The US Top Executive Compensation Report: 2014 Edition

Nearly a decade has passed since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released new rules for the disclosure of executive and director compensation and they have since released amendments as well. The rules were intended to provide shareholders and other readers of proxy statements with clearer and more consistent executive compensation data. This report aggregates that data and examines salary, total cash compensation, total compensation, and the mix of compensation elements for the CEO and the five highest paid executives of 2,283 US-listed companies.

In addition, 2014 was the fourth year companies recorded the so-called say-on-pay votes whereby shareholders submitted non-binding votes on executive compensation. While most companies “passed” their votes, there is certainly continuing scrutiny on executive pay packages and some are arguing that this scrutiny has not only increased communication between shareholders and companies but may have also changed the way executives are paid.