Yesterday's (April 12, 2016) Equal Pay Day produced an extraordinary volume of discourse and disclosure on a vitally important topic – and one that is surfacing more frequently at the Compensation Committee level.
Proxy executive compensation and Compensation Discussion & Analysis (CD&A) disclosure is principally based upon a one-year look back at executive compensation forms, levels, policies, and practices. In addition, the proxy tables and schedules which disclose the historical pay forms and levels for the Named Executive Officers (NEOs) are fixed in format and do not allow for any flexibility in reporting NEO compensation beyond that which is prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The number of methods for defining "CEO pay" when analyzing executive compensation continues to grow. From total pay suggested by the summary compensation table to the definitions used by Glass Lewis or Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) in their proxy review reports, there is no universal standard for measuring pay, especially in comparison to performance.
Compensation Committees face the challenge of balancing the tension in motivating their executives to create shareholder value in the current Say on Pay and economic environment. The current pullback in stock prices and the uncertain financial outlook for 2016 at many companies will make this year's compensation decisions even more challenging.
The past year has seen extensive criticism of share buybacks as an example of "corporate short-termism" within the business press, academic literature, and political community. The critics of share buybacks claim that corporate managers, motivated by flawed executive incentive plans (stock options, bonus plans based on EPS, etc.) and supported by complacent boards, behave myopically and undertake value-destroying buybacks to mechanically increase their own reward.
Executive pay continues to be a hotly debated topic in the boardroom among investors and proxy advisors, and it routinely makes headlines in the media. As the U.S. was in the heart of the financial crisis in 2008 – 2009, CEO total direct compensation (TDC = base salary + actual bonus paid + grant value of long-term incentives) dropped for two consecutive years.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has elected to eliminate the concept of extraordinary items under Generally Accepted Accounting Rules (GAAP), effective with fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015.
Performance-based long-term incentive (LTI) awards"typically performance shares or stock units (PSUs)"are a large component of annual LTI awards for executives at most companies . Compensation committees continue to wrestle with the various design considerations associated with PSUs.
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") staff has had a busy summer. Following the release of proposed rules and regulations regarding the CEO Pay for Performance and Clawback provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank"), the SEC on August 5, 2015 proposed final rules and regulations regarding the CEO pay ratio disclosure. The CEO pay ratio disclosure fulfills a further mandate of the Dodd-Frank legislation.
