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This article reports that boards of directors are using a tally sheets when determining the compensation to be awarded to CEO. Tally sheets plot all the income an executive can derive from the a compensation package, including pensions, severance, perks and long-term awards. The Securities and Exchange Commission will adopt a number of rules governing what companies must divulge to investor regarding management compensation. INSET: WHO MADE THE BIGGEST BUCKS.

Reports that in response to pressure from investors, corporate boards are adjusting the compensation for chief executives to align their pay with the company's performance. Description of changing trends in chief executive compensation, such as bonuses partly based on how a company performs against other companies, the elimination of guaranteed minimum pay, and severance accords that forbid windfalls for poor performance; Profile of Joseph Luter, CEO of Smithfield Foods, and the performance-based adjustments made to his salary. INSET: Who Made The Biggest Bucks.

Examines the effects of corporate reform under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, one year after implementation, on the way corporations are governing themselves. Impact of reform on the boards of directors of companies; Shareholders concerns with respect to executive wages, evaluation of the boards' performance, and greater involvement in director-selection; Audit committees; Shifting power to the boards; Avenues of complaint; Choosing and evaluating directors; Executive compensation.

Reports on the increase in CEO bonuses paid out in 2004. Median amount which was $1.14 million while some took home much more; Biggest winners which include Michael Eisner at Walt Disney Co, and John Tyson at Tyson Foods, Inc., both of whom are facing problems; Median bonus which equaled 141% of annual salary while clerical and technical support staff earned an average bonus of 5% of salary; Defense of the bonuses by boards who show improved profits; Critics who maintain they are out of line with performance; Other awarded bonuses.

Focuses on the compensation and wages being given to chief executive officers (CEO). Comments from Michael H. Jordan, who was recruited by Electronic Data Systems Corp., regarding the compensation package he received; Why boards of directors are changing the compensation packages awarded to CEOs; Comments from Richard L. Trumka. secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, regarding companies' acceptance that excessive compensation does not sit well with shareholders; Statistics indicating CEO salaries are still rising, according to proxy statements for several major U.S. corporations analyzed by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. INSET: WHO MADE THE BIGGEST BUCKS.

Reports that several corporate boards are seeking to recover pay from ex-chief executive officers (CEO). Description of case involving the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and its former-CEO Dick Grasso; Amount of money being sought from Freddie Mac's former chief Leland Brendsel; View of corporate-governance experts that the boards themselves are partly to blame for previous unsuccessful efforts to recover pay given to disgraced former-CEOs; Comments from Roger W. Raber, president of the National Association of Corporate Directors, regarding directors' liabilities with respect to compensation packages; Discussion of the case involving Kmart Holding Corp.

Reports on the proposals to constrain executive pay indicated in a report for release on December 11, 2003 by an advisory panel of the National Association of Corporate Directors in Washington.

Examines whether the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) did not adhere to rules of corporate governance that are practiced by many companies. Amount of the compensation package given to Dick Grasso, the NYSE's chairman, that has created the controversy about the NYSE's corporate governance; Comments from Alan Johnson, managing director of pay consultants Johnson & Associates, regarding the lack of governance at the NYSE; Amount of additional compensation that Grasso is due to receive that the NYSE did not initially disclose; Role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in investigating the compensation package given to Grasso; Influence of Grasso in assigning committee members at the NYSE.