On January 1, 20X4, Excelsior Ltd., a publicly traded company, granted 200 share appreciation rights (SARs) to each of its 300 employees. The vesting date is December 31, 20X6, and the expiration date is December 31, 20X7. The benchmark price is $65. Excelsior's year-end is December 31. The fair value of each SAR has been determined using an option-pricing model. Information pertaining to the fair value of each SAR and the market price of the shares follows:

Date SAR FV Share price

January 1, 20X4 $10.00

December 31, 20X4 $12.00 $68.00

December 31, 20X5 $15.50 $74.00

At the 20X4 year end, 15 eligible employees had left the company and it was estimated that another 54 would leave prior to the SARs vesting. During 20X5, 30 eligible employees left the company, and it was estimated that a further 30 would leave before the SARs vested. What is the amount of the compensation expense to be recorded for the 20X5 year?