And it is a rather large leap to quote one partner at a firm and automatically assume that the entire firm agrees with him.
Message 18546743
See below on this post.
Lizzie: no I just don't like when people make up claims that KPCB is behind something that they are clearly not.
Message 18546710
Still true.
There are plenty of big investors who disagree with Chambers. If you know anyone over at Kleiner Perkins, ask that person how many people there think options should be expensed. You'll be surprised at the answer.
Message 18546448
December 13, 2001 Letter to IASB/Stock Options Expensing
December 13, 2001
Sir David Tweedie
Chairman, International Accounting Standards Board
30 Cannon Street
London EC4M 6XH
United Kingdom
Dear Sir David:
As trade associations and companies representing a diverse range of industries in the U.S. and abroad, we speak for thousands of organizations that issue employee stock options and millions of workers, many of whom receive stock options.
We write in opposition to the conclusions in the IASC/G4+1Discussion Paper on accounting for employee stock options. We urge the IASB to adopt the disclosure-based approach set forth in U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 123 (SFAS 123).
Our organizations have a significant stake in the mission of the International Accounting Standards Board. We are deeply concerned, however, that by electing to take up stock option accounting as one of its first major issues, the IASB raises troubling questions about its future. At a time when stock markets are volatile and business investment is exceedingly weak, we are certain that the G4+1 proposal will unnecessarily regenerate a controversy that the FASB’s disclosure-based approach, embodied in SFAS 123, already resolved. If the IASB continues on this controversial track, the debate on this one issue could endanger the current consensus supporting the IASB.
We recognize the increasing importance of globally accepted accounting standards and respect the IASC’s purpose in promoting comparability and convergence. The IASB’s current approach on international stock option accounting, as set forth in the G4+1 paper, runs counter to these goals. In contrast to the concepts of convergence and global harmonization, the IASB appears to be in the process of writing an entirely new stock option standard that is different from anything used anywhere in the world. No country today requires companies to expense stock options granted to employees. Indeed, the one standard that is generally acceptable and enduring is that issued by FASB after exhaustive due process and debate. Importantly, it was issued only after a proposal similar to that embodied in the G4+1 Discussion Paper was rejected on practical and technical grounds. If adopted, the approach set forth in the G4+1 Discussion Paper would create a distinct disparity between the time-tested U.S. standard and the IASB standard, and would preclude the consensus that we understood the IASB was designed to create.
We continue our strong support for a disclosure-based standard because many of us do not believe that stock options are an appropriate compensation expense. Rather, the cost of stock options is borne by shareholders in the form of potential dilution. In any case, even if the options should, in theory, be expensed, no reliable method has been found to measure that value in a way that would not be misleading to investors. The footnote disclosure embodied in SFAS 123 represents a balanced approach that offers interested investors ample information for understanding a company’s use of employee stock options without producing misleading financial statements.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
Sincerely,
American Benefits Council
American Business Conference
American Chemistry Council
AeA (American Electronics Association)
Association of Publicly Traded Companies
Australian Venture Capital Association, Limited
Biotechnology Industry Organization
ERISA Industry Committee
European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association
Financial Executives International
International Mass Retailers Association
Massachusetts Software & Internet Council
National Association of Manufacturers
National Employee Benefits Institute
National Retail Federation
National Venture Capital Association
Printing Industries of America
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI)
Semiconductor Industry Association
Society for Human Resource Management
Software & Information Industry Association
Software Finance & Tax Executives Council
The Technology Network (TechNet)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
WorldatWork
3Com Corporation
Accel Partners
Advantest America, Inc.
Angel Investors, LLP
Broadcom Corporation
Broadview International, LLC
CarsDirect.com, Inc.
Charles River Ventures
Cisco Systems, Inc.
ClickAction, Inc.
Compaq Computer Corporation
Conexant Systems, Inc.
Corning Incorporated
Currenex -- Global Financial Exchange
DMC Stratex Networks, Inc.
Doty, Sundheim & Gilmore
Escient Technologies, LLC
Flextronics International, Ltd.
FreeDrive, Inc.
Genentech, Inc.
Hanna Capital Management, Inc.
IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Intuit, Inc.
JasperCapital
KLA-Tencor Corporation
Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers
Lightspan, Inc.
Marimba, Inc.
McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, LLP
Mohr Davidow Ventures
Monet Mobile Networks, Inc.
Motorola, Inc.
National Semiconductor Corporation
Oracle Corporation
PayPal, Inc.
Pittsburgh Technology Council
Rainbow Technologies, Inc.
Roth Capital Partners, LLC
Salesforce.com, Inc.
Siebel Systems, Inc.
Stanford SKOLAR, MD
Sternhill Partners
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Supportkids, Inc.
Texas Instruments, Inc.
TL Ventures
Travelocity.com, Inc.
VeriSign, Inc.
Vignette Corporation
Western Digital Corporation
Xilinx Corporation |
