The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday released new guidance for listed companies on how to properly recognize and disclose compensation costs for “spring-loaded” awards made to executives.

Spring-loaded awards, as defined by the SEC, are “share-based compensation arrangements where a company grants stock options or other awards shortly before it announces market-moving information, such as an earnings release with better-than-expected results or the disclosure of a significant transaction.”

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...