Share Plan Reporting: The Finance Team's Complete Guide
LTIP Guide: RSUs, Stock Options & Performance Shares
Share plan reporting means producing clear, consistent outputs from your equity scheme data for three distinct audiences: RemCo, Finance, and HR. Often, reporting failures happen not due to incorrect numbers, but because each function works from different data exports. Teams then scramble to reconcile these under tight deadlines. With this guide, finance leads get a structured framework for all six core reporting areas. You’ll also find practical templates to adapt for your own scheme.
Sneak Peak: Should Share Plan Reporting Include?
Comprehensive share plan reporting covers six core areas: outstanding awards and vesting schedules, IFRS 2 expense recognition, participant statements, RemCo reporting, payroll and tax reporting, and audit trail documentation. Since each area serves a different function—Finance, RemCo, or HR—it’s crucial to create a single source of truth for all three. This approach boosts accuracy and efficiency.
Explore Additional Insights
- Share-based payment accounting and IFRS 2 reporting – ShareForce’s reporting capability for finance leaders who need their IFRS 2 and ASC 718 working to be correct.
- Share Plan Reporting for RemCo, Finance and HR – how each function defines “good” reporting and what they actually need from the process.
Ready to move beyond spreadsheets?
The most effective reporting processes are built on a single source of truth. This guide shows you what that looks like in practice – and if you are ready to move beyond disconnected exports, see how ShareForce’s share plan administration platform makes it possible.
Frequently asked questions about equity plan administration
What is equity plan administration?
Equity plan administration is the end-to-end process of managing employee share-plans – covering award issuance, vesting tracking, settlement processing, regulatory compliance, and participant communication. Effective administration ensures share plans operate accurately, on time and in accordance with accounting standard such as IFRS 2 (Share-based Payment) and ASC 718, while providing a transparent experience for participants.
What does ShareForce include beyond the software platform?
Every ShareForce client receives a dedicated implementation manager who leads onboarding and then becomes their long-term client manager. Depending on your needs, the engagement includes scheduled check-ins, quarterly reviews, proactive vesting support, and direct access to in-house compliance expertise across IFRS 2, ASC 718, and local jurisdiction tax requirements. Participants have access to a dedicated helpdesk for queries about holdings, vesting dates, and settlements.
How long does ShareForce implementation take?
A typical ShareForce implementation takes six to eight weeks. The process covers data migration, platform configuration to your plan structures and vesting schedules, and hands-on training for Finance and HR administrators. Data migration is handled entirely by the ShareForce team, eliminating the manual effort and risk of a self-serve setup.
What compliance frameworks does ShareForce support?
ShareForce supports equity plan administration under IFRS 2 (Share-based Payment), ASC 718 (Compensation — Stock Compensation), and local jurisdiction tax requirements across multiple countries. The platform is used by companies with single-country plans through to complex multi-jurisdiction programmes spanning different regulatory regimes.
What are the key challenges in equity plan administration?
The most common challenges in equity plan administration include missed vesting deadlines, settlement calculation errors, difficulty evidencing compliance for audit, and the administrative burden of managing participant data across jurisdictions. Manual spreadsheet-based approaches increase error risk and make audit preparation time-consuming. Purpose-built equity plan administration software addresses these challenges by centralising the full award lifecycle in a single, auditable system.