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Time - Man of the Year
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Time_Man_of_the_Year_Compact_Publishing_3YX-Disc-1_Compact_Publishing_1993.iso
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1993-04-08
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THE WEEK, Page 20BUSINESSHush Money
Under fire for high pay, CEOs move to cut off compensation
information
Nothing is as bothersome to corporate CEOs as the annual
ritual of subjecting their compensation to outside scrutiny.
Disclosures of king-size pay packages and royal perks regularly
rouse public resentment and shareholder revolts, not to mention
congressional calls for reform. Unable to cap the criticism, the
bosses are moving quietly but aggressively to plug the flow of
information. In their cross hairs are the compensation
consultants who prepare the data under contract with big
corporations. Led by the Business Roundtable, the captains of
industry have issued veiled threats to consultants who share
information with journalists, financial analysts and regulatory
authorities. The message: Stop cooperating or lose future
business.
Several major consulting firms such as Hewitt Associates,
Hay Group and the Wyatt Co. have received letters and phone
calls from unhappy clients. The firms are vulnerable to such
high-pressure tactics because they depend on the companies for
much of their overall business, which also includes actuarial
services and benefits consulting. Some firms have decided not
to take the risk. Towers Perrin says it will no longer help
prepare pay surveys for the media. But the bullying isn't likely
to silence calls for reform. The Securities and Exchange
Commission wants corporations to include more detailed pay data
in proxy materials, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board
plans to force companies to deduct the present value of stock
options from reported earnings.