Articles & features
Executive pay rises amid cost-of-living crisis
- 31 Aug 2023
- ICAEW Insights
Average CEO pay is now 118 times that of the average UK worker, compared with 108 times in 2021 and 79 times in 2020.
Hefty executive payouts come under the spotlight
- 05 Apr 2023
- ICAEW Insights
As we await the verdict of the lawsuit challenging a $56bn pay package from Tesla to Elon Musk by aggrieved shareholders of the carmaker, is enormous executive remuneration really necessary – or indeed ethical – in today’s market?
UK executive pay increasingly linked to ESG targets
- 17 Jan 2023
- ICAEW Insights
The UK’s top companies are increasingly including ESG corporate goals in executive pay plans, suggesting investor pressure for greater ESG disclosure is taking effect, new research shows.
Exclusive
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMUNITY
Long term incentive schemes
- 21 Oct 2020
- Ian Wright
The manner in which senior executives of large public companies are remunerated is a high-profile issue and one which is likely to become even more sensitive in the context of Coronavirus.
Exclusive
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMUNITY
How to prepare for a successful remuneration policy renewal
- 16 Dec 2019
- Sheryl Cuisia
New legislation and the UK Corporate Governance Code are forcing companies to consider a much wider agenda in the upcoming AGM season.
Exclusive
VALUATION COMMUNITY
Booth and Booth
- 11 Sep 2019
- Andrew Strickland
Family Companies and Section 994, Companies Act 2006 - most common grounds by far were exclusion of a shareholder from management of the business.
Exclusive
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMUNITY
One year into gender pay gap reporting
- 04 Jul 2019
- Jane Berney
The Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations came into force in April 2017 and so by now all organisations employing over 250 relevant employees have published (or should have) two annual reports. The reports consist of six metrics that quantify the difference in hourly pay and bonuses for men and women as well as the percentage of men and women in the highest and lowest earning quartiles of the workforce.
Exclusive
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMUNITY
How to end excessive pay
- 03 Apr 2019
- Luke Hildyard
Excessive pay has been a growing source of public anger in recent years. Despite being snobbishly dismissed as populist prejudices, public perceptions of executive pay practices are largely accurate.
Guidance
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
How to end excessive pay
- Thought leadership report
- May 2018
- PDF (489kb)
Our first application of the Connect and Reflect approach looks at how organisations can tackle excessive executive pay. It requires connecting with the public on pay, reflecting on what is said and taking action if it is required. In this paper we examine the challenges and provide a 10-step action plan to support boards in their approach to remuneration of executives.
Executive Remuneration: Factors influencing consultants’ advice
- Report
- May 2017
- PDF (466kb)
This briefing examines the factors that influence the advice executive remuneration consultants provide to their clients. Based on insights from interviews with consultants, the briefing identifies the key factors influencing their advice and their client relationships.
CPD Training courses
Stay on top of the rapidly evolving corporate governance landscape and discover how to be a high-performing board director.
Corporate governance courses 
Webinars and other recordings
How should a board approach exec pay?
- Podcast
- 16 Feb 2023
In this special Insights In Focus episode, we discuss the thorny and often contentious topic of executive pay.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMUNITY
Does remuneration benchmarking reward failure?
- Webinar
- 28 Mar 2017
Mark Freebairn, Partner and Head of the Financial Management Practice at Odgers Berndtson, and Ruth Bender, Professor of Corporate Financial Strategy at Cranfield School of Management, discuss executive pay and remuneration benchmarking.
Bloomsbury Accounting and Tax Service
Eligible firms have free access to Bloomsbury Professional's comprehensive online library, comprising around 80 titles from some of the country's leading tax and accounting subject matter experts. Find out who is eligible and how you can access the Accounting and Tax Service.
Exclusive
Directors' remuneration
- eBook chapter
- 2024
- Saleem Sheikh
- Bloomsbury Professional
- Company Law Handbook
Overview of key recommendations made for directors' remuneration, as well as the statutory and common law position.
Terms of use:
You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the Acceptable usage terms.
eBooks
The Library & Information Service provides a collection of eBooks as a benefit of membership. Please note that ICSA publications are only available to ICAEW members and ACA students. Please log in to access these titles. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support or contact library@icaew.com
Exclusive
Human capital and compensation governance
- eBook chapter
- 2024
- Richard Leblanc (Editor)
- Wiley
- Handbook of Board Governance
Explores the practical realities of corporate governance in public, private, and not-for-profit environments. Part 8 includes board oversight of executive pay, the effective compensation (remuneration) committee, and ESG issues in relation to human capital and executive incentives.
