Disney to Eisner: No Extra Cheese for You

Here's one less thing that Disney shareholders can complain about this year: Outrageously high compensation for Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner.

Eisner, whose bonuses have made him a lightning rod for executive-compensation complaints in the past, received neither a bonus nor stock options for Disney's (DIS Quote) fiscal year ended Sept. 30, according to the company's annual proxy statement released Friday afternoon.

But perhaps another disclosure in the proxy will raise investor eyebrows, especially among watchdogs who say the independence of outside auditors is compromised by the fees they receive for other services they perform for the companies they audit. According to the proxy, Disney's auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, received $8.7 million in auditing fees in fiscal 2001, but nearly five times that amount -- $42.9 million -- for other services.

Eisner's compensation could be a harbinger of a cycle of austerity in the world of executive pay, given the degree to which corporate results have suffered and stock prices have fallen in recent times. Over the course of Disney's most recent fiscal year, the company's stock fell more than 50%, to $18.42, declining precipitously in the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. ...