Tax season is coming to a close, but that isn’t stopping businesses from filing their federal and state reports. Earlier this month, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that he only earned $1 in 2013.
“No executive officer participated directly in the final deliberations or determinations regarding his or her own compensation package, except for our CEO who requested that his base salary be reduced to $1 per year for 2013,” the regulatory filing reads.
While this decision is a controversial one, it is not the first time an executive staff member decided to dock their salary to $1. Mashable contributor Todd Wasserman noted that when an executive goes with this approach, it means that they have achieved a significant milestone in their career.
“In Silicon Valley, though, earning a token salary is a sure sign that you’ve made it,” he wrote.
That could be true, but this decision could also be in part due to the fact that Facebook is on a shopping spree, purchasing WhatsApp for $16 million, and are now trying to cut down on operational costs. Either way, it is important that human resource staff members are mindful of this dramatic change and input the terms of the adjustment in their HR software solution.
Having this information readily available is important, because what if Zuckerberg only wants to have a $1 salary in 2013, but reinstates his six-figure salary in 2014? Other C-levels who have temporarily changed their salary include Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and former Citigroup CEO Vikrman Pandit, according to the Washington Post.
HR software can be used to seamlessly manage employee profiles, no matter what changes are implemented.