A study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting LLC found that bonuses at 100 big companies rose 46.4 percent in 2004, to a median of $1.14 million. The rise of executive pay has not been slowed by intensive criticism from some shareholder groups and institutional investors, or the recent wave of executive scandals. It also appears not to be tied to company performance. At companies whose shares are part of the Standard and Poor's 500-stock index, average chief executive pay rose from $3.7 million in 1993 to $10.3 million in 2002, a hike of 178 percent, the study said. A change in accounting standards has resulted in a reduction in the use of big stock-option grants, which will soon count as an expense against earnings.
See "Executives Cash In, Regardless of Performance", Ben White and Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post, March 21, 2005