System and method for comprehensive management of company equity structures and related company documents with financial and human resource system integration

• US 20050154751A1
• Filed: 11/03/2004
• Published: 07/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Solium Plan Managers LLC (Morgan Stanley)
• Original Assignee: Boardroom Software, Inc.
• Inventors: Woldberg, Robert C., Mansfield, Robert Kent, Levi, Andrew E., Bauer, Bradley W.
• Application Number:
  US10/980,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20050154751A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A system comprises business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders, a database storing data associated with the business logic, integration logic operable to integrate the business logic and its associated data with existing enterprise systems and data associated therewith, and a graphical user interface presenting a hierarchical tree view of the company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders;

a database storing data associated with the business logic;

integration logic operable to integrate the business logic and its associated data with existing enterprise financial and human resources systems and data associated therewith; and

a graphical user interface presenting a view of the company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the business logic comprises at least one definition of a company object.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the company object comprises data associated with a company entity, including company name, organization type, address, and names of officers.

5. The system of claim 3, further comprising at least one definition of an authorization object as a child object of the company object.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the authorization object comprises data associated with class, quantity of shares, price per share, and rights and restrictions.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the authorization object comprises a definition of rights and restrictions that may be independently locked for its child objects.

8. The system of claim 5, further comprising at least one definition of an allocation object as a child object of the authorization object, and the allocation object comprises a definition of at least one equity instrument allocation.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the allocation object comprises data associated with quantity of shares and vesting schedule, and rights and restrictions that may inherit from the rights and restrictions of the authorization object.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the allocation object comprises a definition of rights and restrictions that may be independently locked for its child objects.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising at least one definition of an issuance object as a child object of the allocation object, and the issuance object comprises a definition of at least one equity instrument issuance.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the issuance object comprises data associated with stakeholder, issue date, quantity of shares and price, and rights and restrictions that may inherit from the rights and restrictions of the allocation object.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the issuance object comprises a definition of rights and restrictions that may be independently locked for its child objects.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface presents a hierarchical tree view of company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the hierarchical tree view of the graphical user interface comprises:

a first level operable to display a company entity object and data associated therewith;

a second level operable to display at least one authorization objects as a child object of the company entity object and data associated therewith;

a third level operable to display at least one allocation object as a child object of its parent authorization object and data associated therewith; and

a fourth level operable to display at least one issuance object as a child object of its parent allocation object and data associated therewith.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the hierarchical tree view of the graphical user interface comprises a data lock attribute indicative of whether a value for a data item for an object is locked as inherited by its child objects or has been locked by its parent object.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the data lock attribute comprises a pad lock icon having a locked view indicative of a locked data item and an unlocked view indicative of an unlocked data item.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the hierarchical tree view comprises a link to at least one document image supporting an object in one of the first, second, third or fourth levels.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the hierarchical tree view further comprises global vesting schedules displayed in the first level of the hierarchical tree view.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the hierarchical tree view further comprises global entities displayed in the first level of the hierarchical tree view.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the database is integrated with an existing enterprise financial and human resources database.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the business logic is operable to introduce a financial transaction directly into an existing enterprise accounting system.

23. A method comprising:

receiving a definition of a company entity;

storing data associated with the company entity;

displaying the defined company entity in a first level in an hierarchical tree view;

receiving a definition of an authorization;

setting up the authorization as a child object of the company entity with an ability to inherit properties from the company entity;

storing data associated with the authorization; and

displaying the defined authorization in a second level in the hierarchical tree view.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

receiving a definition of an allocation;

setting up the allocation as a child object of the authorization with an ability to inherit properties from the authorization;

storing data associated with the allocation; and

displaying the defined allocation in a third level in the hierarchical tree view.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

receiving a definition of an issuance;

setting up the issuance as a child object of the allocation with an ability to inherit properties from the allocation;

storing data associated with the issuance; and

displaying the defined issuance in a fourth level in the hierarchical tree view.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

receiving a definition of a stakeholder related to the company entity;

displaying the stakeholder as a second level object of the company entity in the hierarchical tree view.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

receiving an indication of locking or unlocking an attribute of an object;

displaying a status indicator indicative of having locked or unlocked the attribute of the object; and

if locked, disabling ability to modify the locked attribute in a child object of the object.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving company entity data from an existing enterprise accounting system.

29. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

processing a transaction associated with the defined company entity; and

introducing financial results and values for the transaction to be applied to accounts of an existing enterprise accounting system in response to the transaction.

30. The method of claim 23, further comprising introducing documents into a database and displaying links to the documents in the hierarchical tree view.

31. The method of claim 26, further comprising creating an authorization pool of a predetermined number of shares of an equity class available for allocation.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising creating an allocation pool of a predetermined number of shares of the equity authorization available for issuance that is less than or equal to the predetermined number of shares of the equity authorization available for allocation.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising issuing a predetermined number of shares of the equity allocation to a stakeholder that is less than or equal to the predetermined number of shares of the equity allocation available for issuance.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising reclaiming a predetermined number of shares of issued equity instruments and adding the number to the allocation pool of shares available for issuance.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

receiving a transaction date;

receiving a transaction amount;

receiving a selection of at least one stakeholder that will participate in the transaction;

applying rights and restrictions associated with the transaction; and

computing equity position values per shareholder in the event of the transaction.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising applying class conversions.

