SEC WATCHING
Executive payouts
continue to grow
By AP from thnt.com
on the Web, May 29, 2006
NEWARK -- Compensation given
to executives of 100 public companies that are either based in New Jersey or
have significant operations here rose dramatically last year, despite increased
scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission meant to curb runaway
payouts.
The compensation packages — salary, bonus, stock awards and company perks — paid
out to the Garden State executives last year rose 11.8 percent from the year
before, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported in its Sunday newspapers.
The median pay package given to top brass was $2.38 billion.
But this trend could slow next year, when the SEC will adopt stricter
compensation reporting guidelines that companies must follow, including
requiring far more detail on the range of rewards top executives get and the
goals of compensation committees.
Shareholders are often not given a detailed description of how the company they
own rewards its top officers.
Some examples of New Jersey chief executives being rewarded handsomely for poor
company performance include Basking Ridge-based Avaya Inc. Chief Executive
Officer Don Peterson and Woodcliff Lake-based Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc.
CEO Scott Tarriff.
Peterson saw his compensation rise 90 percent to $6 million, despite the CEO
admitting the company did not meet early expectations for the year and saw a
yearly negative return of 26 percent.
Tarriff's payout rose 22 percent to $5 million despite the company swinging from
a profit to a loss and sales plummeting 37 percent.
The proliferation of pay consultants have let top company brass know what
they're making — and what they should be making — compared to their rivals.
|
