Executive Compensation
Executive compensation is a frequent topic in the media today. From an auditor's perspective, executive compensation is an important consideration when it is time to develop the audit plan and audit strategy. If earnings and revenue are tied to compensation, then there is a risk of manipulation.
Search the internet for information on labor costs in the retail catalog industry (for example, labor costs as a percentage of sales).
Executive compensation ballooned in the 1990s with notable compensation abuses. The most popular form of executive compensation in the 1990s was company stock (or options to purchase stock). Designers of these compensation plans argue that by compensating officers with stock, the officers would take actions in the best interest of the shareholders. Critics claim that executive compensation is often too high in proportion to average salaries at companies, and that the compensation levels motivate officers to take selfish actions.
In your initial discussion post, provide your opinions on the following:
Research executive compensation of a well-known publicly traded company. You can find executive compensation in SEC filings on EDGAR at U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Website or on other sites, such as Executive Paywatch. Use your best judgment to compute the proportion of executive compensation to average employee salary. (For example, are executives earning five times, or 10 times, or 100 times the average employee?) Provide links to the data used to calculate the proportion of executive compensation. In your opinion, are the executives worth it?
In your opinion, what are the costs and benefits associated with compensating executives with stock or the option to purchase stock?
What do you believe are the most effective audit procedures to use to identify executive compensation abuse or fraud? Support your opinions and recommended audit procedures with at least one scholarly source in addition to your textbook.
Discussion Post: Executive Compensation
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Discussion Post: Executive Compensation
Satya Nadella, Microsoft Corporation’s chief executive officer (CEO), is one of the highest-paid executives in American technology companies. In particular, the total annual compensation of Nadella is approximately $54.9 million. According to Executive Paywatch, Microsoft Corporation pays its CEO about 289 times the average salary of an ordinary employee. For example, the value of stock awards for Nadella was $42,269,560 in 2022 (Aflcio.org, n.d.).
In my opinion, executives are worth the high compensation they receive from the company. Without the contributions made by these individuals, it would be challenging for corporations to generate more revenues. Since Nadella became Microsoft’s CEO, the company has continually experienced growth in its revenues. For instance, Nadella announced that Microsoft will provide a $30-per-month subscription for its artificial intelligence meant to supplement its Office 365 products. Notably,