Executive compensation is a prominent topic in corporate governance in the US, but the debate on how to address excessive executive pay is not new. It has been an issue for decades – long before the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. During the past two years, however, there has been an increased awareness of executive compensation levels in the US, leading to a notable trend toward imposing limits on executive pay levels and greater transparency about how executives are compensated. Indeed, US regulators, legislators, companies and investors have taken significant measures in an effort to address the issue of excessive executive compensation.
This issue is not unique to the US. Excessive corporate executive pay is currently under scrutiny in several jurisdictions. European Union (EU) finance ministers recently met to discuss the “scandalous levels of executive remuneration” in EU member states, although it is common knowledge that compensation levels for chief executives in Europe are lower than for their counterparts in the US. Measures against excessive boardroom pay packages are also being considered in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
