Pressure from institutional investors to rein in executive compensation and pay-related reforms—such as expanded disclosure requirements related to compensation, deferred compensation legislation, and new rules regarding the expensing of stock options—apparently have yet to translate into lower CEO pay at most public companies, according to a new report.
On the contrary, the study—by governance watchdog The Corporate Library—claims that many CEOs unjustifiably pocketed outsized salaries. “Far from demonstrating any restraint or reining in, CEO pay growth doubled in 2004,” states The Corporate Library’s CEO Pay Survey. The analysis reported the median increase in total CEO compensation between 2003 and 2004 was 30.2 percent, significantly higher than the prior year’s 15.0 percent jump.
