CECP study plan

Map the executive compensation domain into its core building blocks: pay components, governance roles, and regulatory touchpoints, and write a one-page schematic linking them.

Define and contrast base salary, annual incentive, and long-term incentive design elements, then explain in writing how each aligns executive behavior with shareholder interests.

Identify the primary regulatory and tax rules that shape executive pay decisions and summarize the practical constraint each one imposes on plan design.

Draft a glossary of at least 20 executive compensation terms with your own working definitions, flagging any you cannot yet define confidently.

Compare equity vehicle types by their payout mechanics, accounting treatment, and dilution impact, and build a comparison table showing when each is preferred.

Analyze how performance metrics and goal-setting choices change executive risk-taking behavior, and write a short critique of one metric you consider easy to game.

Explain the roles of the compensation committee, independent consultants, and say-on-pay votes, and describe how each constrains or shapes final pay outcomes.

Calculate a simple long-term incentive grant value across two vehicle types to verify you can convert target award levels into delivered value.

Decompose total rewards into its components and articulate the strategic objectives each component serves.

Diagnose the trade-offs between fixed and variable pay, and between cash and benefits, in terms of cost, motivation, and retention.

Describe how workforce demographics and business lifecycle stage should shift the total rewards mix, with at least three concrete scenarios.

Draft a total rewards statement for a hypothetical employee population that transparently communicates the full value of the package.

Explain how total rewards strategy connects to broader organizational strategy and workforce planning, and identify the signals that a rewards program is misaligned.

Compare approaches to measuring rewards program effectiveness and select the metrics you would track, justifying each choice.

Analyze how pay communication and perceived fairness affect engagement and retention, and outline a communication approach that addresses both.

Review your weeks 1 through 3 deliverables and consolidate them into a single reference outline covering domains 1 and 2.

Distinguish the legal and regulatory frameworks governing employee pay, including wage and hour rules, overtime treatment, and pay equity obligations.

Classify hypothetical positions as exempt or non-exempt using the applicable tests, and document your reasoning for each determination.

Explain how base pay structures, pay ranges, and pay grades are built and maintained, including how market data informs range placement.

Describe how pay adjustments, promotions, and merit increases are administered within a structured pay program.

Explain how market pricing and salary survey data are used to position pay competitively, including the strengths and limits of different market reference points.

Analyze the mechanics of variable pay programs for non-executive employees, such as bonuses, commissions, and gainsharing, and identify the risks each carries.

Describe how pay equity analyses are conducted and what actions follow from identified disparities.

Build a sample pay range for one job family, showing the minimum, midpoint, and maximum with the market data logic behind each figure.

Categorize employee benefits into statutory, health and welfare, retirement, and paid time off, and explain the purpose each category serves.

Compare defined benefit and defined contribution retirement structures by risk allocation, cost predictability, and employee value.

Explain the compliance obligations attached to health and welfare plans, including eligibility, disclosure, and continuation requirements.

Analyze how benefits offerings influence attraction and retention, and identify which benefits deliver the most perceived value per dollar of cost.

Explain how benefits integrate with cash compensation into a coherent total rewards package, and identify common integration failures.

Revisit the executive compensation material and connect executive benefit and perquisite design to the broader rewards strategy.

Synthesize all four domains into a single integrated framework and test it against three realistic employee scenarios spanning different levels.

Complete a timed, full-length practice assessment and analyze every missed item by domain to target final review.