Alison Inc. established a stock appreciation rights (SARs) program on January 1, 2014, which entitles executives to receive cash at the date of exercise for the difference between the shares' fair value and the pre-established price of $20 on 5,400 SARs. The required service period is two years. The shares' fair value is $22 per share on December 31, 2014, and $34 per share on December 31, 2015. The SARs are exercised on January 1, 2016.
(a) Calculate Alison's compensation expense for 2014 and 2015 assuming it follows ASPE.
(b) Would the accounting for the SARs program differ if Alison adopted IFRS?