CEO pay and its disclosure

Lots of media coverage of CEO pay, especially in light of the Pacific Brands decision to move some operations to China. Here's an example.

Michael West in the Herald also chimes in.

Two quick thoughts:
1. Why should government-imposed 'caps' on pay be limited to the business sector (or more particularly, to firms that receive some sort of government assistance)? Why not entertainers, or sportsmen who receive say Australian Institute of Sport assistance. Let's at least be consistent.

2. In the case of Pacific Brands, the bonuses in question appear to have been earned in 2007-08, which happened to be a record year for the company.

Pay for, err, performance?

Concern about Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo pay package. Looks like lots of his so-called 'long-term' incentives vest in about 10 months. That doesn't sound like 'long-term' to me. The SMH article also highlights a problem with executive pay packages; i.e., who designs them. In this case, it looks like remuneration consultants who previously worked for US West, one of Trujillo's former employers. It's hard to determined whether these consultants are working for the shareholders, or the CEO. Nah, that's not true. It's not hard at all. Think about who engages these consultants.

Or should you be studying dentistry?

Graduate starting salaries not on the rise, according to an AP report in the Herald:

UNIVERSITY graduates entering their careers with dollar signs in their eyes will be disappointed by starting salaries that have fallen in real terms from those of their immediate predecessors.

While their more experienced colleagues are enjoying increased wages as a result of the economic boom, university graduates under 25 earned an average $40,800 last year, up just 2 per cent from 2005, revealed the Graduate Careers Australia's annual survey, released today.

I'd guess that students graduating with accounting majors would have a higher median starting salary than the economics/business students overall ($40,000 for economics/business), though of course the article doesn't confirm this.* The median starting salary for UNSW undergraduate business students in 2006 was $45,000.

*UPDATE: According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants (quoted in the Oz), meadian starting salary for accounting graduates is $42,600.

UPDATE 2: Looks like the shortage is causing firms to try and grab students in high school (just like the Premier League teams, no?!).