Reward, Employment Tax, and Equity Compensation Plans

Executive Compensation Advisory

The increased scrutiny of executive compensation coupled with the unprecedented demand for top talent means that a strategic, market-competitive compensation strategy is critical.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing, implementing, and operating an executive compensation strategy. An effective strategy means balancing the latest trends and leading practices with regulatory and investor expectations, as well as the unique needs of the company. Getting this right sets the "tone at the top" for a company’s overarching reward philosophy and forms the foundation for growth; getting it wrong can be extremely costly–not just financially, but also from a risk and reputational perspective.

Deloitte’s executive compensation team has extensive experience working with boards of directors and management to address the most complex compensation challenges. Our services span from strategy development and benchmarking pay levels to the design and implementation of short- and long-term incentive plans, including employee stock purchase plans. We also specialize in proxy adviser and shareholder engagement, Compensation Discussion and Analysis preparation, as well as M&A and IPO readiness.

Equity and Incentives

Companies granting equity awards globally face the challenge of building a scalable system to enable tax and regulatory compliance, while balancing employee experience and ensuring that employees are valuing the incentives being provided to them. Accomplishing all of this is a collaborative effort among stakeholders and subject-matter specialists in areas like HR, tax, and accounting.

From fast-growing startups to large multinationals, we work with clients to help design, implement, operate, and communicate employee incentives that support key business objectives. Our team includes former stock plan administrators, certified equity professionals, international chartered tax advisers, stockbrokers, compensation and payroll consultants, and former IRS auditors. This multidisciplinary approach allows us to advise on all facets of operating a global equity compensation program—from equity plan inception and design to implementation and ongoing operations.

Employment Tax Services

Through our global network, Deloitte can help proactively navigate compliance activities, help clients prepare for employment tax audits, and address the employment tax impacts of regulatory and business changes. We also work with clients to meet employment tax and payroll obligations, identify employment tax issues, institute risk remediation, advise on uncertain tax positions, and establish standards supporting cost-effectiveness and financial transparency.

Our payroll advisory professionals can help clients create a flexible payroll function designed to meet the demands of today’s workforce. As part of this, we help clients evaluate payroll vendors, applications, or operating models—including outsourcing; coordinated options; and customized country-specific, regional, and global delivery service models.

Our services are delivered using technology including GlobalAdvantage, Deloitte’s platform for providing employer-related tax services. This proprietary technology also automates time-consuming employment tax review processes, increasing efficiency and mitigating employment tax risks along the way.

In addition, our global service delivery teams can help navigate employment taxes consistently, while providing a single point of contact to keep the process simple and efficient.

Employee Communications

Creative and thoughtful employee communications enable global incentive plans, equity, employee reward and employment tax plans to be communicated in a way that keeps employees fully informed, compliant, engaged, and connected to the business, as well as motivated to work harder and stay longer. It’s all about people and telling stories in a way that delivers results for both employer and employee.

Deloitte develops on-brand creative communication strategies and deliverables to support all stages of the employee journey. Intelligent, results-driven global employee communications help meet strategic business objectives through emotive, smart, and articulate campaigns that speak to people in ways they understand—bridging the gap between what you want to say and what they need to hear.

Benefits

Benefits are key to remaining competitive in the talent market. Employers must strike a balance between innovation and employee experience on the one hand, and compliance with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Labor, and other regulatory agencies on the other.

We can help meet your regulatory compliance needs while designing a benefits package that’s attractive to employees. In addition, our leading-edge technology tools can offer a tailored client experience for any workforce.

Mergers and acquisitions

M&A transactions offer the chance to reduce costs by consolidating separate employee groups or compensation and benefit programs. If an acquired company’s HR program is inefficient or noncompliant, it can be costly.

We help buyers and sellers address both challenges by analyzing M&A-related tax costs throughout the transaction life cycle. We can also help companies combine their payroll, executive compensation, equity, benefit, and global mobility processes.