No Options The big guys may be letting stock options go, but should you?

Stock options helped create the tech boom of the '90s, butsome large corporations like Microsoft are starting to dropthem.

While this strategy makes sense for large corporations whereoptions can distort accounting and corrupt executivedecision-making, entrepreneurs may be better off sticking to thestatus quo.

"If stock options make people work hard, make gooddecisions and generate cash flow, why would an entrepreneur walkaway from them?" asks David F. Larcker, professor ofaccounting at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. Options attracttop talent and spur productivity. But small businesses need toconfront the prospect of new regulations that will force companiesto count options as a business expense and weigh options'ability to boost earnings against balance sheet costs. "Ifoptions made sense before expensing, they'll make sense afterexpensing," Larcker says.