait–you must complete the quiz by 11:00 PM tonight to be eligible for the raffle.
I’ll post the answers with the NASPP To Do List tomorrow morning.
The Fine Print: Only one entry per person. If you figure out a way to complete the survey more than once, only your first entry counts for the raffle. Sorry, but you have to have a US mailing address to win; I don’t have any way to ship jam overseas. Quiz must be completed by 11:00 PM Pacific September 10, 2013 to be eligible for the raffle.
Things to Do in DC While we’re on the topic of fun + the NASPP Conference, Broc Romanek, who lives in the DC area has filmed a video of things to do while you are the Conference (besides attending all the great sessions, of course). Check it out. Did you know that there’s basketball court above the Supreme Court?
Who doesn’t love a celebrity sighting? For today’s “Meet the Speaker “interview, we take a detour from DC to Hollywood, to interview Emily Cervino of Fidelity, who will moderate the panel “Stock Compensation Goes Hollywood.” Here is what Emily had to say:
NASPP: What is the most important thing attendees should know about bringing a little Hollywood to their stock plan education program?
Emily: Education and communication continue to be a challenge for stock compensation. Our plans and technology have evolved, but too often our communication has not kept pace, with printed materials and static intranet sites. Validated by the wild success of viral videos and YouTube, videos are all the rage. You don’t need an all-star cast and legendary Hollywood director to make this medium an Oscar-worthy contender in your stock compensation toolkit. This session explores how video and other digital mediums can help connect and educate today’s stock plan participants. We will provide a comprehensive overview of your digital choices, including live video, custom-animation, computer-based training, voice-enriched video presentations, and others. We will provide a solid understanding of what works in the digital world, and what doesn’t, and cover from concept, to budget, to storyboards, to production.
NASPP: Why is this topic timely right now?
Emily: You don’t have to be a visionary to see that the way we consume information is changing. Printed materials, static intranet sites and long memos and articles are on the decline, while digital content, social media, mobile apps and virtual meetings are on the increase. With more than 40 million videos viewed on a monthly basis on YouTube, 56% of employers using social media for internal communications, and 93% of internal communications professionals seeing video as an important tool for sharing information with employees, it is clear that video is here to stay. Finding new and innovative ways to educate employees on equity and really engage with them is a challenge. Video is well suited to meet that challenge.
NASPP: What is the most innovative solution for companies that want to incorporate video into their educational program?
Emily: The great thing about this session is that it is bursting with innovative solutions. We will view eight different samples of equity compensation digital communications. From in-house to outsourced. From big-budget to no-budget. Live action, custom animation, computer based training…we have it covered. For companies looking for inspiration and innovation for stock plan education, this session is the place to be!
NASPP: What is your favorite NASPP Conference memory?
Emily: Many years ago…. long before I worked for Fidelity, I attended the Fidelity event at the Levi Strauss store in San Francisco. It was a great event, complete with a mechanical bull and a henna artist. But, the best thing was that I brought home a new pair of jeans with a fancy pocket embellishment. Two of my favorite things–shopping and stock compensation–rolled up together. I still have those jeans. Perhaps I’ll dig them out for DC!
The NASPP and Fidelity Investments are not affiliated. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC. 658022.1.0 Fidelity Stock Plan Services LLC.
NASPP: Why should Conference-goers attend your session?
Ellen: Our session focuses on administrative issues that we see arising from time-to-time that can catch the unwary off guard. However, our session is not just for stock plan administrators, but counselors as well. As a lawyer, I find that clients appreciate advice beyond the legal answer; we can add value by providing guidance on administrative and broker concerns. In addition, our panel aims to educate as well as entertain!
NASPP: What common mistake do companies make and how can they avoid it?
Ellen: A common mistake issuers make when granting equity compensation is not involving the right people when establishing a program or practice. Take for example, auto-exercise. In theory, a great concept from an accounting perspective and not a difficult exercise legally. However, you hear the urban tale of the issuer who spends all sorts of time, money and effort establishing the program and then to find out that the captive broker cannot (or will not) do so. If only they had asked the stock plan administrator first… Yes, I am shamelessly trying to score points with all of the stock plan administrators who are reading this interview.
NASPP: What is the silver lining to your topic?
Ellen: The issues that we will discuss are issues that do not arise on a daily basis, so they can be “gotchas” when they do. When one of these issues arises in your workplace, you can be the brilliant person on the team by being familiar with the issue, anticipating questions and having solutions. Most folks want be brilliant or at least create the appearance that they are.
NASPP: What is your secret (or not-so-secret) superpower?
Ellen: My not so secret superpower is the ability to make people laugh. Lawyering is serious business, but can be very dull without a bit of levity. I suspect that most are laughing at me, not with me, but that is a discussion for me and my therapist.