Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance

Catalog description

This course examines the process by which executive incentives are created and the implications of those decisions on corporate effectiveness. Executive compensation is a very significant investment made by all corporations and how it is designed and delivered will impact the effectiveness of the organization and drive its ability to serve all of its stakeholders including employees, communities, suppliers, and customers in addition to shareholders. We will discuss the relative role, interests, and power of such entities as Institutional Shareholders, the Board, the Executives themselves, Regulators, the Press, Advisors, and rank-and-file employees in shaping the level and design of executive compensation. We will analyze how performance is measured and rewarded and discuss how those choices will impact executive decision making. We will pay special attention to the role of ESG in setting corporate priorities as reflected in the choice of performance metrics. In this course, you will come to understand the various forms of short and long-term incentives and the process by which they are benchmarked and administered. We will examine how these practices differ between public, private, and ventured owned companies. This course will be useful for those who aspire to participate in and/or oversee such programs as well as those who will administer them as a finance, an accounting, or a human resources professional. Each student will learn how to examine and analyze both proxy and financial statements.