Many companies understand how powerful employee share plans can be in incentivising and retaining employees, and in aligning the interests of employees with those of the company. With increased globalisation and a more mobile workforce, it is increasingly important that employee incentive compensation and equity share plans be designed so they are efficient and effective on a global level. Expanding an incentive compensation and employee share plans can, however, give rise to a number of difficult issues. Indeed, tax compliance, regulatory, and accounting requirements in multiple countries can be a major burden. When implementing a global incentive compensation or employee share plan, retirement plan, or overall compensation structure, companies need robust systems in place to ensure that the programs are cost effective, well structured, incentivising to employees, and compliant with all tax and regulatory requirements.

The BDO Global Compensation and Equity team understands your business and your goals and we have experience implementing compensation, retirement, and employee share plans. We take a hands-on approach, providing a full range of services to meet your domestic and international needs related to your global employee share plan. Our international team of experts can provide a range of services, including:

Global Compensation Planning
- Executive Compensation Benchmarking
- Compensation design including base salary, annual incentives and bonuses, and long-term compensation plans in conjunction with our Global Equity Services team
- Tax planning relating to executive compensation
- Deferred Compensation plans in local countries
Retirement Planning Consulting
- Pension plan design and implementation
- Strategic country retirement plans
- Tax planning for mobile employees and treaty analysis for multi-jurisdiction retirement plans
Global Equity Services
- Assisting with employee share plan design, drafting and implementation
- Advising on tax implications of equity compensation for both employer and employee
- Advising on corporate withholding requirements
- Payroll assistance and filings
- Tax, social security, and reporting assistance
- Assistance with expanding the plan in new countries
- Planning for corporate tax relief, where available
- Assisting with employee communications
- Consulting with administrators on changes in local tax law or other regulations

You don’t get generic, one-size-fits all advice from us. BDO’s Global Compensation and Equity Services team listens to you to understand your business and your goals. Then we develop tailored solutions that fit your needs and circumstances. We understand that when implementing or expanding such plans, you want experienced tax professionals who not only provide practical solutions in plain language, but who also assist in implementing that advice. Our service doesn’t stop with our advice – we see things through to the end, helping you implement recommended solutions.

Our streamlined organisational structure means that you don’t have to work through layers in our organisation to get the solutions that add value to your business. You’ll get advice from the most appropriate local centre, and the confidence of knowing that we bring the knowledge of the whole network to all engagements.

To talk to your local BDO Global Compensation and Equity team expert, please visit the BDO web site for your country.