Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Do you think companies, including private ones, should be required by law to list the amount of compensation their executives receive?

Poll Jul. 04, 2010 - 05:08AM JST ( 11 )

Order by Time Order by Popularity

11 Comments

0

BholderJul. 04, 2010 - 09:44AM JST

money is just paper backed with trust. i think more transparency could only enhance the trust we all have in the system and really cannot imagine someone would argue against listing of compensations. i'm all for openness and teamwork.

also. i think workers should also have a say in how much is alloted to managerial positions. not a final say, but definite input, together with the shareholders.
0

Mark_McCrackenJul. 04, 2010 - 08:01PM JST

Perhaps some of the 106 voters 74% (currently) could explain why a private company should list the amount of compensation its executives receive. How is the public served by sharing the detailed inner workings of a private company, and how is this greater than a private company president's right to privacy. You actually believe, for example, that presidents of very small family companies, many, if not most of which are private, should have to reveal their salaries? If such transparency is inherently a good thing, please go ahead and take this opportunity to list your actual name and salary in your response.
0

kyotovalentineJul. 04, 2010 - 11:52PM JST

NOT private companies, but publicly held companies, YES
0

TheQuestionJul. 05, 2010 - 12:16AM JST

If a shareholder makes a proper inquiry they can get that information anyway and there is absolutely no reason why a private company should have to divulge that information to the public.
0

jinjapanJul. 05, 2010 - 08:14AM JST

private companies shouldn't have been attached to this question.
0

nisegaijinJul. 05, 2010 - 09:13AM JST

List to who? Shareholder - maybe Government, media, or everyone else - absolutely no. It's private entity. Should government require you to list how much money do you give to your kids as allowance, or how much you spent in a pub last Friday? No! This is your private property, just like a expenditure on payroll in private corporations. By no means government should have a say in decision making process involving who they hire and how much they pay.
0

KronosJul. 05, 2010 - 11:45AM JST

Not private companies. Public ones, yes.
0

Good_JorbJul. 06, 2010 - 04:32AM JST

The government already receive all the information regarding executive compensation both from public and private, because it has to be reported as employment income on the executive's tax return and conversely as an expense on the companies business tax return. Should public have to release executive compensation information to the general public, yes they're publicly traded but ESO's and such are already reported in the notes to the financial statements, so if you know where to look that info is already there. Private companies shouldn't, it's between them and tax agents only.
0

YGHomeJul. 06, 2010 - 06:50PM JST

Let me explain why it applies to private companies as well: In a private company, a clique of executives and shareholders can assume control of the company by force. The executives in the clique then make maneuvers to endow the shareholders in the clique with much more shares than they deserve according to their amounts of investments. These shareholders, in return, bestow upon these executives some benefits which are much more than generous. This can happen even when the financial state of the company is far from being glorious. The other shareholders, those who are being cheated, are also being intimidated using various methods, and cannot even convene a shareholders meeting. Such cases happen.
0

Mark_McCrackenJul. 07, 2010 - 08:39PM JST

YGHome,

Shareholders should already have access to the company's details shouldn't they? Worst case, can't they sue to get the information? Do we need the executives of every tiny private company making their salaries public in order to try to stop what you describe? How would the listing of salaries actually reduce the situations you describe?
0

YGHomeJul. 08, 2010 - 05:59AM JST

Mark: In a situation such as I describe, the details might be hidden from shareholders. Having easy access to the details may help them understand what is going on in their company.