Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., George Allen, R-Va., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., are hosting a roundtable Thursday to plumb the depths of the stock options expensing issue. The discussion, titled "Preserving Partnership Capitalism Through Stock Options for America's Workforce", is open to the public.

The senators are holding the round table to provide an open forum where policy makers can hear all sides of the issue. The opinions of participants who believe stock options should be expensed and experts who believe they should not be expensed will be aired at the roundtable. Alternative valuation methods and the economic impact on broad based plans and small businesses will also be discussed. The senators believe an open forum will be beneficial especially in light of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) swift movement favoring stock option expensing. The senators are concerned FASB has not considered all sides of the issue, but were pleased that the chairman of FASB, Bob Herz, agreed to participate in the roundtable.

The senators have invited leading experts in the financial world to share their views on stock option expensing. Those attending include: Dr. Rory Knight, President of Oxford Metrica and the European Employee Stock Options Coalition; Dan Crowley, Vice President and Managing Director of NASDAQ; James Barksdale, The Barksdale Group; Sandra Wijnberg, CFO of Marsh and McLennan; Joseph Blasi and Doug Kruse, authors of In the Company of Owners; The Truth about Stock Options (and why every employee should have them); Dennis Powell, Senior Vice President for Finance of Cisco Systems, Inc.; Dr. William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School; James R. Haddad Vice President Corporate Finance for Cadence Design Systems, Inc.; John L. Doerr of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers; Colleen A. Sayther, President of Financial Executives International and Andy Bryant, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Enterprise Services Officer for Intel Corporation.

Three questions will be central to the discussion. Do stock options represent a cost to the company when they are granted or do they represent shareholder cost that should be reflected in diluted earnings when they are exercised? Does a method exist to accurately value stock options at the time they are granted? What would be the economic impacts of an accounting standard that required expensing of stock options when they were granted?

"The issues surrounding stock options raise important questions that go to the heart of investor confidence, accurate financial reporting, the continued use of broad-based stock option plans and economic growth. We hope to stimulate an informative and productive discussion," the senators wrote in an invitation letter to perspective roundtable participants. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., also signed the letter.

What: "Preserving Partnership Capitalism Through Stock Options for America's Workforce" A roundtable discussion

Who: Senators Mike Enzi, George Allen, Barbara Boxer and distinguished experts

Where: Senate Dirksen Office Building Room 106

When: Thursday, May 8 from 2-4 p.m.