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From Excel to Excellence

How Bang & Olufsen Transformed Its Equity Incentive Management

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icon2 Struer, Denmark
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Company overview

Bang & Olufsen is a luxury audio brand founded in 1925 in Struer, Denmark, by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen whose devotion and vision remain the foundation for the company.

For nearly a century, Bang & Olufsen has been pushing the boundaries of audio technology and design, and the company continues to be at the forefront of innovation and beautiful sound.

The Challenge

Excel Limitations Put IFRS Compliance and Leaver Management at Risk

B&O offers a Long-Term Share-based Incentive Program designed for its Executive Management Board and key employees. The program consists of Performance and Retention Share elements, with restricted shares awarded based on company performance and individual continued service.

As more programs and years were added, their Excel-based processes had become inadequate. The finance team faced increasing difficulty with grant and tranche calculations for IFRS compliance. Meanwhile, the HR team struggled to manage leavers under the company's pro-rata retention policies. These manual processes increased the risk of errors in financial reporting and took valuable time from other strategic work. Further, the admin burden contacting and communicating with the participants had increased.

The Solution

Automated IFRS Reporting and User-Friendly Portals Transform Equity Administration

Jesper Hejselbæk, Senior Director of Accounting, has partnered with Optio Incentives to address these challenges. Optio’s platform offers the comprehensive functionality B&O needed to streamline operations and ensure compliance with IFRS standards. 

The platform manages tranche-level amortization and employer contribution calculations, generating detailed reports on demand. This reduces error rates and frees up significant time for Jesper's team.

With Optio, program participants can access their equity awards through Optio portal to accept allocations, manage custody accounts, and monitor their shares. A built-in simulation tool helps them model potential future values based on share price changes, enhancing transparency and engagement.
 
With most participants based in Denmark, B&O takes advantage of the 7P reporting feature, a solution unique to the Danish market. This feature helps simplify the process of generating complex tax files, ensuring that all necessary data is accurately captured and formatted according to Danish tax regulations. It also allows employees to defer tax at reduced rates, making the program more appealing.

In addition to the platform’s powerful features, Optio has been a trusted advisor throughout the partnership. Jesper and his team can rely on Optio’s years of experience managing equity incentives for guidance on specific scenarios. This collaborative relationship extends to product development, with the B&O team actively testing new features and providing feedback based on their day-to-day operations.

The Result

Time Savings, Tax Benefits, and Error-Free Administration Benefit All Stakeholders

Partnering with Optio Incentives has transformed how Bang & Olufsen manages its share-based programs, bringing efficiency and accuracy to every aspect of equity administration. The impact spans from finance team operations to employee experience and tax optimization. In addition, the admin burden communicating with all participants has been reduced and master data is now handled within the platform. 
 
- Hours Saved Monthly: Automated IFRS reporting has eliminated manual tasks, saving Jesper's team valuable hours during reporting cycles while ensuring data accuracy.
- Enhanced Engagement: The participant portal has simplified equity administration for both employees and administrators - employees can easily track their awards while administrators manage grants and communications through a single platform.
- Tax Benefits Maximized: With the 7P reporting feature, Danish participants can postpone taxation and pay less tax on share sales, while administrators benefit from automated tax compliance reporting.
 

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