Certified Equity Professional Institute Provides Guidance for Global Stock Plans

Jan. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- The Certified Equity Professional Institute (CEPI) at Santa Clara University, the only certification body for equity compensation professionals, has published GPS: Global Stock Plans, adding to the GPS: Guidance|Procedures|Systems research library.  This publication provides guidance to US multinational public companies and plan administrators on effectively and efficiently operating global stock option and other equity compensation plans.

“Increasingly, companies are struggling with the global implications of their equity programs.  In particular, the grant processes, transactional processing and tax and payroll implications are troubling areas to manage and can expose the company to significant risk.  Understanding the administrative processes in light of the complex regulatory requirements in multiple jurisdictions is no small job,” said Emily Cervino, CEP, Director, CEPI.  

GPS: Global Stock Plans is underwritten by industry leaders.  Title sponsors include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Fidelity Stock Plan Services, and Transcentive, a Computershare company.  Other sponsorship is provided by Alston & Bird, LLP, Baker & McKenzie, LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, Global Tax Network, James Reda & Associates, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.  

“The CEPI at Santa Clara University provides the only source of professional certification in the equity compensation field.  As such, the CEPI is the natural choice for leading this research effort,” said Carol Rutlen, Project Leader. “This project identifies issues associated with providing equity compensation to global employees, highlights alternative approaches to administering global plans, and captures best practices of industry leaders.”

About the Certified Equity Professional Institute

The Certified Equity Professional Institute (CEPI), at Santa Clara University, is the only certification body for equity compensation professionals.  The CEPI curriculum covers accounting, corporate and securities laws, taxation, and administrative and contractual considerations, ensuring that CEP designees have achieved a required level of expertise in all of the relevant areas of equity compensation.  More than 65 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies have CEPs supporting their stock plans.  More information is available at www.scu.edu/business/cepi/.



About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,397 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master  ’s and law degrees. Distinguished nationally by the second highest graduation rate among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. More information is available at .

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The CEPI provides certification and continuing education for the equity compensation industry. The curriculum is the industry's standard, focusing on accounting, plan design, analysis and administration, corporate and securities law, and taxation.

Companies and service providers will find much needed support for their global stock plans in the newly released GPS|Global Stock Plans published by the Certified Equity Professional Institute at Santa Clara University. The free publication covers stock options and other types of equity compensation granted by US companies to non-US employees.