The SEC has launched an online tool that permits users to easily compare the pay of top executives at 500 of the largest American companies, which the SEC has called the executive compensation reader. The SEC has created this tool by tagging in extensible business reporting language (XBRL) the executive compensation data from the summary compensation tables and certain other data in the proxy statements of these companies. Persons using the executive compensation reader can quickly locate the dollar amounts for salary, bonus, stock awards, option awards, non-equity incentive plan compensation, change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings, all other compensation ( such as company perks), and total compensation.
To begin a comparison, the user can type the name or ticker symbol of one of the databased companies or search by choosing from drop down menus that sort the data by public market capitalization, revenue and industry. The data then is presented in a table that can easily be downloaded into a formatted Excel spreadsheet. The user may select a graph format for up to four companies.
Users are also able to select what data they want to view. For example, when a table is created in the executive compensation reader, the user has the option to view only CEO compensation, only CFO compensation, only other named executive officer compensation, or a combination. Users may view dollar amounts for stock and option awards by the value of the award as expensed under GAAP, or based on potential value at grant dates, or both. If users want to see more detailed information, such as footnotes and explanations of compensation decisions, the executive compensation reader provides direct links to each company’s proxy statements.
The executive compensation reader is designed to facilitate shareholders’ ability to compare executive compensation data across any companies they select that are part of the tagged database. Similarly, it can serve as a useful tool for compensation committees when making compensation decisions, especially in future years when more companies have their data tagged. Following the new executive compensation disclosure rules that became effective last proxy season, the tool further serves to make executive compensation more transparent. In addition, the executive compensation reader showcases the potential of the interactive capabilities of XBRL data, which is expected to be implemented in the near future for all companies. The executive compensation reader is available on the SEC’s web site at http://216.12.130.224/compensation/action/main/list.action
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