Case Study: Sanofi

From Chaos to Clarity – Bringing Balance to a Complex Global ESPP

Client: Sanofi
Partner: Stock & Option Solutions (SOS)

Executive Summary

Sanofi’s U.S. ESPP originally operated under complex French equity rules that mismatched standard U.S. platforms, requiring nearly 100% manual administration via spreadsheets. Over 14+ years, SOS transformed this high-risk environment into a structured, auditable, and scalable global system.

Key Business Impact:

  • Risk Mitigation & Audit Readiness: Eliminated financial exposure by correcting residual share sale errors and replacing manual, error-prone processes with a 100% automated, auditable payment system.
  • Operational Efficiency & Cost Savings: Reduced the payroll reconciliation cycle from 60 days to real-time visibility, significantly lowering administrative overhead and improving financial reporting cycles.
  • Enhanced Employee Experience: Improved participant trust and retention by recovering six-figure unpaid balances and providing a seamless, modernized enrollment experience at scale.
  • Scalable Infrastructure: Built a custom administrative framework from scratch, allowing Sanofi to support a growing global participant base without a linear increase in headcount or cost.

The Challenge

When SOS began administering the plan:

  • Core tracking existed in a single spreadsheet
  • Payroll reconciliation cycles took ~60 days
  • Hundreds of physical checks were processed manually
  • Monthly statements were paper-based
  • Multiple vendors were required for custody, tax calculation, and processing
  • No U.S. platform could natively handle French equity constraints

The program functioned — but without structural control or audit-grade visibility.

Key Transformation Areas

1️⃣ Payroll Reconciliation: 60 Days → Real-Time Visibility

Before

  • Payroll reconciliation lag: ~2 months (≈60 days)
  • Batch corrections after long delays
  • Overpayments and underpayments discovered retroactively

After

  • Biweekly payroll audit cycle
  • Live delta tracking
  • Terminations identified immediately

Impact

  • Reconciliation lag reduced from ~60 days to ≤14 days
  • ~75–80% reduction in reconciliation cycle time
  • Continuous financial visibility instead of retrospective correction

2️⃣ Payment Processing: Fully Eliminated Manual Checks

Before

  • Hundreds of physical checks collected and opened manually
  • Daily post office runs
  • Manual validation of written vs numeric amounts

After

  • ACH electronic transfer system
  • Fully digital processing

Impact

  • 100% elimination of physical check handling
  • Removal of manual payment risk
  • Significant weekly administrative time reduction

3️⃣ Residual Share Sale Exposure Identified and Corrected

During administration review, SOS uncovered that terminated employees had not received residual proceeds from share sales.

Scope (4-year lookback only):

  • Several hundred thousand dollars in unpaid balances identified
  • Thousands of impacted former employees

SOS engineered a compliant Visa gift card payout process when traditional vendor payment systems could not process former employees.

Impact

  • Closed a multi-year financial exposure
  • Prevented further audit and reputational risk
  • Restored financial accuracy

4️⃣ Administrative Infrastructure Expansion

Original tracking:

  • Single limited-data spreadsheet

Current infrastructure includes structured tracking for:

  • Employee data
  • Purchase information
  • Income calculations
  • Lump sum payments
  • Payroll deductions
  • Terminations
  • Share tracking
  • Brokerage account data
  • Audit reconciliation
  • Payment plans

Additionally:

  • Separate master file maintained per plan year
  • Historical data maintained continuously since 2000

5️⃣ Enrollment Operations at Scale

Annual enrollment now includes:

  • Multi-month planning cycle
  • Dedicated live support line
  • 12-hour daily coverage across time zones
  • Brokerage account setup
  • Payroll deduction configuration
  • Corporate reporting

Despite complexity, the process is now structured and repeatable.

Risk Reduction & Audit Readiness

Sanofi underwent a multi-year U.S. federal audit.

The structured controls now in place provide:

  • Clean, balanced payroll reconciliation
  • Documented payment flows
  • Centralized historical data
  • Traceable transaction audit trails

The system evolved from reactive spreadsheet management to defensible administrative governance.

Ongoing Operational Scope

This is a daily-managed program:

  • Dedicated inbox with ~3-hour response target
  • Monthly termination batch processing
  • Biweekly payroll audit
  • Tax-season support
  • Continuous reconciliation oversight

The complexity remains — but it is now controlled.

Strategic Direction

SOS is actively working toward:

  • Replacing manual Excel architecture with LTI Studio (Amalia)
  • Potential vendor consolidation
  • Reducing dependency on external tax calculation providers
  • Centralizing multi-party administration

Future objective:

  • Streamline from multiple vendors toward a unified platform
  • Reduce operational cost and friction
  • Preserve French regulatory alignment

Bottom Line

Sanofi’s ESPP began as a manually operated, spreadsheet-driven program constrained by cross-border regulatory complexity.

SOS delivered measurable operational improvement:

  • ~75–80% faster reconciliation cycles
  • 100% elimination of physical payment processing
  • Six-figure financial exposure corrected
  • 25+ structured tracking categories implemented
  • 14+ years of institutional continuity
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