Friday, October 13, 2006

Update on backdating of options

The news today has items on how about 30 executives have been fired for their part in recent options "backdating" scandals. For the uninitiated, this means they got to choose the most advantageous time for their stock options to vest, which more or less means that they got huge pay for no work.

Firing the executives for crafting and accepting these deals is a good start, but I'd suggest that this egregious abuse of the interests of stockholders (and employees) would have been prevented had another group of people responsible for monitoring executive compensation been doing their job. Let's hope that investors take note and start sacking some boards of directors.

4 comments:

Mercy Now said...

It's like the board gets paid by the company who really is determined by the CEO. The board gives CEO fav packages and in return gets fav compensation from the company. It's like if the police is watching the criminals and internal affairs is watching the police, then who watches the IA?

Bike Bubba said...

Bingo; if the watchman be bribed, the watchtower is built in vain.

Good news; two out at United Healthcare over this shenanigan. They took, evidenly, about 20% of pretax earnings as their own in stock options over the past five years. As if they're the only reason UHC has done well....

Mercy Now said...

What do you think about Elliot Spitzer cleaning up Wall Street? I do like him even tho he's a dem.

Bike Bubba said...

I think he's more of a publicity hound, to be honest. Here are some links that make that claim.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110006805

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008324

http://www.cato.org/research/articles/reynolds-041022.html

Add to that his advocacy of gun control and abortion, and I think I know what I need to know about him.

Never mind a more basic fact; if investors don't police things, and boards of directors don't do their job, there is little that the SEC or state regulators can do.