The Impact of Tax Incentives on the Choice to Hold Shares Acquired from Employee Stock Option Exercises

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Ryan Huston ◽  
Thomas J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Stock Options ◽  
Tax Incentives ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Corporate Tax ◽  
Negative Relation ◽  
Employee Stock Option ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Tax Benefits ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Jel Classifications

ABSTRACT This paper extends prior stock option literature by examining the impact of individual and corporate tax incentives on the decision to hold or sell shares acquired through the exercises of incentive stock options (ISOs) and non-qualified stock options (NQSOs). We focus on factors found in prior literature to be associated with the choice to hold or sell in the context of the type of stock option exercised. Specifically, we find that the positive (negative) relation found in prior literature between the decision to hold shares following exercise and future returns (depth) is associated more with NQSOs than ISOs, consistent with individual tax incentives. Examining corporate tax incentives, we find that corporate tax benefits mitigate insiders' likelihood to hold shares obtained from ISO exercise. Furthermore, we find evidence that firms compensate employees to forgo individual tax benefits associated with holding shares from ISO exercise, and as this compensation increases, insiders are more likely to sell following exercise. JEL Classifications: H24; H25; J33.

scholarly journals DAMPAK STRUKTUR MODAL PADA SENSITIVITAS PENERAPAN KOMPENSASI OPSI SAHAM KARYAWAN TERHADAP KINERJA

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Nur Fadjrih Asyik
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Capital Structure ◽  
Stock Options ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
Employee Stock Option ◽  
Sensitivity Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Option Compensation ◽  
Stock Option Compensation

This study aims to test whether the management that receive compensation in the form of stock options having an positive impact on company performance. This study considers the external performance measurement by identifying Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR). In addition, this study aims to test whether the company's capital structure affects the sensitivity level of employee stock option compensation and firm performance. Capital structure is measured with debt to equity ratio. The result indicates that the proportion of Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) influence company performance in accordance with the predictions. This shows that the more stock options offered to employees then came a sense of belonging which resulted in more motivated managers to improve company performance. Furthermore, the higher the market performance of companies that can be achieved, the higher the profit (gain) will be obtained by the recipient of stock options. In addition, this study also shows that the impact of stock option grants at the company's performance declined with the greater capital structure of liability. This shows that the capital structure of liabilities will lower the sensitivity level of employee stock option compensation and firm performance. The higher the company's liabilities would reduce the rights of the owner of the dividends each period in accordance with the ownership of shares held since the company must take into account the interest costs to be paid to the creditor.

Congressional Intervention in the Standard-Setting Process: An Analysis of the Stock Option Accounting Reform Act of 2004

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Farber ◽  
Marilyn F. Johnson ◽  
Kathy R. Petroni
Keyword(s):  
Stock Options ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Fair Value ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Financial Accounting Standards Board ◽  
Employee Stock Option ◽  
Setting Process ◽  
Action Committee ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

We examine H.R. 3574, the Stock Option Accounting Reform Act of 2004 (the Act), which sought to prevent the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) from requiring the expensing of employee stock options at fair value. We find that employee stock option expense under the Act would be approximately 2 percent of what it would be under the FASB's preferred method. We also find that House members supporting the Act were more likely to be Republican, to be conservative, and to have received larger Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions. Finally, the larger the impact of H.R. 3574 on the amount of stock option expense reported by the firm for employees who are not top-five executives, the more contributions the firm's PAC made to House members and to members of the committee that approved the Act. This result suggests that corporate opposition to the mandatory expensing of stock options at fair value is not driven solely by concerns of top-five executives about the cost of recognizing their own options.

scholarly journals DAMPAK STRUKTUR MODAL PADA SENSITIVITAS PENERAPAN KOMPENSASI OPSI SAHAM KARYAWAN TERHADAP KINERJA

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Fadjrih Asyik
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Capital Structure ◽  
Stock Options ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
Employee Stock Option ◽  
Sensitivity Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Option Compensation ◽  
Stock Option Compensation

This study aims to test whether the management that receive compensation in the form of stock options having an positive impact on company performance. This study considers the external performance measurement by identifying Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR). In addition, this study aims to test whether the company's capital structure affects the sensitivity level of employee stock option compensation and firm performance. Capital structure is measured with debt to equity ratio. The result indicates that the proportion of Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) influence company performance in accordance with the predictions. This shows that the more stock options offered to employees then came a sense of belonging which resulted in more motivated managers to improve company performance. Furthermore, the higher the market performance of companies that can be achieved, the higher the profit (gain) will be obtained by the recipient of stock options. In addition, this study also shows that the impact of stock option grants at the company's performance declined with the greater capital structure of liability. This shows that the capital structure of liabilities will lower the sensitivity level of employee stock option compensation and firm performance. The higher the company's liabilities would reduce the rights of the owner of the dividends each period in accordance with the ownership of shares held since the company must take into account the interest costs to be paid to the creditor.

Discretion in Financial Reporting: The Voluntary Adoption of Fair Value Accounting for Employee Stock Options

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dahlia Robinson ◽  
Diane Burton
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Fair Value ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Employee Stock Options ◽  
Market Returns ◽  
Employee Stock Option ◽  
Accounting Reports ◽  
Voluntary Adoption ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Is Value

This paper investigates the market reaction to announcements by firms of their decision to adopt the fair value provisions of SFAS No. 123 in accounting for their employee stock option (ESO) expense. Additionally, this paper examines ESO usage and expense of adopting firms and compares the impact of the expense on profitability measures for adopting firms relative to a matched set of control firms. We find a positive and significant abnormal return in the three days around the adoption announcements, suggesting that the decision to expense using the fair value method is value relevant. The positive abnormal announcement returns are mainly attributable to the earlier announcements, consistent with early announcements serving as a credible signal of a commitment to transparency in financial reporting. We find evidence that in the three years prior to the announcement year, adopting firms report significantly higher earnings than control firms yet fail to earn higher market returns, suggesting that adopters stand to benefit the most by improving the market's perception of their accounting reports. We also find that ESO usage, ESO expense, and the impact of ESO expense on profitability are significantly lower for adopters relative to control firms, although the impact of ESO expense is economically significant for 43 percent of the adopters.

