Not surprisingly, business chiefs aren’t excited about this seeming inevitability. It’s not that they’re loath to disclose how much money they make; that information is readily available in public company documents. But many CEOs believe the ratios themselves will be misleading and will be used only for shaming, union organization and political purposes.
Required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 that was enacted in the wave of “reform” legislation after the financial crash of 2008, the ratio-disclosure rule drew more than 128,000 public-comment letters after the SEC proposed it a year ago. More than 1,000 of those letters were uniquely written, and not form letters.
Such information long has been formulated by anti-corporate interests to use in opposing specific companies and capitalism itself, and was a staple of communications by the Occupy Wall Street protesters a couple of years ago. Since by most measures CEO pay as compared to employee pay has risen over the years, the measures make effective rhetorical points.
But CEOs and their allies oppose use of the ratios for a number of reasons. “The pay ratio disclosure is useless and potentially harmful because it purports to communicate information about a company’s CEO compensation and human resources strategy when in reality it cannot,” Dennis Zeleny, a top-level corporate-strategy consultant and former head of HR for Caremark CVS and Sunoco Oil, among other Fortune 500 companies, told CEO Briefing.
But “by requiring the pay ratio to be disclosed alongside other, actually material information, the SEC creates a preconceived bias that the pay ratio provides legitimate information.”
One problem with the ratio rule as currently formulated, for instance, revolves around the fact that it’ll be complex to formulate the figures and could cost companies millions of dollars to do so. The SEC so far hasn’t spelled out a specific methodology for companies to identify a “median” employee—for instance, that companies may choose to identify that person using all their employees, or by statistical sampling, according to the Chicago Tribune.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
