ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 commences by discussing ‘professional services’ – covering the nature/content of the advice concerned, plus the way in which such services are provided. This encompasses the ethical and technical training of executive remuneration consultants, plus actual service delivery and whether a specialised accreditation/qualification may be appropriate and/or the comparative merits of a possible licence to practise regime for practitioners. The activities of executive remuneration consultants (a knowledge-based occupation that provides advice in a business-to-business context) are compared against those of lawyers, external auditors and ‘new professions’ (such as chartered accountants, chartered tax accountants and actuaries). Remuneration committee advisory services is a tiny business services sector, with about 250 consultants working in the UK, of whom perhaps 50 are really senior – being the lead consultant on an appointment involving a FTSE 350 (or similarly sized non-listed entity). Currently, the most senior consultants are generally professionally qualified as chartered accountants, actuaries or lawyers, or are MBA holders. Executive remuneration consultancy in the UK is self-regulating via the Remuneration Consultants Group (with RCG member firms being 13 consultancies, rather than individual consultants). Chapter 4 traces the development of UK financial services sector regulation since Big Bang – morphing over time from self-regulation to state-mandated supervision. This provides context/background for discussing how RCG came into being in 2009/2010, together with the way it is structured and operates. The US position is compared against the UK in this regard, plus discussion of the respective positions regarding accreditation/diplomas and licence to practise professions.
