Articles & Whitepapers

Current   I   Archived

Top 10 Compensation Committee Agenda Items for 2010

Approaches to addressing 10 of the most pressing executive pay and governance items on the plates of Compensation Committees in 2010.

Getting the Most Value from Your Compensation Consultant

Ideas for how Compensation Committees can avoid common pitfalls in their relationship with compensation consulting firms in order to get the most value and best results.

CEO Succession - The Importance of Compensation
by Matt Turner
Published in Directorship - June 2010

How Compensation Committees can balance practical considerations and multiple perspectives in determining executive performance metrics.

Repositioning Your Pay Programs for Recovery - Six Steps for Conducting an Effective Compensation Audit
by Aria Glasgow and Jim Hudner

An in-depth process for companies to ensure their compensation practices remain aligned with new market practices and evolving business strategies for the recovery.

10 Steps to Paying for Real Performance
by Aria Glasgow and Kristine Oliver

What companies should consider when assessing the validity and effectiveness of performance-based pay programs.

Defining Executive Pay for Performance
by Matt Turner
Published in Workspan - May 2010

How Compensation Committees can balance practical considerations and multiple perspectives in determining executive performance metrics.

When the Going Gets Tough, Opt for Option Exchange Programs
Co-authored by Deborah Lifshey
Published in NACD Directorship - April 2010

Why current environments makes stock option exchanges a more appealing route for some companies than issuing new option grants and how such programs work.

Compensation Risk - Regulatory Requirements and Practical Applications
by Deborah Lifshey
Published in Pension & Benefits Daily - April 14, 2010

A summary of significant new mandates related to the assessment of compensation-related risk and a suggested approach to conducting such assessments.

Compensation Committee Approval of Annual Stock-Based Incentive Awards - Key Considerations & Process Steps
by Steve Van Putten
Published in Boardmember.com - February 1, 2010

An examination of the specific factors that Compensation Committees should consider in determining the design and level of stock awards, as well as in evaluating the aggregate pool of shares delivered to employees.

Addressing Salary Compression in Any Economy
by Rebecca Manoli
Published in Workspan - December 2009

As pay discretion becomes a thing of the past and the economy turns around, companies must be especially mindful of the risks that salary compression will develop.

Roadmap for Compensation Risk Assessment
by Yvonne Chen
Published in Complinet Informer - Fall 2009

A review of pending regulation and an outline of three key steps to help companies and their compensation committees prepare for disclosure of pay-related risk.

Effective Compensation Risk Assessment at the Board Level
by Greg G. Stoeckel

The key to successfully managing compensation-related risk is not inspecting quality at the end of the program design process, but rather building quality directly into the process.

Using SERPs to Create a Balanced Executive Compensation Program
by Peter Lupo & Bruce Brownell

Stock price alone does not always correlate with either executive performance or sustainable long-term shareholder value.

Keep it Simple
by Peter A. Lupo
Published in Workspan - October 2009

Complexity is worth the trade-off in some situations, but companies are best off keeping program designs as simple as possible -- especially in an uncertain economy.

Executive Incentive Practices Post-TARP
by Susan O'Donnell
Published in Bank Accounting & Finance - August-September 2009

An examination of emerging trends in incentive use among all companies in the wake of a host of new regulatory initiatives, including: what went wrong; how pay programs are changing post-TARP; and expected best practices going forward.

Protect Your Bank's Future
by Susan O'Donnell
Published in Bank News - June 2009

Successful companies treat succession planning as a critical element of business strategy, centered around an ongoing process of dialogue and review that is continually re-evaluated and updated to suit evolving needs.

Holistic Pay Modeling: Getting the Complete Executive Pay Picture
by Melissa L. Means
Published in WorldatWork Journal - 2nd Quarter 2009

What's often missing from compensation oversight is a more far-reaching and into what a particular executive has the potential to earn. A holistic, or dynamic, pay analysis provides a specific line of sight into how each component of a complex executive compensation program will behave singly and cumulatively over both the short- and long-term and for the full range of stock and performance outcomes.

