Understanding Executive Compensation

Getting executive compensation right is not an easy task. Finding the appropriate compensation plan to incentivize executives and drive corporate performance is an annual challenge for corporate boards. There is a myriad of factors at play. Boards must balance the need to incentivize individuals, keep compensation costs reasonable, maintain internal equity, and manage shareholder value. While directors wrestle with these factors, matters are made all the more difficult given the scrutiny executive pay now faces by shareholders, legislators, interest groups and the media. In other words, compensating executives has never been more complex. Understanding Executive Compensation & Governance demystifies each component of pay and serves as a go-to resource for individuals in and out of the boardroom. This edition explores the full scope of executive pay, with topics ranging from setting a pay philosophy to arranging deferred compensation programs. This book also covers new and emerging trends in compensation, such as the rise of ESG, the expanding role of the compensation committee, and the use of relative metrics in incentive programs. International compensation is also included with sections on Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The carefully selected and organized chapters address the basic areas affecting executive compensation. This book synthesizes current knowledge and best practices through a collection of articles, with relevant discussions on the advantages and disadvantages of certain pay decisions. Readers have easy access to a wide range of executive pay issues that are especially pertinent in the current debate on the topic. Relevant to any type of company, whether publicly or privately held, Understanding Executive Compensation & Governance is a must-read for any professional responsible for crafting or overseeing executive pay programs.

Strategies for gaining a powerful edge in the executive talent wars The competition for executive talent is fierce, making it imperative that executive compensation programs become an integral part of every company's strategic business plan. The Complete Guide to Executive Compensation provides in-depth coverage of current issues and trends in designing and administering executive compensation packages that are strategically, economically, and culturally sound. Renowned compensation and benefit expert Bruce Ellig begins by providing guidance for board members and company executives on defining a company's organization, culture, and business strategy, in order to establish a framework for executive compensation. He then discusses the often difficultbut essentialissues within that framework, including: Pay positioningrelative to the competitive environment Risk profilethe mix of salary, incentive compensation, and benefits Leveragethe relationship between incentive plan payouts and performance Timingthe mix of short- versus long-term incentive programs Incentive plan designobjectives, performance measures, and participation

The company is under-performing, its share price is trailing, and the CEO gets...a multi-million-dollar raise. This story is familiar, for good reason: as this book clearly demonstrates, structural flaws in corporate governance have produced widespread distortions in executive pay. Pay without Performance presents a disconcerting portrait of managers' influence over their own pay--and of a governance system that must fundamentally change if firms are to be managed in the interest of shareholders. Lucian Bebchuk and Jesse Fried demonstrate that corporate boards have persistently failed to negotiate at arm's length with the executives they are meant to oversee. They give a richly detailed account of how pay practices--from option plans to retirement benefits--have decoupled compensation from performance and have camouflaged both the amount and performance-insensitivity of pay. Executives' unwonted influence over their compensation has hurt shareholders by increasing pay levels and, even more importantly, by leading to practices that dilute and distort managers' incentives. This book identifies basic problems with our current reliance on boards as guardians of shareholder interests. And the solution, the authors argue, is not merely to make these boards more independent of executives as recent reforms attempt to do. Rather, boards should also be made more dependent on shareholders by eliminating the arrangements that entrench directors and insulate them from their shareholders. A powerful critique of executive compensation and corporate governance, Pay without Performance points the way to restoring corporate integrity and improving corporate performance.

ANSWERS TO EXCESSIVE EXECUTIVE PAY Charges of excessive executive compensation have filled the business press for a number of years, yet few understand why pay plans trigger such results.This desktop reference book is an easy-to-access, invaluable guide to structuring appropriate executive pay plans. Properly used, it will help avoid excessive executive pay resulting from poorly designed plans. Written by renowned compensation expert Bruce Ellig, this book is a must read for the designers, approvers, and recipients of executive compensation, as well as those who write about the subject. Consultants and in-house pay designers will find detailed examples (supplemented with over 400 figures and tables) to trigger their own creativity. Compensation committees and other approvers of executive pay plans will value the definitions and descriptions of various pay plans and the conditions under which they would be appropriate. Executives themselves will find the book useful. Not only in better understanding their own plans, but learning more about other plans, both those they may only have heard about, as well as many that have not yet caught their attention. And those who write about the subject will be able to put their comments in a better perspective.. The Complete Guide to Executive Compensation takes an in-depth look at each of the executive pay elements: salary, executive benefits and incentives (both short and long term). This review also includes the role of the board of directors (and its compensation committee) along with the influence of the major stakeholders (most notably the shareholder). And a complete chapter is devoted to various measurements of executive performance. This book also contains a compendium of selected key information on executive compensation, including laws, Internal Revenue Code sections, IRS revenue rulings, accounting interpretations, and SEC actions. No other book has such a complete resource section. In addition, it includes both a historical review of key developments and a look ahead, as well as a glossary with more than 2,000 definitions.

Written by renowned compensation and benefit expert Bruce Ellig, this book is a must read for the designers, approvers, and recipients of executive compensation. Consultants and in-house pay designers will find detailed examples (supplemented with over 350 figures and tables) to trigger their own creativity. Compensation committees and other approvers of executive pay plans will value the definitions and descriptions of various pay plans and the conditions under which they would be appropriate. Executives themselves will find the book useful. Not only in better understanding their own plans, but learning more about other plans, both those they may only have heard about, as well as many that have not yet caught their attention.This book takes an in-depth look at each of the executive pay elements: salary, executive benefits and incentives (both short and long term). This review also includes the role of the board of directors (and its compensation committee) along with the influence of the major stakeholders (most notably the shareholder). And a complete chapter is devoted to various measurements of executive performance.

When it comes to creating an executive compensation program, it can feel like there’s little gray area between giving top performers too shiny a golden parachute, with exorbitant perks, and providing the company’s leaders with the incentive they need to continue doing their best. This book gives readers the techniques and understanding they need to design a rewards strategy that will motivate performers while benefiting the entire organization. Taking a careful look at the complicated state of executive rewards, this no-nonsense, practical guide provides readers with a complete methodology for motivating management to accomplish critical business goals. Eschewing a one-size-fits-all approach, the book uses case studies and examples to illustrate what factors should be considered—including environment, key stakeholders, people strategy, business strategy, and organizational capabilities—when designing a program that will benefit both their company and the people who fuel its success.