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GEOnews - 03 May 2013
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Today is the Last Day to Participate in GEO's Global Equity Insights Survey
If you haven't completed GEO's Global Equity Insights Survey yet, please be sure to do so right away as the deadline to complete it is today. This inaugural global survey on current market practices of equity-based compensation will examine prevalent plan designs across the world's most important economic regions. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, any company with an equity-based compensation plan in place can participate in it, and all survey participants will receive the full survey results. Get Your Continuing Education Credits HereDid you know you can earn valuable education credits at both of GEO's annual conferences? GEO events qualify for continuing education (CE) credit for Certified Equity Professionals, recertification credit for the WorldatWork Society of Certified Professionals and CPE credit for Certified Public Accountants. Attend GEO's 14th Annual International Conference in Munich, Germany and GEO's 3rd Annual National Equity Compensation Forum in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA this year and earn as many as 28 total education credits*! *actual number of credits is dependent on your certification
Only Five Weeks Left to Register for GEO's 14th Annual International Conference in Munich
 Experience a Different Kind of Conference
GEO's National Equity Compensation Forum (NECF) is known for bringing together strategic-minded professionals who are interested in learning and networking in an intimate, comfortable venue. Make your plans now to join us for GEO's 3rd Annual National Equity Compensation Forum in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA from 23-25 October and experience everything that NECF has to offer--all at an amazing price! With an impressive keynote lineup, thought leaders and industry experts in attendance and a charming location, attendees are sure to experience the energy, the synergy and the difference that is NECF. Early registration rates are available now through 31 May.
Attend a GEO Conference for Free
Have you checked out the new Baker & McKenzie Global Equity Matrix app?. Download it now for free on your iPhone, iPad or Android smartphone--just search for "Global Equity Matrix"--and get a chance to win a free conference pass of your choice to either GEO's 14th Annual International Conference in Munich, Germany 12-14 June or GEO's National Equity Compensation Forum (NECF) in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 23-25 October, a value in excess of $1,000*. Simply download the app, find the special code embedded in the app and enter it here. Contest ends 24 May 2013 and is open to service providers and issuer firms.
*at regular rates
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CONFERENCES
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12-14 June 2013
14th Annual International Conference
Munich, Germany
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WEBCASTS
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CHAPTER MEETINGS
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The Proceeds Odyssey-
Challenges of Repatriation
of Participant ProceedsREGISTRATION OPEN19 June 2013 Current Issues Around Operating Incentive Plans in AustraliaSAVE THE DATE27 June 2013
Turning up the Heat on Data Privacy Rules and Penalties
SAVE THE DATE
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07 May 2013
Boston Chapter
Boston, Massachusetts
REGISTRATION OPEN
16 May 2013
New York Chapter
New York, New York
REGISTRATION OPEN
20 May 2013
San Francisco Chapter
San Francisco, California
21 May 2013
Nordic Chapter
SAVE THE DATE
22 May 2013
US Midwest Chapter
Chicago, Illinois
REGISTRATION OPEN
23 May 2013
Netherlands Chapter
Amsterdam, Netherlands
REGISTRATION OPEN
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- 5-8 May - Solium Synergy, Hear our own Robyn Shutak speak at the session, "Hoedown Throwdown - Financial Reporting and Legal Challenge."
- 15-18 May - E*TRADE Directions 2013, Attend the sessions "So ESPPs Aren't Dead After All? A Design and Accounting Primer" and "Life Events & Equity Compensation" and hear from our own Robyn Shutak.
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 Steven Dinham 
Mobility & Benefits Tax Manager, EMEA
Intel Corporation, UK
Steven Dinham heads the Mobility & Benefits Tax team in the EMEA region for Intel Corporation, based in the UK at it's regional Sales & Marketing/Finance & Administration headquarters. Intel designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with 2012 revenues of $53B, 105,000 employees, with operations across 60 countries. He is responsible for complying with income tax and social security laws and regulations related to employee compensation & benefits, including tax planning and plan design. He is also responsible for tax compliance and maximizing tax cost reductions for Intel's internationally mobile population including policy design. Steven has led several global stock tax review projects including the implementation of RSU's at Intel for the first time, and a global employee stock option exchange program. Steven is a Chartered UK tax advisor having trained and worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK for 6 years in the expat tax division, before joining Intel in October 2005.
About Intel Corporation Inc
Intel is the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. Intel develops advanced integrated digital technology, primarily integrated circuits, for industries such as computing and communications. Its mission this decade is to create and extend computing technology to connect and enrich the lives of every person on earth.
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Australian Evidence on CEO Option Grants
Source: Canil & Roser We test the option incentive models of Hall and Murphy (2000, 2002) and Choe (2003). Hall and Murphy (2000, 2002) posit optimal grant size and exercise price contingent on the executive's levels of risk aversion and private diversification. Choe (2003) relates these choices to firm characteristics, principally the target risk level and financial leverage. A unique hand-collected data set of Australian grants is employed, wherein exercises prices and grant sizes are unconstrained by taxation and accounting practices. The Hall and Murphy (2000, 2002) model is found to explain observed exercise prices while neither model satisfactorily explains grant sizes. However, there is some evidence that CEO influence is associated with larger grants than posited by these optimal incentive models, but does not impact on exercise prices.