Navigating Underwater Options: Examining Option Exchanges & Alternatives
by Jim Heim and Michael Enos
Published in Workspan - May 2009

Determining if an option exchange is the best way for your company to deal with underwaters - and when an alternative approach might be more appropriate and effective.

Battle Ready: Arming Your Company to Manage Talent During M&As
by Yvonne Chen
Published in Workspan - April 2009

Immediate steps HR must take in the event of a mergers and acquisitions battle, and an effective framework for retaining key talent during and after the transaction.

2009 Top 10 Executive Compensation Issues in the New Economy

10 key issues related to plan design and corporate governance that Boards will be grappling with in 2009, with recommendations for best practices and pitfalls to avoid.

Staying One Step Ahead: The "New" Top Ten Issues in Executive Compensation

A look at the major topics of attention likely to face Compensation Committee members in regard to their oversight of executive pay programs.

Risky Business: Assessing and Addressing Executive Compensation Risk
by Susan O'Donnell & Laura Hanf

An effective framework for identifying and analyzing compensation-related risk that, while specific to TARP participants, suggests best practice guidelines for all companies.

Executive Pay Oversight in an Economic Crisis
By David N. Swinford and Mark J. Rosen
Published in Directors Monthly - January 2009

Governance lessons that address executive compensation, without the need for further regulation.

Octane-Driven Performance
by Peter A. Lupo
Published in Workspan - November 2008

A look at three long-term incentive plan designs that can be tuned for very high levels of performance.

The Consultant Zoo
by Peter A. Lupo
Published in Directorship - December 2008/January 2009

A brief overview of some common consulting styles and how, taken to an extreme, they might not serve a Compensation Committee's best interests.

Dynamic Pay Modeling - A Holistic Approach to Executive Pay
by Melissa Means

In today's governance environment, companies can benefit group from a more dynamic analysis of how the individual elements of complex executive compensation programs will behave singly and cumulatively, now and over the long-term, under a full range of possible performance outcomes.

Where Common Sense Rules
by Yvonne Chen
Published in Directorship - October/November 2008

Sensible guidelines for steering the relationship between committees and their consultants in the right direction, whatever the engagement.

To Have or Have Not – Securing Executive Talent in an IPO
By Theo Sharp and Chris Moore

Key considerations for companies that are going public in deciding whether and how to structure severance or change-in-control (CIC) arrangements, including a survey of marketplace practices in 2007.

Peer Group Pitfalls: Overcoming Five Common Selection Obstacles
by Jim Heim
Published in Workspan - October 2008

Amidst growing scrutiny of the benchmarking process, companies need to put significant thought into the peer group selection process.

The Compensation Committee: From Competence to Excellence
by David N. Swinford and Matt Vnuk
Published in Directors Monthly - October 2008

Critical practices for Directors to achieve improved performance, better relations with management, a sound public image and greater efficiency.

Bullet-Proof Your Compensation Program
by Aria Glasgow
Published in Workspan - September 2008

Six steps to help compensation professionals manage programs in an uncertain economy.

Get Smart: An Effective First Year on the Compensation Committee
By Jannice Koors and Lianne Chew
Published in Directors Monthly - September 2008

The tools needed by new committee members to understand how the board operates and to have a productive first year.

Fear of the Unknown
By Theo Sharp
Published in Directorship - June/July 2008

A look at deliberate and specific actions that Boards can take to help mitigate compensation-related risks.

The (Slowly) Changing Face of the Board
By Jan Koors and Lianne Chew

Recent research that shows the changing Boardroom profile and how Board compensation is evolving.

Six Steps to Implementing Performance Metrics in LTI Plans
By Melissa L. Means
Published in Workspan - May 2008

Key issues in designing an effective and simple performance-based LTI plan, including special considerations for organizations that may have difficulty setting goals over a long-term period.

To Disclose or Not to Disclose: Performance Targets and the SEC
By Edgar H. McGaughey III and Deborah Lifshey
Published in Directors Monthly - March 2008

Six steps for determining the need to report performance metrics, including issues related to the use of competitive harm arguments.