GuerdonNews® Volume 6 Number 2

March 2010

Dear [FIRSTNAME],

Welcome to the March 2010 issue of GuerdonNews®

In this issue we:

• Provide a remuneration committee checklist for improving executive remuneration disclosures

• Summarise the impact of regulation on the independent remuneration consultant market

• Notify you of the new timing for our director and institutional investor remuneration forum

• Compare alternative banker pay approaches

• Remind you of the new employee share plan reporting and tax withholding requirements

We conclude with the latest on executive and director remuneration disclosure updates available on the GuerdonData® on-line database and references to Guerdon Associates in the news media.

Plain English pay reporting – a remuneration committee’s checklist

One of the recommendations in the Australian Productivity Commission report on executive remuneration was that a plain English summary of remuneration policies be required.

Most companies can improve their disclosure of executive remuneration. This article provides a checklist to achieve this.

“Independent” pay adviser regulation impact

Evidence continues to mount that independent remuneration consultant regulation will have a significant impact.

The Australian Productivity Commission recommended that companies disclose who their advisers are, to whom they report and who appointed them . They also recommended that ASX 300 companies be subject to regulation similar to APRA’s requirement that remuneration committees independently appoint their own advisers from 1 April 2010.

The government’s response to the Australian Productivity Commission

Remuneration Forum for directors and institutional investors now on 3 May

The government has indicated that its response to the Productivity Commission report on executive pay will be released just prior to Easter, school holidays, and the leadup to the Anzac holiday. This has necessitated a change to the timing of the Remuneration Forum’s date to 3 May.

Alternative banker pay systems

Risk management has been a key focus of the banker pay models developed in response to the global financial crisis.

One approach is that adopted by UBS, which in 2008 introduced a three-year incentive scheme that aims to better align remuneration to risk management by providing for ‘clawback’ of accrued bonuses if the bank is not profitable.

Don’t forget the new employee share plan reporting and tax withholding requirements

The employee share plan reporting requirements legislated in December 2009 apply to both new grants and to earlier grants with a deferred taxing point after 1 July 2009.

Withholding tax will be payable for employee share plan grants made after 1 July 2009 where employees do not provide their TFN or ABN.

The following is a guide to the new requirements.

Latest GuerdonData® updates

Updates to GuerdonData® include disclosures from the following companies:

Carsales.com Limited, Prime Infrastructure Group, Tower Limited, Whitehaven Coal Limited and Woodside Petroleum Limited.

Executive and director remuneration data from all ASX 300 companies on GuerdonData® is available to any subscriber. Visit our website for more information on GuerdonData®.

Assess how easily you can find out director and executive pay information by viewing our 6 minute demo. Click on the “More Info” button below.

Guerdon Associates in the news

"Outrageous Fortune", Jane Cadzow, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 February 2010, p.14.

“Pressure builds for more share plan reforms”, Patrick Durkin, Australian Financial Review, 16 February 2010, p. 1 and p. 10

“Start planning to become PC”, Australian Institute of Company Directors, Board Report, 22 February 2010, Volume 8, Issue 3, p. 3

Disclaimer

The information, analysis and opinion in this e-mail and attachments are intended to be for informational purposes only. Analyses are based on information taken from public documents or private surveys, and we do not represent to its accuracy. Guerdon Associates assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. This publication is provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of marketability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of third party rights.

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  Copyright © 2010 Guerdon Associates

ISSN 1834-8300

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