SFAS No. 123 Disclosures and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard C. Soffer
Keyword(s):  
Cash Flow ◽  
Stock Options ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Employee Stock Options ◽  
Financial Statement Analysis ◽  
Discounted Cash Flow ◽  
Employee Stock Option ◽  
Valuation Technique ◽  
Discounted Cash Flow Valuation

One of the cornerstones of financial statement analysis is the discounted cash flow valuation. Despite the broad use of this valuation technique, and the economic importance of employee stock options to firm values, there is little guidance on how employee stock options should be incorporated in a valuation. This paper provides a comprehensive approach to doing so, including consideration of the income tax implications of option exercises, the simultaneity of equity and option valuation, and the use of the disclosures that were mandated recently by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123. The paper provides a comprehensive example using Microsoft's fiscal 1997 financial statements and employee stock option disclosure. This paper should be of interest to academics and practitioners involved in corporate valuation and financial statement analysis.

The Impact of World Religions on Conservatism

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-218
Author(s):  
Laura Swenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
World Religions ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
The World ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Western Religion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Jel Classifications

ABSTRACT This study examines the association between world religions and the earnings attribute of conservatism. I group the major world religions into two sub-groups, Western and Eastern. Prior literature documents that followers of Western religions have a lower preference for risk relative to followers of Eastern religions. Prior literature also finds a lower preference for risk is associated with more conservative reporting. Using a large sample of firms listed on exchanges around the world, I find earnings of firms domiciled in countries with larger Western religious presence are more conservative. The results hold after using an indicator for whether the predominant religion in the country is a Western religion, controlling for religiosity, and using a sample of U.S. foreign registrants that file a 20-F reconciliation with the SEC. My study contributes to our understanding of how social norms affect financial reporting. JEL Classifications: G14; G15; M41.

Accrual management and the decision to sell or hold shares acquired from the exercise of employee stock options

2020 ◽  
pp. 0000-0000
Author(s):  
Thomas Smith ◽  
G. Ryan Huston ◽  
Richard M. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Stock Option ◽  
Employee Stock Options ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Post Exercise ◽  
Employee Stock Option ◽  
Holding Period ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Accrual Management ◽  
The Impact

This study extends the employee stock option literature by examining the impact of accrual management, before and after stock option exercise, on the timing of sales of shares acquired at exercise. We find evidence that accrual management prior to exercise is positively associated with the decision to quickly sell shares after exercise, facilitating a short-term exercise-and-sell strategy. Alternatively, we find that, among executives initially choosing to hold at exercise, tax incentives appear to drive both post-exercise accrual management and the timing of sale transactions. Specifically, our results suggest that executives use income-increasing accruals during the holding period to bolster their stock option gains sand then sell immediately after satisfying the minimum (twelve month) holding period for long-term capital gain treatment. These results provide context for prior research that found evidence of earnings management leading up to option exercise on the expectation of an immediate sale.

The Effect of FASB Statement No. 123R on Stock Repurchases: An Empirical Examination of Management Incentives

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (02) ◽  
pp. 1750012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Hegemann ◽  
Iuliana Ismailescu
Keyword(s):  
Stock Options ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Stock Repurchases ◽  
Share Repurchases ◽  
Employee Stock Options ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Negative Relation ◽  
Management Incentives ◽  
Reported Income

This study examines management’s response to the change in accounting for stock option-based compensation imposed by SFAS No. 123R, whose implementation is expected to reduce reported income. To cope with this impact, management may be motivated to decrease the use of stock options as part of compensating employees and engage in stock repurchases in an attempt to increase the value of outstanding employee stock options. Our findings demonstrate a significant negative relation between stock options granted and shares repurchased in the aftermath of SFAS No. 123R, particularly for the S&P 500 firms known for their heavy use of employee stock options. Furthermore, evidence of a contemporaneous increase in repurchases and leverage in the post SFAS 123R period may suggest that some of the buybacks may have been funded with debt. Our findings are robust to the inclusion of traditional determinants of share repurchases.

scholarly journals A Review of Employee Stock Option Plans: Panacea or Pandora’s Box for Firm Performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1201-1207
Author(s):  
Neha Kalra ◽  
Dr. Rajesh Bagga
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Firm Value ◽  
Stock Options ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Stock Option ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Employee Stock Option ◽  
Compensation Package ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Employee stock option Plans (ESOPs) have gathered enormous attention in recent decades and have become the most controversial component of the compensation package. Organizations around the globe have been using ESOPs to compensate their employees at managerial and non-managerial levels. While traditionally the stock options were reserved for top management employees, lately there has been strong growth of broad-based plans primarily to increase firm value. Recent literature examining the effects of broad-based stock options are not limited to executive but available for all employees (Core and Guay, 2001; Oyer and Schaefer, 2005; Hallock and Olson, 2010, etc.). However, the shareholders have become increasingly apprehensive about the size and proliferation of adoption of stock option plans. Accordingly, they have been an issue of debate in both academic research and practice circles. The present paper outlines the theoretical foundations behind the use of ESOPs in the compensation mix and strives to address the controversy of whether or not stock options adoptions result in enhancement in firm value. Though the evidence is mixed on the implications of ESOPs, however, there exists robust support for a positive interrelationship between the adoption of these plans and firm performance for large sized firms. 

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