'Golden parachutes' up in financial downturn.

• Position: COMPENSATION - Brief article

There haven't been many areas in recent years that could accurately be described as "booming"--but, in the category of executive severance since the onset of the financial crisis, business is clearly on the upswing.

According to a new study by the tax advisory affiliate of global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal, golden parachutes have increased by 32 percent over the past two years. The study analyzed current change-in-control arrangements among the top 200 publicly traded U.S. companies, revealing that the rise in such activity has been driven primarily by equity-based payouts and is tied to company performance.

"Pressure from shareholder groups is continuing to drive more performance-based compensation, such as equity-based compensation, which demonstrates both a shift in what's expected from senior management and a direct correlation between corporate performance and CEO rewards," notes Brian Cumberland, who leads the company's Tax and Compensation and Benefits practice.

In one of the more telling findings, double-trigger vesting has...