Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Reeds vir dekades, maar spesifiek sedert vlaag op vlaag van groot korporatiewe skandale die laaste anderhalf dekade hoofnuus is, is die vergoeding van uitvoerende hoofde onder die vergrootglas. Die persepsie by baie aandeelhouers en die breë publiek is dat uitvoerende hoofde ruim vergoed word en dat hul vergoeding nie noodwendig verband hou met prestasie van die maatskappye wat hulle lei nie. Van die algemene kritiek wat voor die deur van maatskappye en uitvoerende hoofde gelê word, is dat salarisse en ander vorms van vergoeding, spesifiek aandeletoekennings en -opsies, nie deursigtig is nie. Daar is ook kritiek dat die vergoedingskomitees van maatskappye deur ’n botsing van belange geteister word, want juis die hoofde wat voordeel uit vergoedingsbeleide van die komitees kry, is verantwoordelik vir voorstelle rakende die vlakke van vergoeding wat betaal moet word. Daar word ook genoem dat hoewel Suid-Afrika een van die wêreldleiers is rakende gesonde korporatiewe bestuur, juis met die aanvaarding van die beginsels wat uiteengesit word in die King I-, II- en III-verslae, is daar steeds verskeie maatskappye wat nie aan die beginsels gehoor gee nie. In ‘n Amerikaanse studie rondom die eeuwisseling is bevind dat, in ‘n sakemodel waarin bestuursmag oorheers, lede van die direksie en die vergoedingskomitee geneig is om hul mededirekteure en bestuurshoofde te begunstig. (Crotty & Bonorchis, 2006). Die navorsingsverslag het ten doel om te bepaal of die totale vergoeding van uitvoerende hoofde van die 120 top-maatskappye van die Johannesburgse Aandelebeurs, wat bepaal is op grond van die 120 maatskappye wat aan die einde van 2009 die grootste markkapitalisasie gehad het, geregverdig kan word op grond van die individuele maatskappye se markvertoning. ’n Korrelasie tussen die totale vergoeding, wat alle kontant- en aandele-vergoeding insluit, is dus in verband gebring met die volgende drie veranderlikes: Omset, Totale Inkomste en EBIT-winssyfers. Dit is beduidend dat in meer as 80 persent van alle korrelasie-waarnemings van vergoeding teenoor al drie veranderlikes was daar ’n baie sterk positiewe korrelasie, wat beteken dat vergoeding van uitvoerende hoofde net toeneem indien daar ook ’n toename in die omset, inkomste en wins van individuele maatskappye is. Die navorsingsverslag het ook uitgewys watter vyf maatskappye onder die 120 topmaatskappye wat in Suid-Afrika genoteer is wel ’n negatiewe korrelasie wys, wat aandui dat daar nie ’n sterk korrelasie is tussen wat uitvoerende hoofde kan verdien en wat die vertoning van die maatskappy se omset-, inkomste- en winssyfers is nie. Wat insiggewend van die korrelasies is, is dat die minimum tydperk oor vyf jaar geskied het, wat dit statisties meer beduidend maak. Vergoeding word dus nie net eenmalig oor ’n kort tydperk ontleed nie, maar ’n langer termyn tendens van vergoeding by individuele maatskappy is waargeneem. Die gepubliseerde omset-, inkomste- en winssyfers vir die 120 maatskappye is uit die jaarverslae nagevors en die totale uitvoerende vergoeding, soos aangeteken op McGregor BFA (2009a) se databasis, is as data by die navorsingsverslag ingesluit. Die syfers van alle veranderlikes moes eers in Suid-Afrikaanse rand omgeskakel word, want verskeie maatskappye met dubbelnoterings op byvoorbeeld die Johannesburgse Aandelebeurs en die Londense of Australiese beurs se jaarverslae is in Amerikaanse dollar, Britse pond of Australiese dollar gekwoteer. Nadat die Spearman-korrelasie van elke individuele maatskappy bepaal is vir maatskappye wat syfers vir langer as vyf jaar beskikbaar het, is bepaal hoeveel waarnemings vir omset, inkomste en wins beduidende statistiese korrelasies toon, met ’n algehele waarnemingssyfer van meer as 80 persent van die maatskappye wat postiewe korrelasies gewys het vir die vlak van vergoeding in vergelyking met die drie ander veranderlikes. Daar is dus ’n statisties beduidende positiewe korrelasie tussen die vergoeding van uitvoerende hoofde van JSE-genoteerde maatskappye in vergelyking met die omset, inkomste en wins van die maatskappye. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: For decades, but specifically since wave upon wave of corporate scandals made headline news in the past decade and a half, the remuneration of chief executives has been in the spotlight. The perception among many shareholders and the general public is that executives are very well paid and that their earnings do not necessarily relate to the performance of their companies. One of the most common criticisms against companies and their chief executives is that salaries and other forms of remuneration, especially share transfers and options, are not transparent. There is also wide criticism that remuneration committees of companies are plagued by a conflict of interests, as precisely the executives who stand to gain from the recommendations of these committees are responsible for the proposed levels of earnings. Furthermore, it is suggested that, although South Africa is regarded as a world leader in sound corporate governance, especially since the acceptance of the principles advanced in the King I, II and III reports, there are still a substantial number of companies that do not adhere tot these principles. This research project set out to establish whether the total remuneration of chief executives of the top 120 companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, determined as the 120 with the largest market capitalisation at the end of 2009, could be justified on the strength of the individual companies’ market performance. Thus a correlation between the total earnings, including all cash and share awards, was brought in relation with the following three variables: Turnover, Total Income and EBIT Profit Margins. It is significant that in more than 80 persent of all correlation observations of remuneration, measured against all three variables, a very strong positive correlation came to the fore. This means that remuneration of executives only increase when there is a concomitant increase in the turnover, income and profit of individual companies. The research also pointed out which five among the 120 top companies trading on the JSE demonstrated a negative correlation, which shows that there is a strong correlation between the earnings of chief executives and their companies’ turnover, income and profit figures. Especially instructive is that a minimum period of five years was analysed, which makes it statistically more significant. Thus earnings were not adjudged once-off over a short period, but observed as a long-term tendency of remuneration by individual companies. The turnover, income and profit figures of the 120 companies were researched in the published annual reports of the data base of McGregor BFA (2009b), and the total executive earnings, as recorded in McGregor BFA’s Directors’ Search data base, were included as data in the research report. The figures of all variables were converted to South African rands, as several companies who are quoted both on the JSE or the London or Australian stock exchanges publish their annual reports either in US dollars, pounds sterling or Australian dollars. After the statistical technique of Spearman’s correlation was established for each individual company with data available for five years or longer, it was concluded how many observations of companies’ turnover, income and profit figures showed significant correlations. In total more than 80 persent of all observations of all variables of the companies had positive correlations, which suggests that the executive earnings of the vast majority of companies on the JSE demonstrates a strong correlation with their financial achievements.