Study: Boards Working More With Less Pay

New York (Jan. 8, 2004) -- It may be no surprise that more stringent governance requirements as a result of Sarbanes-Oxley have increased the workload of most corporate boards, but a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study shows many are doing so without pay increases.

According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Barometer, a quarterly survey that polled 177 chief financial officers and managing directors, nearly two-thirds of corporate boards surveyed spent more time on their duties during the past year, while commensurate compensation increased at only 20 percent of companies. Meanwhile 47 percent remained the same.

For those receiving a raise, the average increase was 17.9 percent. Only 10 percent of companies plan to increase board compensation over the next 12 months, with an average increase of 10 percent, the research indicated.

When it comes to recruiting new members, increased board responsibilities had a mixed impact, as 28 percent reported no problems and 18 percent described recruiting as “difficult.” Another 27 percent said they did not need to recruit new members.

The survey also found 68 percent of board audit committees spent more time on their duties over the past year, while 26 percent said their work increased “somewhat more,” 5 percent spent about the same time, while no one polled spent less time.

-- WebCPA staff

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