Assessor Series FAQ #11

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Frequently Asked Questions

QUESTION:  Can I use the Assessor Series software database data as evidence for expert witness work?

Several ERI senior staff members have served as expert witnesses in court cases dealing with compensation and benefits. In addition to Dr. David J. Thomsen, Founder and Managing Director of ERI, ERI has five other PhDs on staff and two JDs, who are all highly involved with our products.

While we have no way of knowing all the ways our clients use ERI data, we are aware of ERI's data being used by major consulting firms, corporations, government agencies, the Internal Revenue Service, attorneys, and CPA firms. We are also aware of our data being used by expert witnesses. We believe our data is among the best, if not the best, in terms of reliability.  Additionally, methodology for many of our products has been developed in cooperation with government agencies (including the IRS for the maximum reasonable compensation analysis tables and comparables reporting design in the Executive Compensation Assessor® software and databases) or out of feedback from customers requesting defensible data (including various state employment agencies' interpretations of H-1B Immigration rulings for the Immigration Analysis Table design in the Geographic Assessor® software and databases).

It is not possible, however, for ERI to warranty any of our data for expert witness testimony as it has been our experience such data is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and we have no way of knowing what data from our products an expert witness may have compiled.

The following excerpt from the Executive Compensation Assessor methodology provides further information about how ERI's Assessor Series® meets the Daubert challenge:

ERI Statement as to the Relevance and Reliability of Data

Relevance is totally determinable by the circumstances and situation presented. ERI provides outsourced analyses and presentations of salary, executive compensation, benefit, and cost of living survey data.  Reliability is described in a four part, non-exclusive summary to match the Daubert challenge:

Theory/Technique Demonstrations

Methodologies accompany each Assessor Series application.  These methodologies include definitions of terms, examples of calculations, and identifications of sources and data updates.

Subject to Publication and Peer Review

ERI's "peers" are its competitors, those firms that also provide data analyses to their clients.  Unlike ERI, which solicits an annual subscription, most compensation and benefit consulting firms charge an hourly rate for their research services.  Suffice it to say, all the major consulting firms have purchased subscriptions so that their consultants could utilize ERI analyses:  Mercer Consulting, Hewitt Associates, Towers Perrin, Watson Wyatt, the Hay Group, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and many others are subscribers. ERI data are used by these firms in their consulting with their clients; numerous cited Federal Tax cases report on the use of these analyses. ERI data and analyzes are under constant review and critique by its competitors. ERI, unlike these firms, provides no fee-for-service/time consulting.

Known or Potential Rate of Error

Each Assessor Series software database illustrates via a "Reliability Statistics" link (see View | Reliability Statistics on each Assessor Series application), the beginning of a statistical overview of ERI data.  Statistics are reported as derived from just one survey source for all salary and compensation presentations (so that copyright restrictions are not violated). ERI accumulates many survey sources to compile its analyses.  Hence the data illustrated may be, in ERI's estimate, considered to be the highest possible standard error that might exist with each analysis. Assessor Series software database results are, by logic, more robust than the standard error displayed and reported.

General Level of Acceptance within the Discipline's Community

Ten thousand subscribers send money each year to purchase their subscriptions to ERI analyses.  Each year over 90% renew their subscriptions, with many major corporations now in their third decade of subscribing.  Special extracts of ERI databases are purchased annually by large organizations.  US Internal Revenue District Offices subscribe, as does the IRS National Appraisal Services Office (with a subscription now renewed into its third Decade). ERI exhibits at major tradeshows (WaW, AILA, SHRM, ERC, AICPA, ASA, IARP, NOSSCR and others).  ERI data is used as source data by the WSJ (CareerJournal.com) and other major publications and job boards. The two largest US human resource organizations, WorldatWork and SHRM, accept ERI Distance Learning Courses for professional maintenance and recertification continuing education credit.  Major US employers rely upon ERI data as cited in corporate proxy filings.

The Help files available with our software databases also provide extensive information. ERI's methodologies may also be useful to you in answering any specific questions you may have concerning our products.

For additional information, please see the free courses offered by ERI's Distance Learning Center listed under Litigation Challenges, such as Preparing for Expert Witness Testimony and Daubert Criteria for Expert Witness Testimony.

Also, see 12 Common XA Questions for ERI Expert Witness Voir Dire in the Executive Compensation help.