IBM Corp, Bell Atlantic Corp and Eastman Kodak Co are among 10 companies that have received letters from the US Securities & Exchange Commission ordering them to include executive pay proposals on their proxy ballots so that shareholders get the right to approve or reject them. The Commission also said it will propose for public comment revisions to its proxy rules that would clarifying and enhance disclosure of executive pay and incentives packages. Under the proposals, companies will be required to set forth in a summary table both cash salary and the present value of shares or share options granted to top executives. It has also asked its chief accountant to study accounting rules governing stock options – there have been complaints that current rules allow companies to mask the true cost of large stock-option packages. The dismal performance of the IBM share price, coupled with IBM’s determination to make life so uncomfortable for under achieving employees that they decide to quit means that many shareholders and employees are united in outrage that senior management’s base salaries rose about 35% in 1990, and that the increases were much higher after stock options.
