Welcome to GuerdonNews®

In this month's issue we:

• Comment on the employee share scheme tax bill recently introduced into Parliament
• Note some of the issues raised at the 9th annual Remuneration and Governance Forum
• Provide background to the recent globalisation of independent board remuneration advisers
• Examine the validity of using CEO pay to set board fees
• Review one of APRA's new prudential standards for health insurers

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

Employee share plan tax bill introduced into Australian Parliament

Rights and options to be taxed at exercise

On 25 March 2015, the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (Employee Share Schemes) Bill 2015 was introduced into federal Parliament.

The taxation point of rights and options has been moved from the time of grant or vesting to the time of exercise. This brings Australia belatedly into line with most of the world with which it needs to compete for executive and technical experience and skills.

Special concessional treatment applies to "start ups".

Nuanced discussion of board governance and remuneration issues at the 2015 Remuneration and Governance Forums

More sophistication evident among stakeholders

The ninth Remuneration and Governance Forum, sponsored by Guerdon Associates and CGI Glass Lewis, was held in Melbourne on 5 March and our third Perth Forum on 9 March. Over 160 institutional investors, company directors, management, governance associations and regulators attended these Forums.

World’s leading pay advisers form global alliance

A response to the needs of multi-national boards requiring advice free from conflicts of interest

The majority of public companies in the US, Canada, Britain and Australia, as well as in several non-Anglo countries, now receive their pay advice from independent advisers.

Can you set CEO fixed pay based on total Non-Executive Director fees?

The data indicates that CEO pay can be used as one of the reference points

For another perspective on CEO pay, we have examined the relationship between current CEO fixed pay and total non-executive director (NED) fees for S&P/ASX 200 companies.

The ratio of CEO fixed pay to total NED fees was analysed in relation to company size. For ASX 20 companies we further analysed changes in the ratio of CEO to NED fees from 2012 to 2014 and in relation to current CEO tenure.

APRA releases draft prudential standards for health insurers

Includes requirements for board effectiveness reviews and board renewal processes

On 31 March APRA released new draft standards for health insurers.

These include governance standards to ensure board competence.

Guerdon Associates in the news

“ESS draft tax amendments”, Company Director, Volume 31, Issue 02, March 2015, p. 20

Latest GuerdonData® Updates

Updates to GuerdonData® include disclosures from the following 17 companies:

Beadell Resources Limited, Caltex Australia Limited, Energy Resources Of Australia Limited, G8 Education Limited, Iproperty Group Limited, Iress Market Technology Limited, Invocare Limited, Leighton Holdings Limited, Mineral Deposits Limited, Oil Search Limited, Oz Minerals Limited, Pan Australian Resources Limited, QBE Insurance Group Limited, STW Communications Group Limited, Santos Limited, Sydney Airport 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®.