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People's Republic of China - Intensified SAFE and Tax Registration Requirements for Equity Awards in China
Source: Deloitte. Many multinational companies have implemented equity plans in People's Republic of China ("China" or PRC) and learned that it is not always a straightforward task. In addition to designing a suitable equity plan to support human resources and business strategies in China, companies should also consider various registration requirements from local compliance and planning perspectives. These requirements include the registration of equity plans with the local tax bureau and, if participants in the plan will include PRC nationals, registration with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
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The Relationship Between the Management Compensation and the Usage of Hedging Instruments in Croatia
Source: Mrsa Stankovic During the accounting harmonization process between the universal accounting standards of the International Accounting Standards Board and the American Financial Accounting Standards Board, the standardization of the share-based payment may be pointed out as one of the successful projects. The American Financial Accounting Standards Board accepted the European proposal on the standardization of this field regardless the discontent of the major American corporations. The novelty in the standard is the reporting requirement of the allocated employee stock option costs in the profit and loss account according to their fair value, instead of the usual reporting scheme according to their intrinsic value.
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Directors' Remuneration Before and After the Crisis: Measuring the Impact of Reforms in Europe
Source: Barontini et al In this paper we measure the impact of recent reforms on directors' remuneration by comparing the remuneration practices at large European listed companies before and after the financial crisis. We analyse the data concerning directors' remuneration at FTSE Eurofirst 300 Index companies and assess to what extent the changes occurred between 2007 and 2010 reflect the economic crisis determined by the 2008 financial turmoil and the remuneration reforms generated by the same. Our analysis reveals that country-specific characteristics such as corporate governance, firm ownership, and the nature and quality of the legal system still have a relevant impact on the level and structure of directors' pay.
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Statoil's Share Saving Plan Allocates Shares
Source: SYS.CON The shares purchased by DNB on behalf of Statoil ASA (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) on 15 April 2013 for use in the group's share saving plan have on 17 April 2013 been distributed to the employees in accordance with their savings amount.
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Consultation Into Financial Reporting of Share Options Launched
Source: WSB The Accounting Standards Board has launched a consultation on the future of share based payment accounting for unquoted UK companies. It follows a preliminary review by the Financial Reporting Council into the reporting of employee share options of private companies.
Simplified Share Buy Back Rules to Boost Employee Ownership Announced
Source: Out Law Pinsent Masons The Government is to simplify "over-burdensome" share buy-back rules, which it hopes will encourage more companies to operate direct employee ownership schemes.
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Every Royal Mail Staff Member to Get £1,500 Share Windfall When Company Floats on Stock Exchange
Source: Daily Mail Every postal worker in Britain will be given around £1,500 of shares in Royal Mail when it floats on the stock market, the Business Minister will say today. It will be the largest employee share scheme for 25 years with around 140,000 workers from postmen to local delivery office managers expected to scoop a windfall.
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Stock Options Meant Big Tax Savings for Apple and JPMorgan, as well as Facebook
Source: Forbes It's not only Facebook. In a report released today, the left leaning Citizens for Tax Justice lists the biggest beneficiaries of an entirely legal, but some argue unjustified, corporate tax break.
A Tax Term Every Startup Should Know
Source: NBC For most startup owners and employees, being able to cite sections of the internal revenue code is probably not what you signed up for. But, there should be one notable exception: the 83b election. Many startups use stock as a means of compensation for their early employees. More specifically, they use what is called restricted stock, meaning if the employee were to leave before the stock "vests" the employee would forfeit the stock.
Will General Motor's Top Institutional Shareholders Approve of this New Compensation Plan?
Source: WallST Cheat Sheet The board of America's largest auto company have changed up CEO Dan Akerson's pay structure, to reflect the notion that he may retire within the next three years, when his long-term restricted stock vests. Akerson's compensation - subject to federal review due to 2009 bailout of the company - was raised 44 percent last year, to $11.1 million. That includes $1.99 million in restricted stock units that were earned as part of his 2011 compensation package and granted in 2012, the SEC filing said.
Proxy Season Brings a Third Wave of "Gotcha" Shareholder LitigationSource: Pillsbury Proxy season is upon us and the plaintiffs' bar is demonstrating its resourcefulness by bringing a third wave of shareholder litigation. This new wave, which has not crested yet, consists of a return to derivative shareholder suits but no longer concerning say-on-pay votes. Instead, these lawsuits are focused on "gotcha" allegations that companies issued stock options or restricted stock units to executives in amounts that exceed the limits of those companies' stock plans. These lawsuits are easily preventable with careful planning by Compensation Committees and their in-house and outside counsel to ensure that all stock grants and executive compensation proposals are in compliance with the company's stock plan.MORE
IRS Issues Proposed Regulations Under Code Section 162(m)(6), Applicable to Covered Health Insurance Providers
Source: Winston Strawn Regardless of what your opinion may be of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), certainly one of the most unnecessary and insidious provisions of ACA (Public Law 111-148, 124 Stat. 119, 868 (2010)) was the addition of a new Section 162(m)(6) to the Internal Revenue Code. Section 162(m)(6) limits to $500,000 the allowable deduction for the "aggregate applicable individual remuneration" and "deferred deduction remuneration" attributable to services performed by an "applicable individual" for a "covered health insurance provider" in a "disqualified taxable year" beginning after December 31, 2012.
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Incentive Compatible Compensation and Regulation
Source: Broeders & Chen This paper uses contingent claims analysis and regulatory constraints to show how a bank can create incentive compatible compensation for senior management aligned with the interests of other stake-holders. For this purpose the remuneration package takes the form of a "call spread" on the bank's equity. Unlike regular stock option programmes, a call spread limits the upside potential for senior management and prevents unlimited risk taking. Additionally, a maximum regulatory default probability also constrains risk taking behavior. We show the interests of different stakeholders can be better aligned by combining a call spread remuneration package with a default probability constraint.
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