Exclusive
Hiring, evaluating and dismissing the CEO
- eBook chapter
- 2024
- Richard Leblanc (Editor)
- Wilrey
- Handbook of Board Governance
Explores the practical realities of corporate governance in public, private, and not-for-profit environments. Part 1 deals with the boards interactions with the CEO, including: CEO succession planning, model position description, performance, evaluation and compensation policy, and board oversight of CEO misconduct.
Exclusive
Executive directors
- eBook chapter
- 2017
- ICSA Publishing
- ICSA Publishing
- The ICSA Corporate Governance Handbook
Chapter 12 - The role of the executive director, chief executive and finance director are outlined as well as director remuneration and the roles and responsibilities of the remuneration committee. Pay, pensions and other benefits, disclosure requirements, contracts and severance are also covered.
Exclusive
The board structure and its committees
- eBook chapter
- 2017
- ICSA Publishing
- ICSA Publishing
- The ICSA Corporate Governance Handbook
Chapter 3 deals with the structure of the board, its governance role and responsibilities. It also gives brief overviews of the different types of board committees, including: audit; nomination; remuneration; and risk committees. These are dealt with in more detail in later chapters.
Terms of use:
You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.
Industry press
The Library & Information Service provides a collection of articles as a benefit of membership. Please log in to view these articles. If you are unable to access the articles, please see our Help and support page or contact library@icaew.com.
Exclusive
City of London's executive pay stigma hurting UK, regulator says.
- Oct 2024
- Sabah Meddings
- Bloomberg
The head of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has expressed his views on executive pay in the UK, stating that UK boards should resist pressure from proxy advisers who oppose high executive salaries. Proxy agencies have gained influence due to the growth of passive investment funds, and the FRC is now reviewing their role and considering stricter oversight.
Exclusive
External or internal: Wwhat's the best executive compensation benchmark?
- Oct 2024
- Joanna Czyzewski
- MLR Holdings
Article focuses on the importance of a holistic approach to benchmarking executive compensation, emphasizing the balance between external market factors and internal considerations. It highlights the need for companies to periodically review their benchmarking methodologies to ensure alignment with their compensation philosophy and overall company strategy.
Exclusive
Evaluating executive compensation in the age of activism
- Oct 2024
- Greg Arnold, Kristofer O'Toole
- MLR Holdings
The article focuses on the impact of shareholder activism on executive compensation strategies, highlighting how activist campaigns often target executive pay to underscore perceived mismanagement or alignment issues with shareholder interests. A study of 30 activist campaigns between 2021 and 2023 reveals that criticisms of executive pay are a common tactic, with suggestions for specific changes to compensation practices.
Exclusive
2025 Compensation Committee Planning Guide
- Oct 2024
- Mike Meyers, Rachael Lee
- National Association of Corporate Directors
Article provides guidance for remuneration committees in planning for the year ahead. It suggests discussing key questions and topics such as adjustments to incentive plan performance outcomes, shareholder engagement strategies, proxy disclosure, individual pay positioning, and incentive plan design and performance goals.
Terms of use:
You are permitted to access articles subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.
Useful links
UK Corporate Governance Code
- Jan 2024
- Financial Reporting Council
UK Corporate Governance Code 2024 (for accounting periods on or after 1 January 2025). Section 5: Remuneration looks at the remuneration committee and executive remuneration.
UK Corporate Governance Code 2018. Section 5: Remuneration looks at the remuneration committee and executive remuneration.
Remuneration committee - terms of reference
- May 2022
- Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland
Guidance note for a 'company seeking to comply fully with the requirements of the UK Corporate Governance Code, published in July 2018 (the Code).' The ICAEW Library also holds a reference copy.
Role of the RemCo: How to achieve good governance of pay, people and culture
- Jul 2021
- High Pay Centre / CIPD
High Pay Centre and CIPD research offering practical guidance to HR leaders and board members on how to improve their people and pay governance through Remuneration Committee reform and the inclusion of the workforce in the pay-setting process.
Changes in remuneration reporting following the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018
- May 2020
- Financial Reporting Council
Report written by the University of Portsmouth for the FRC on changes in remuneration reporting since the updated UK Governance Code in 2018.
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