GC South‘s third annual Compensation Survey exists thanks to a word that’s been getting bandied about quite a bit these days in the context of executive pay: transparency.

Thanks to transparency, such as it is at the moment — the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to introduce even more rigorous rules in this area next year — public companies must disclose how much their five most highly compensated executives earn, including everything from salary and bonuses to tax gross-ups and perks.