The Professional Standards of Executive Remuneration Consultants

Book excerpt: Love them or hate them, executive remuneration consultants are key players in remuneration committees’ pay determination processes. This book concerns the professional standards of executive remuneration consultants (and their ‘in-house’ counterparts; for example, Human Resources Director and Head of Reward) in providing remuneration committee advisory services. The author is a 25-year ‘veteran’ executive remuneration consultant, having worked around the world in this capacity (particularly in the financial services sector). This book is based on a qualitative empirical doctoral research exercise, involving 53 participants in the UK executive pay scene (including regulators, institutional shareholder bodies, proxy advisors, remuneration committees’ chairs/members, executive remuneration consultants and in-house executive reward specialists). The objective was to formulate conclusions that could be used to the benefit of UK practice and contribute to the relevant academic scholarship on executive remuneration consultants. The research covered 18 aspects, ranging from an examination of the independence of such consultants to whether there might be a specialised accreditation/qualification and/or licence to practise regime covering their services. It provides novel insights into this previously under-researched area of corporate governance/financial regulation. This book will be of interest to those involved in the UK executive remuneration scene, whether government, regulators or any of the other parties mentioned already (plus academics in universities and business schools). It is hoped too that overseas remuneration regimes that have respects in common with the UK’s will find this book useful.