While the impending SEC rules on disclosure of the CEO Pay Ratio continues to generate headlines, the reality is that this ratio does not inform investors of anything useful. Compensation committees should focus instead on other ratios and disclosures that are 1) more revealing of corporate...

Published by The Conference Board in collaboration with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., CEO and Executive Compensation Practices: 2015 Edition documents trends and developments on senior management compensation at companies issuing equity securities registered with the US Securities and Exchange...

What effect, if any, does an ESOP have on a company's compensation philosophy and executive compensation plans and programs? Our firm recently conducted research in order to determine whether or not an ESOP materially alters compensation philosophy and executive compensation levels at public...

There have been substantial changes in executive compensation reported by companies in their 2009 proxy statements following an unprecedented drop in stock prices. This study reviewed 200 of the largest companies (by market capitalization) that comprise the S&P 500 Stock Index. We reviewed...

The effect of a stock buyback on an executive incentive program will depend on a variety of factors and is specific to each company and their unique incentive program design. Stock buybacks, which have increased in prevalence following the Tax Cuts and Job Act (2017), continue to be a...

Shareholders are increasingly aware of executive compensation issues and are focused on the relationship between pay and performance. Indeed, with say on pay (“SOP”) implemented in 2011 (with most of the SOP votes being annual), pay for performance has become a core issue for investors and a...

The US leads the world in numerous economic indicators, including the levels of executive pay. There is a debate raging in the US and across the world as to the right level of executive compensation with the US being the epi-centre of this argument

With new rules on conducting an annual compensation risk assessment for publicly-traded companies approved by the SEC on December 16, 2009, each organization needs to perform an evaluation of its compensation program, paying special attention to the risk it is assuming with the policies and...

Legislative and regulatory activity is slowing down, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act rulemaking by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to be much slower than expected. For example, companies have resisted CEO pay to average worked ratio...