New York (Nov. 12, 2003) -- In an era replete with stratospheric salaries for many of the nation’s corporate chiefs, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chairman William McDonough urged company directors to re-examine executive compensation.
“Corporate directors should think long and hard about the compensation of the executives who head the corporations they are sworn to protect,” McDonough said during a corporate securities lecture at Fordham University.
“In an ideal world, every CEO would go to their board and ask the members to re-examine executive compensation, starting with his or her own pay. What made sense two or three years ago may not make sense today. If the CEO doesn't ask for a re-examination, I would urge board members to undertake the re-examination themselves.”
McDonough told attendees that thus far, the board has approved the registration applications of nearly 650 firms, and its staff has expanded to nearly 100 people with additional satellite offices targeted for Atlanta and Dallas.
McDonough said he would be “remiss” if he didn’t make a recruiting pitch for the board.
“We don't want zealots, but we don't want pussycats, either. We are looking for good, experienced accountants, and we are looking for the right spirit, too.”
Separately, the PCAOB has scheduled an open meeting Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m. to propose a new auditing standard, and an amendment to an interim auditing standard and its relationship to audit documentation.
The meeting will be Webcast at
-- WebCPA staff
