By:  Cydney Posner
 
An article appeared in  Reuters  today  discusses   continued scrutiny by federal prosecutors, the SEC and IRS of the stock option backdating and "spring-loading" problem and the potential expansion of the investigation to possibly implicate auditors as well as directors, lawyers and other gatekeepers.  Spring-loading involves selecting a grant date (and exercise prices) ahead of the release of positive news that is expected to raise share values, also boosting option profits, without appropriate disclosure.

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