Assessor Series FAQ #7

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Frequently Asked Questions

QUESTION:  We use ERI data in business valuation to assist with determining reasonable compensation for owners.  In litigation, attorneys request the sources of the numbers and the size (number of incumbents) of the survey.  Is there any way to find out how many respondents there are?  Where do I find this information?

Salary Assessor® Subscribers:

Executive compensation is available form SA+ (Consultant Edition) and is pulled from ERI's Executive Compensation Assessor® (XA/XA+) software and databases.  While the purpose of the Salary Assessor is to assist with an organization's salary planning and salary administration, it is not designed to support litigation research where one needs to pull actual source documents from ERI's terabyte file servers.  For this purpose and for business valuations, please utilize the Executive Compensation Assessor & Survey Consultant Edition for this type of application.

Executive Compensation Assessor Subscribers:

The XA software and databases were built to support reasonable compensation and litigation research.  Left-click on any data point displayed on the graph to view the proxy data company and salary.  In addition, the software provides proxy data "comparables" (organization matches of your choice) for litigation purposes.  The XA software and databases access the most current SEC proxy data available from ERI's Platform Library® DVD.  Similarly, the Nonprofit Comparables Assessor (TM) draws from public domain Form 990s/EOs/EZs/PFs where the actual source documents can be displayed via an Internet connection.  "Dots" are shown and counted; see the bottom left of the graph display for the population count.  The Comparables' Select tab allows one to filter organizations into any known count desired.

To View the Survey Population

To view ERI's estimate of the surveyed population of incumbents used in its most recent analysis for the selected position, select View | Employee Populations from any main table.

Please note:  This feature requires the latest version of ERI's Platform Library®.

To View a List of Available Surveys

Select View | Available Surveys or View | Salary Surveys for a list of available wage/salary survey titles and publishers available.  Links to survey publisher websites are provided.

You may also visit www.erieri.com for an up-to-date listing of "Sources."

Please note: ERI does not necessarily endorse or recommend the surveys listed, nor are all of the surveys listed currently published or ever used in ERI's analyses and structures.  "Available Survey Sources" are included for the benefit of readers who may wish to supplement their current survey libraries with data appropriate to specific applications.  Confidential survey data has not been included in ERI consensus analyses, unless permission is granted by the publisher.  Requests for information on individual surveys are referred directly to individual publishers.

ERI has utilized some of the listed surveys and sources over the years (although not all).  Many of the surveys listed are proprietary or confidential (to be shared only with the participants of that survey and not available to the general public). These have never been used in ERI analytics.  Since 1987, ERI has "traded" data with Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Agencies, state and provincial labour divisions, professional organizations, and other entities in order to secure local cost and wage data.  (ERI began in the mid-1980s as a research outsource of available salary survey research.) From time to time, confidential material is sent to ERI, often unknowingly by the provider.  In these cases, ERI does not use this data unless permission is granted by the publishing organization.  For salary data, ERI has evolved its use of analytics and surveys that reflect unique data collections and not analyses of others’ surveys.

ERI no longer “trades” data with new vendors; we do, however, honor the old trade relationships.  ERI’s goal is to provide unique looks at competitive analyses, using unique data, and consequently earning the right to be one of the typically three sources used by knowledgeable compensation professionals, as suggested in best practices.

For more information, also see the following topics in the Executive Compensation Assessor help: