The Advisors' Blog

This blog features wisdom from respected compensation consultants and lawyers

August 8, 2018

Pay Ratio: Contextualizing Unflattering Results

Liz Dunshee

With almost one year of pay ratio disclosure behind us, companies are now evaluating how to contextualize the inevitable peer comparisons – as well as year-over-year trends. This Bryan Cave blog outlines three strategies:

1. Include a supplemental ratio (I previously blogged that this isn’t very common…so far. The latest stats show about 20% of companies using one.)

2. Include supplemental text – e.g. describing how the company’s business strategy impacts its workforce & pay ratio

3. Disclose the ratio immediately after the CD&A, which can introduce themes or drivers that affect it

Compensation committees can also start evaluating variations in their companies’ pay ratios, a topic that Broc previously highlighted.