ShareThisThursday, October 26, 2006
What is accelerated vesting? Moving up the date at which employees can exercise their options.
Why did companies do it? To avoid recording previously issued options that had not yet vested as expenses on their income statements.
What's wrong with it? It's not illegal, but some experts object because letting employees exercise options immediately removes an incentive to stay with the company.
How many companies did it? At least 887 between mid-2004 and mid-2006, according to one study.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle research
