Australian investors 'will make voices heard over executive pay'

Investors are willing to take directors to task over pay packets they deem excessive, Australian companies have been warned.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Phil Spathis of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) advised firms not to ignore shareholders' concerns regarding executive remuneration.

"If companies persist, it inevitably means shareholders will go after directors," he told the newspaper.

"Investors are not going to tolerate smoke and mirror responses."

Australia's latest round of annual meetings has seen the remuneration reports of several large firms defeated by shareholder votes, despite the improved performance of many companies in the wake of the global economic crisis.

The ACSI recently called for company boards to be more transparent in their disclosure of information about strategic planning and other key activities.

According to the industry body, shareholders often find it difficult to assess the performance of boards and individual executives due to ineffective disclosure practices.