TheCorporateCounsel.net

Here are the survey results from our most recent Quick Survey, repeated below (compare to an identical survey we conducted three years ago):

1. Does your compensation committee:

– have a policy that it will not employ any compensation consultants who perform services for management – 30%
– not have such a policy, but does not intend to employ any of the same compensation consultants as management – 50%
– employ some (or all) of the same compensation consultants used by management – 20%

2. In practice, how does your compensation committee go about hiring an expert for making recommendations regarding CEO compensation?

– Management offers up a consultant to the compensation committee that it finds acceptable, subject to committee approval – 55%
– Compensation committee left completely on its own to find and hire whatever consultant it wants – 40%
– Compensation committee has not hired an expert for setting CEO compensation – 4.9%

3. Assume the company already is using consultant A for general compensation advisory purposes, will your compensation committee:

– Use the same consultant to help set executive compensation – 10%
– Use a different consultant to help set executive compensation – 70%
– Too early to tell what the compensation committee will do going forward – 20%

4. Regarding compensation committee charters, the committee has:

– A charter that states that the compensation committee will be the sole entity in the company to hire compensation consultants specifically related to CEO compensation – 80%
– A charter that states that both the compensation committee and management have the authority to hire compensation consultants specifically related to CEO compensation – 0%
– A charter that does not address who hires compensation consultants – 20%

Please take a moment to participate on this “Quick Survey on Regulation FD Practices.”

Social Media Within IR Web Pages

In this podcast, Darrell Heaps of Q4 Web Systems explains how companies can incorporate social media elements within their IR web pages, including:

– What is the Q4 platform?
– How is social media integrated into the platform?
– Can you give an example of a company using your platform so folks can see what it looks like?

More on our “Proxy Season Blog”

With the proxy season gearing up once more, we are posting new items regularly on our “Proxy Season Blog” for TheCorporateCounsel.net members. Members can sign up to get that blog pushed out to them via email whenever there is a new entry by simply inputting their email address on the left side of that blog. Here are some of the latest entries:

– U.S. Proxy Season Review: Withhold Votes
– Is ISS Too Powerful?
– Seven Smart Practices for Shareowner Meetings
– Symantec Done With All-Virtual Shareholders Meetings
– Tabulators in the News

– Broc Romanek