Dodd-Frank: A Rundown
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has been in place for nearly three years. We’ve provided a quick refresher of exactly how the Act works and how it affects you, the executive. 
The most relevant part of the act for executives is the “Say on Pay” proposal. Subtitle E focuses on executives and states that, at least once every three years, a public corporation is required to submit to shareholder vote the approval of executive compensation. Shareholders may also disapprove golden parachute payments.
“Say on Pay” is a term used to describe the process where a firm’s shareholders have the right to vote on compensation afforded to executives. It is intended to limit compensation by not awarding executives too much money. The shareholders review the CEO, CFO, and the next three highest paid executives.
How does this affect me?
Executive bonuses will be subjected to periodical reviews by the shareholders. Potentially they can block executive compensation if they deem it to be excessive or if the company is underpeforming, although the shareholder vote is non-binding. However, for the most part, executive compensation has been approved by shareholders and Dodd-Frank has proved to be a fair system for rewarding the work of executives.
Representing Executives 