These issues almost always prompt a relook at the short- and long-term incentive plans as part of the IPO.

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In addition to paying a salary, most large companies reward their top executives through short term and long term incentive plans.

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They wanted either a claw back of past bonuses and spoils from long-term incentive schemes, or the surrender of what he could earn from long term incentive plans that haven't yet vested.

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Further, we anticipate that an increasing number of companies will incorporate strategic measures into both their short- and long-term incentive plans, as a way to encourage focus on the non-financial, as well as financial, drivers of value.

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At the moment, many companies meet disclosure requirements by providing reams and reams of data showing the number of options awarded to senior executives under various long-term incentive plans, all vesting at different prices and over different periods.

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Right now it is very difficult to see the total amount that any executive takes home because the remuneration sections of annual reports are immensely long, complex and woolly, especially in regard to earnings from large and important long-term incentive plans.

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It found about half of them offered some sort of long-term incentive bonus or option plans.

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Although the use of stock options in management incentive plans can help focus executives on longer-term company growth, careful planning needs to be undertaken prior to implementing so as to reduce the many disadvantages that can occur.

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