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News & Events

2009

First NZ Capital Scholarship for Studies in Finance. Congratulations to Emily Close, the successful recipient of the 2009 First NZ Capital Scholarship.

Best Corporate Finance Paper at NZ Finance Colloquium 2009. Dr Helen Roberts, together with co-author, Professor Glenn Boyle, received the Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation (ISCR) “Best Corporate Finance Paper” prize at the recently held New Zealand Finance Colloquium 2009 at Victoria, University of Wellington. The paper entitled “Go Along to Get Along? Pay-Performance Sensitivity and CEO Membership of the Compensation Committee” investigates whether CEO membership of the compensation committee results in more opportunistic CEO behaviour. CEO membership of the compensation committee is relatively common in New Zealand. The study estimates a standard model of executive compensation using 1997–2005 New Zealand data and compares the results to those previously obtained from the United States where CEO membership on the compensation committee is relatively rare. The study reports that (i) the average pay-performance sensitivity is relatively low in New Zealand, (ii) the sensitivity is significantly lower in firms that have CEOs on the compensation committee, and (iii) this difference is asymmetrical—CEOs with compensation committee membership achieve a lower average sensitivity in high-return years, but not in low-return years. Having a direct input into one’s own pay discussions apparently pays off. An abridged version of the study will be published in the July edition of the “Competition and Regulation Times” which is issued quarterly by ISCR.

2008

Inaugural Professorial Lecture. Professor Robin Grieves delivered his Inaugural Professorial Lecture on 3 September 2008, entitled "The Global Credit Crunch: It's deja vu all over again—Yogi Berra".

Prince of Wales Prize. Cameron Robson and Nicholas Tompkins, who are both completing Master of Business degrees in Finance, have recently (August 2008) been awarded the prestigious Prince of Wales prize for 2007. The prize, which acknowledges excellence at an undergraduate level, is competed for across all divisions within the University, making this an outstanding achievement for the recipients and for the Department of Finance.