Navigating Underwater Option Exchange Programs

For the first time in over a decade, 2022 finds many companies with their stock options substantially underwater for a prolonged period due to outside market forces. This has brought underwater option exchanges back to the forefront, as companies prioritize fixing employee incentives while avoiding the many potential pitfalls of implementing such a program.

Join our webcast for a discussion of key governance, program design, and accounting implications of these multifaceted transactions. We’ll cover topics such as:

• The evolution of the governance and shareholder approval landscape, from the dot-com era to now
• Program design levers that consider shareholder requirements alongside the imperative to fix employee incentives
• The use of exchange programs as a way to better align your equity compensation plans with your people strategy
• How exchanges fit in the GAAP modification framework for equity awards and how to minimize the resulting costs
• Managing tricky technical accounting questions that may arise from various plan designs

If you work in compensation or financial reporting and your company’s awards are at risk from a market downturn, be sure to tune in to this session.

This webcast qualifies CPAs and Certified Equity Professionals for 1.0 hour of CPE.

CPE Credits: 1.0 (available to live webcast attendees)
Field of Study: Specialized Knowledge
Program Level: Overview
Additional CPE details