Business

South African executives at large public companies are “paid too much” compared to their counterparts in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), a new report by international accounting group Grant Thornton has revealed.

The report released  on Monday in Johannesburg said 68 percent of South African business owners believe executives at large public companies are paid too much, a sentiment that is shared by global and BRIC counterparts, which scored 66 percent and 70 percent respectively. “Consensus from business leaders around the globe is that executive compensation is too high, which pinpoints an important issue amidst challenging global economic circumstances,” head of corporate finance at Grant Thornton

South Africa Jeanette Hern said. This is based on a global study of 2,800 public and private businesses in 40 countries in May and June 2012 as part of the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) survey.

The IBR provides insight into the views and expectations of over 12,000 businesses per year across 40 economies. This unique survey draws upon 20 years of trend data for most European participants and 10 years for many non-European economies. IBR is a survey of both listed and privately held businesses.

The target respondents are chief executive officers, managing directors, chairmen or other senior executives. The survey urged need for greater oversight, transparency and accountability in public companies from both a local and global standpoint.

Separation of roles was also of considerable concern globally, with 90 percent of South African respondents saying the roles of chief executive officers and chairman should be held by different people to ensure greater oversight, compared to 80 percent globally and 88 percent in BRIC countries. “For each question in the survey, South Africa scored higher than its global and BRIC counterparts, highlighting local business leaders’ significant concern over insufficient oversight measures and issues related to executive remuneration,” said the report.

Xinhua