<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Using the Executive Compensation Assessor > Frequently Asked Questions  > Using the Executive Compensation Assessor > Using XA FAQ #5 Frequently Asked Questions

QUESTION:  Why do the dots on the Proxy Analysis Salary Graph include historic data?

 

ERI's historical analysis of executive pay includes both publicly-traded company compensation and survey data for privately-held firms.  By studying executive compensation through an extended analysis, our norms are backed by a much more robust dataset than norms representing only recent trends.

 

Proxies are always historical.  For example, many companies' fiscal year ends on December 31; however, their financial results will typically not be published until the following spring. In this example, the proxies published in the spring will report the most recent fiscal year for a company, but the most recent fiscal year will be the calendar date of the previous year.

 

The Salary Graph in Survey & Proxy Analyses will include historic data.  Please note that if the most recent proxy data displayed is older than you expect, this may be explained by the company having merged into another, having changed name and Central Index Key (CIK)*, or having gone out of business in that year.  In cases where a name and CIK have changed, the previous and current organizations are treated as "separate" entities in the analysis.  If their industry and size are within the Organization Data parameters and, if they both report the job in question, they will be represented by two different data points (or dots) on the graph.

 

* Note: Central Index Key (CIK) is a code used by the SEC’s computer systems to identify corporations and individual people who have filed disclosure with the SEC.  The CIK can be used to find a specific company or found on the EDGAR website.