Systems
E*TRADE Equity Plan Segregation of Duties Review
Your equity plan access may look fine one by one. What happens when one person can enter a grant and also approve it?
Equity is a sensitive record. Grants, exercises and releases affect your financial statements and your shareholders. SOD Check shows where one person’s access could give them too much control over one equity process. Experienced practitioners review the results.
SOD Check has been used by public and pre-IPO companies for 15+ years · No software to buy or implement · No direct access to your E*TRADE · A service of A2Q2
A2Q2 has helped 30+ public companies strengthen controls, 17 before their IPO.
What is a E*TRADE segregation of duties review?
It checks who has what access to your equity plan administration in E*TRADE and finds combinations that may conflict. An example is a user who can enter grants and also approve them. SOD Check ranks each potential conflict High or Medium and suggests fixes for management to weigh. A potential conflict does not prove anything went wrong. It shows where to look.
People also call this a E*TRADE segregation of duties analysis or assessment. The terms mean the same thing on this page.
What does the Controller need to decide?
Decide whether the people who enter grants and plan changes are kept apart from the people who approve exercises, releases and cash payouts.
How does access work in E*TRADE?
Administrators hold roles that decide what they can set up, approve and report.
Which processes does it cover?
Grant entry, plan and award changes, vesting, exercises and releases, and administrator functions.
What will you receive?
A ranked list of potential conflicts, the people and roles behind each one, suggested fixes, and a workbook you can hand to your external auditors or internal audit team. We do not tell auditors what to conclude.
- A current picture, fast. Results are guaranteed within 10 business days after we receive the required documents.
- Every number traced to its source. Your team can check the results and walk your auditor through them.
- Support for your auditor’s questions. Premium adds checks by our team on the E*TRADE data behind the analysis, including its completeness and accuracy.
- A clear path for management. You get recommended fixes and the SOD Check Method to write down what management decided.
Have a deadline? Tell us when your auditor needs the results. We will tell you what it takes to meet it.
What does our E*TRADE administrator need to do?
Your E*TRADE administrator runs the standard user and role reports and uploads them to a secure folder. We never log in to E*TRADE. We confirm the exact reports with your administrator when you book.
What does SOD Check look at in E*TRADE?
Role combinations across grant entry, award changes, approvals, exercises and releases, and administration.
What if responsibilities go beyond E*TRADE?
Equity expense and share counts reach your general ledger and cap table. A Cross-System review looks at them together. See the Cross-System analysis.
When should we run a E*TRADE review?
Before your first SOX year, around an IPO, after plan or administrator changes, or before an audit asks.
Which package should we choose?
Each package is a fixed price per system, per run. Choose by the question your team needs answered. We share pricing once we understand your scope.
We are so confident in the results you receive that you get three guarantees
If you are not satisfied with your SOD Check, you get your money back.
If you find a potential access conflict we missed, that run is free.
Results within 10 business days after we receive the required documents.
See what each package includes on the Products page.
Need it sooner? Expedited 5-business-day delivery is available for an additional fee, subject to capacity. See how the packages compare.
Who is behind SOD Check?
Top internal controls and SOX education for growing companies. SOD Check is a service of A2Q2, a SOX and internal controls firm. A2Q2 has helped 30+ public companies strengthen controls, 17 before their IPO.
Kim Le, top internal controls and SOX educator | Former public company audit committee chair | Helped 40+ public companies strengthen controls, 19 before their IPO.
Kim Le designed SOD Check. She is a CPA and CIA with more than 30 years of public accounting experience serving public and private companies.
SOD Check has been field-tested and used for more than 15 years. It has run as a methodical, systematic diagnostic since 2011. Experienced practitioners review every diagnostic.
E*TRADE questions
Do you need access to our E*TRADE account?
No. Your administrator runs standard reports and uploads them.
What information do we provide?
Administrator and permission reports.
Is this the same as a stock plan audit?
No. This checks who can do what. It does not check grant accuracy.