Forrester: SEC ends options investigation

Boston Business Journal - by Craig M. Douglas

Forrester Research Inc. has been cleared by federal regulators in a probe into the company’s stock-option granting practices.

The company said the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission
has concluded and that the agency “does not intend to recommend any
enforcement action” against the Cambridge, Mass.-based research firm.

Forrester (Nasdaq: FORR) said it was informed about the move in a
March 5 letter, according to a March 9 regulatory filing with the SEC.

The years-long investigation into whether Forrester improperly
granted stock options to employees cost the company several million
dollars in compliance costs and forced it to restate past financial
statements for the years affected, the company said in regulatory
filings.

Forrester first disclosed the investigation in June 2007. The SEC
had previously issued an informal request for documents and other
information about its stock options. Forrester is one of several
hundred companies targeted in federal probes over methods used to dole
out stock options. The investigations were sparked by concerns that
some companies improperly back-dated options to boost their value.

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