Union steps up war on options abuses

Sarbanes Oxley narrowed the reporting window for option grants in a way that was designed to make options backdating harder. Grants were supposed to be reported within two days of the grant. But there are signs that the abuse continued even after the law was passed. Now, the AFL-CIO is putting pressure on audit firms to go back and scour the books, especially around the time the law was enacted, for possible abuses. The union argues that auditors need greater access to executives and boards to ferret all this out and that auditors examine more documents and board minutes. This is yet another reason to go overboard when you grant options. Leave no room for suspicion. The reality is that there are many cases that will not be prosecuted. Still, you want to leave nothing to chance. If you have nothing to hide, invite your auditor in.  

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- here's the article from Workforce Management