Certent Addresses Equity Management Challenges as Survey Finds 78% Worry Their Systems Won’t Scale
Certent helps equity management professionals overcome fragmented systems, slow reporting, and broker lock in so they
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- 56% of equity teams spend most of their time on strategic work, yet 58% still identify as primarily operational.
- 51% of equity teams need five or more hours to generate standard reports, despite having real-time data access and 73% using AI.
- 76% of public company equity teams are locked into broker relationships they’d prefer to exit.
RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Certent, the provider of equity management software built for companies at every stage of growth, today released its 2026 Equity Management Outlook. The report finds that 78% of equity teams — defined as professionals directly involved in equity management for their companies — are very or extremely concerned that their current systems will not scale as their organizations grow.
Although 58% still characterize equity management as primarily operational, teams spend 56% of their time on strategic activities such as analysis, planning, and stakeholder engagement. Yet fragmented technology, partial automation, and slow reporting are limiting their participation, exposing a widening gap between their strategic role and the infrastructure supporting it.
“Equity teams are being asked to do more, but their systems haven’t kept pace,” said Michael Madigan, General Manager, Certent. “With IPO activity surging in 2026, combined with ongoing M&A and transitions to private status, we’re seeing unprecedented cascading demands: compliance requirements shift, regulatory scrutiny increases, and scalability becomes critical. When legacy systems can’t handle this complexity, companies face real risks including compliance gaps, poor employee experience, and operational bottlenecks during growth events. Equity professionals need technology that reduces that friction so they can focus on supporting strategic business decisions.”
Certent is an employee equity management platform built for simplicity and scale, supporting companies from early funding rounds through IPO and beyond without migration or disruption. Organizations can choose software or full plan administration, while public and going-public companies maintain control of their equity data and choice of broker.
Why are equity teams worried their technology won’t grow with them?
The technology supporting equity management is already fragmented, making growth harder to manage. Forty percent of organizations run three systems simultaneously, while 57% still actively use spreadsheets. Beyond fragmentation itself, teams face compounding barriers: 43% cite technology limitations as obstacles to automation, 42% struggle with data quality, and 39% face integration challenges.
As manual processes and compliance concerns mount, teams are prioritizing capabilities that can simplify how work gets done. This includes automation of routine tasks, advanced analytics, and predictive modeling, topping the list at 48% each, followed by integration across systems and AI-powered insights and recommendations at 46%.
Additional key survey findings conclude the following:
- Equity reporting consumes valuable time – Despite more than 99% have at least partial real-time visibility into their equity compensation data, 51% of equity management professionals still take five hours or more to generate a standard equity compensation report.
- Broker dependency limits flexibility for public company equity teams – Seventy-six percent are locked into a relationship with a specific broker they would prefer to change. That dependency can create friction during periods of change, with the research indicating broker flexibility can become a pressing operational concern during M&A or restructuring.
- AI adoption remains limited – Nearly three-quarters (73%) are actively using AI, but only 22% use it extensively, while another 24% are exploring or piloting the technology.
By simplifying reporting, reducing manual processes, and bringing equity management into one system, Certent helps teams spend less time managing operational complexity and more time supporting the business.
Explore the full Certent Equity Management Outlook and register for our upcoming webinar on November 3, 206 at 1pm ET to better understand the trends, obstacles, and opportunities impacting equity management teams.
Certent will showcase its equity management platform at the 2026 NASPP Conference, October 12-15 in Orlando. Visit booth 40 to learn more about how organizations can simplify their equity programs and scale confidently.
About the Research
Hanover Research conducted the survey with Certent in Q2 2026 using an online panel, analyzing responses from 400 US-based participants.
About Certent
Built on insightsoftware’s decades of finance software expertise, Certent provides equity management software built for the whole journey — from early funding rounds through IPO and beyond — scaling with ownership changes, new participants, and evolving compliance requirements without migration or disruption. Trusted for more than 20 years, Certent serves companies of any size, public or private, with no broker lock-in and the choice of full plan administration. It gives employees a self-service view of their equity and reduces the back-and-forth that lands on your team. Certent integrates with business partners, with audit-ready reporting and an interface that makes managing equity easy, from startup to Fortune 500.
Media Contacts
Inkhouse for Certent
insightsoftware@inkhouse.com
Certent PR Team
PR@insightsoftware.com
