Announcements, interviews, surveys and market signals, written by the Allshares team and the clients we work with. 146 resources, sorted newest first. Events run by date, nearest first.
ArticlesAn acquisition does not automatically end a company's Section 6039 reporting duties. ISO exercises and ESPP transfers made before closing still need reporting, and responsibility moves to the successor only when the deal qualifies for the IRS combined reporting procedure.
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ArticlesM&A puts equity administration under pressure: compressed diligence, unclear treatment of outstanding awards, fragmented historical records, and teams working in isolation. Here are the four challenges stock plan teams hit most often, and how to address each before the deal closes.
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ArticlesThe IRS retires the FIRE filing system on 31 December 2026 and replaces it with IRIS. Equity teams filing Forms 3921, 3922, 1099-B, 1099-DIV or 1042-S need a new Transmitter Control Code, XML-format files and cleaner name and TIN data before then.
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ArticlesMedian S&P 500 CEO pay rose 5.6% to about $16.5 million in 2026, a steadier increase than last year's 10%. Three takeaways from the Allshares benchmarking report: pay is stabilizing, sector divergence is widening, and incentive plans keep growing more complex.
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ArticlesBurnout in equity and finance teams is caused by how work is designed, not by an individual's inability to cope. This piece sets out the workload conditions that produce it and six practical uses of PTO that prevent it.
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ArticlesForm 3921 reports the exercise of an incentive stock option and Form 3922 reports the transfer of shares bought through a qualifying ESPP. Both are informational: they document transactions employees will need when they later sell shares.
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ArticlesSEC Pay Versus Performance rules require companies to disclose the relationship between executive pay actually paid and company performance. This explains which filers must comply, which qualify for modified reporting, and what each disclosure has to contain.
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ArticlesPay transparency is expanding through regulation, employee expectation and competitive pressure. This covers what to fix internally before publishing ranges, how to define equal work, and the step most companies skip.
ReadArticlesAn IPO is the moment employees most need to understand their equity and are least likely to. Without education, companies risk disengagement at the peak, poor participant financial decisions, and avoidable strain on HR.
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ArticlesMost equity education fails because it is delivered once, at grant, and never revisited. The gap participants actually have is clarity about what they hold and when it matters, not more compensation detail.
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ArticlesReadiness for an IPO or acquisition means stress testing the equity plan rather than simply having one. This walks through data integrity checks, scenario modelling, and managing the participant wealth effect before the event.
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ArticlesStrong executive compensation disclosures depend on work done long before filing. Three areas decide the outcome: aligning with the compensation committee early, drafting for a reader rather than a checklist, and controlling the final review.
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ArticlesManaging equity internally works early on, but most companies outgrow it sooner than expected. The trigger is not company size, it is dependency on a single person or undocumented process.
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ArticlesSOC 2 Type II is an independent audit of whether a provider's security controls operated effectively over a period of time, not just on one date. It typically becomes a requirement when a deal, audit or security questionnaire depends on evidence of vendor oversight.
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ArticlesEquity compensation teams face more complex plans, tighter reporting timelines and higher executive visibility than before. Meeting that demand takes both technical accuracy and strong working relationships, since either one alone leaves gaps.
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ArticlesA subsidiary needs its own EIN for 6039 reporting when it issues its own stock or runs its own plan. Reporting follows the issuer of the stock, not the employing entity, so subsidiaries that only employ participants file under the parent.
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ArticlesThe equity function often grows faster than the team supporting it, leaving rising risk and shrinking bandwidth. These are the signs that outsourcing has become a stability decision rather than a cost one.
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ArticlesEquity awards only return value when participants understand them and leadership can see the effect. This covers how to frame the strategy, then how to communicate return separately to employees and to executives.
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ArticlesIRC Section 6039 requires companies to give participants tax statements and file with the IRS for ISO exercises and ESPP transfers. This sets out the deadlines for 2025 transactions and the practices that keep the filing clean.
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ArticlesData integrity is the foundation of equity administration, and errors compound quietly until year-end. A regular health check covers duplicate accounts, HR system integration, late terminations, indicative data and grant schedule consistency.
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ArticlesA year-end checklist of eleven practices that keep stock plan operations aligned with current tax and compliance requirements, compiled for teams preparing for the new year.
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ArticlesEDGAR Next is the SEC's modernisation of its filing system, adding stronger access security and more automation. This explains what changes for filers and the steps to take before the transition.
ReadArticlesA short video walkthrough of year-end 6039 reporting, covering what has to be reported, the deadlines that apply, and the data checks worth doing before filing.
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ArticlesIRC 6039 filing covers incentive stock option exercises and ESPP share transfers. This 2024 update recaps what the requirement involves and the preparation that avoids a January scramble.
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ArticlesChoosing an equity compensation vendor decides how much operational load the team carries afterwards. This is a practical guide to running the selection, from requirements through to a partnership that holds up.
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ArticlesTen questions to put to a stock plan consultant before engaging them, covering experience, coverage model and how the work would actually run. Available as a download.
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ArticlesThe 2024 edition of the eleven-point checklist for stock plan administration, written to align operations with that year's tax updates and compliance requirements.
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ArticlesThe United States moved to T+1 settlement for equities on 28 May 2024 under Rule 15c6-1. This covers what the shorter cycle changes for equity operations, including processing time, tax calculations and payroll.
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ArticlesA recorded panel on the pressures that build unseen inside equity plan departments, and how managers can spot and address them early. Presented by Tommy Swindle (UBS), Barrett Scott (Stock & Option Solutions) and Joanne Wendler (Compass).
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ArticlesA recap of what 6039 reporting involves for incentive stock option exercises and ESPP share transfers, and how to prepare before the season starts.
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ArticlesRemote equity teams stay engaged when their psychological needs at work are met, not when perks are added. This sets out five practical approaches, framed around the STEER model.
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ArticlesOutsourcing fails when the transition is treated as a handover rather than an implementation. This covers the common failure points and the structured roadmap that keeps an equity administration transition on track.
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ArticlesA downloadable Excel calculator for estimating what losing a stock plan administrator actually costs, covering more than recruiting fees and job postings.
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ArticlesEquity teams lose significant time to unstructured email, which creates delay and participant frustration. This makes the case for a defined communication workflow rather than more inbox effort.
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ArticlesThree risks recur in stock plan departments: sudden loss of the administrator, no documented coverage, and dependency on one person's knowledge. This looks at how each surfaces and what reduces the exposure.
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ArticlesLosing a stock plan administrator costs far more than recruitment fees. This works through the full calculation, using Salary.com benchmark salary data and Gallup's estimate of replacement cost.
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ArticlesWhether to hire an administrator or outsource comes down to two questions about the work itself, not headcount. This compares the advantages of each so the decision fits the plan's actual demands.
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