CFA Practice Question

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CFA Practice Question

On January 1, 2011, Unified Systems granted its division managers 100,000 stock appreciation rights. The SARs are exercisable no sooner than December 31, 2014 and expire on January 1, 2018. Upon exercise, the division managers can elect to receive cash or common stock equal to the excess of the stock's market price on the exercise date over the market price on the grant date. The market price of Unified's stock was as follows:

January 1, 2011: $30.
December 31, 2011: $34.
December 31, 2012: $36.

As a result of the stock appreciation rights, what liability should Baddour recognize in its 2012 balance sheet?
A. $0
B. $300,000
C. $800,000
Explanation: Liability on December 31, 2012 = ($36 - 30) x 100,000 x 4 / 3

User Contributed Comments 9

User Comment
saftig2 Shouldn't it be B,

(36-30) * 100,000 / 2 = 300,000 ?

The stock price difference is $6 times the nr of stocks. And since half the time has passed until the exercise date (2 of 4 years), divide that by 2.
tcklhk confused

why not (36-30)*100,000/3=200,000

2012 Balance sheet should reflect the 2nd year obligation

BTW, 1st yr obligation is (34-30)*100,000/4=100,000
2nd year obligation increased (if (36-30)*100,000/4=150,000, then 1st yr is 50,000 less on the balance sheet) how to chase back the prior obligation.
zackychoo Why x 4/3 ?
pikusa I guess that 2 years are 2011 + 2012 and 3rd year is 2013 becuase accourding to FAS 123R stock options related expenses should be recognized in the beginning of the fical year.
kazec What logic supports putting 4 in the numerator???
cfamachine is it 4/3 because 4 years from grant date to exercise date and 3 years from exercise date to expiration date?
janis36 Can someone explain this? Why multiply by 4?
DXR7KRK I think it should be B. There's another question with the same data and there they ask for the 2012 expense. Expense itself is 200,000 since it's the difference between 2012 and 2011. However they also calculate the liability as 300,000 for 2012.
sunday128 I believe it is B as well. As with DXR7KRK, there was another question that supports B as the answer.
(36-30)*(4/2)=300,000
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