Shareholder advisory firm ISS strongly disapproves of Walmart Stores Inc.’s corporate governance, assigning it “8” on a 10-point scale where 10 indicates the highest level of risk….
Alan Johnson, managing director at compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates, told Risk & Compliance Journal that Walmart’s practice of adjusting compensation when performance targets are not achieved is neither unusual nor unjustifiable. “I have many clients that do that,” he said, noting that in a complex, global company facing pressures on several fronts, boards often want to retain flexibility. However, he also noted that “Walmart does not do a very good job of explaining.” But when half of the stock is in the control of the founding family, shareholder outreach may be an understandably low priority….
The Wall Street Journal / May 28, 2014