37. The method of claim 23, further comprising a web-enabled graphical user interface for displaying the hierarchical tree view and associated data.

38. The method of claim 23, further comprising defining the company entity as a company object.

39. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving data associated with the company entity, including company name, organization type, address, and names of officers.

40. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving authorization data associated with class, quantity of shares, price per share, and rights and restrictions of the authorization.

41. The method of claim 24, further comprising receiving allocation data associated with quantity of shares and vesting schedule, and rights and restrictions that may inherit from the rights and restrictions of the authorization object.

42. The method of claim 25, further comprising receiving issuance data associated with stakeholder, issue date, quantity of shares and price, and rights and restrictions that may inherit from the rights and restrictions of the allocation object.

43. The method of claim 26, further comprising defining global entities to include stakeholders and company entities.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising displaying global entities in the first level of the hierarchical tree view.

45. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

creating a document;

relating the document to an object or a transaction; and

storing the document.

46. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

processing a terminated stakeholder transaction;

determining an equity position of terminated stakeholder;

resolving the equity position of the terminated stakeholder; and

removing the terminated stakeholder as an employee but not removing them from the database.

47. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

issuing an option to a stakeholder;

selecting an option expensing computation method;

receiving values for variables used in the computation;

computing total expense value;

generating an expensing schedule; and

storing the expensing schedule in the database and related variables used in computing the schedule in the database.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein receiving values for variables comprises computing volatility.

49. The method of claim 26, further comprising configuring at least one vesting schedule.

50. The method of claim 26, wherein inheriting properties comprises inheriting rights and restrictions.

51. The method of claim 26, wherein inheriting properties comprises security access rights with respect to a specific user.

52. The method of claim 26, further comprising logging changes to data related to the objects and transactions thereon.

53. A system comprising:

business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders;

a database storing data associated with the business logic; and

integration logic operable to integrate the business logic and its associated data with existing enterprise financial and human resources systems and data associated therewith.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein integration logic comprises a chart of accounts that substantially corresponds with a chart of accounts of the existing enterprise accounting system.

55. The system of claim 53, wherein integration logic comprises using an employee identifier received from the existing human resources system in creating and terminating a stakeholder of the company.

56. A system comprising:

business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders;

a database storing data associated with the business logic; and

a graphical user interface presenting a hierarchical view of the company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders.

57. A system comprising:

business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders;

a database storing data associated with the business logic; and

wherein the business logic includes an option expensing module operable to compute a total expense value and generate an expensing schedule.

58. The system of claim 57, wherein the option expensing module is operable to use a manual method or a modeled method for computing total expense value.

59. The system of claim 57, wherein the option expensing module is operable to compute volatility using end-of-period market price.

60. A system comprising:

business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders;

a database storing data associated with the business logic; and

wherein the business logic includes a document management module operable to create, import and store documents.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a web portal.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the document management module is operable to relate the documents to events and objects in the system.

62. The system of claim 60, wherein the equity management module is further operable to reclaim issued equity and adding the reclaimed equity back to the allocation pool.

60-1. A system comprising:

business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders;

a database storing data associated with the business logic; and

wherein the business logic includes an equity management module operable to create an authorization pool of a predetermined number of authorizations for a company, creating an allocation pool of a predetermined number of allocations for the authorization, and issuing a predetermined number of shares of equity from the allocation pool to a stakeholder.

61-2. The system of claim 60, wherein the equity management module is further operable to define rights and restrictions of the authorization, inheritance of the rights and restrictions of the allocation from the rights and restrictions of the authorization, and inheritance of the rights and restrictions of the issuance from the rights and restrictions of the allocation.

63. A system comprising:

business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders;

a database storing data associated with the business logic; and

wherein the business logic includes a liquidation module operable to determine what amount is due and payable to the stakeholders upon a liquidation event.

64. The system of claim 63, wherein the liquidation module is operable to receive a selection of participating stakeholders.

65. The system of claim 64, wherein the liquidation module is operable to apply rights and restrictions of the equity instruments of selected participating stakeholders.

66. The system of claim 64, wherein the liquidation module is operable to apply class conversions of the equity instruments of selected participating stakeholders.

67. The system of claim 64, wherein the liquidation module is operable to set the liquidation event at a date entered by the user.

68. A system comprising:

business logic operable for managing and administering company entities, records, documents, equity instruments, and stakeholders;

a database storing data associated with the business logic; and

wherein the business logic includes a voting rights analysis module operable to generate a report on voting positions in response to a selection of a voting date and a selection of participating stakeholders.

69. The system of claim 68, wherein the voting rights analysis module is operable to compute vesting of options, apply class voting conversions, and apply voting rights and restrictions to the selected participating stakeholders'"'"' equity.