Intuit cuts CEO's compensation by about half

Intuit Inc. gave CEO Brad Smith compensation valued at $3.6 million, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures disclosed in a regulatory filing made Friday. The compensation was about half of what he earned last year, as the financial software maker's profit took a hit in the downturn.

The company, known for its TurboTax and Quicken software, boosted Smith's salary by 5 percent to $800,000 for fiscal 2009. Smith was also awarded stock and options worth $1.9 million at the time they were granted. That was down 61 percent from the $4.9 million he received the previous year.

Smith's performance-based cash compensation was also cut in half to $828,000, according to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

His perks and other compensation came to $65,418, a 20 percent drop from the previous year. It included matching contributions to his 401(k), long-term disability premiums and a mortgage subsidy of $52,599.

Smith, 45, has been president and CEO of the company since January 2008.

Smith's lower compensation package came as Intuit's profit narrowed as a result of the recession.

The company said it earned $447 million, or $1.35 per share, for its fiscal year ended July 31. That compared with a profit of $476.8 million, or $1.41 per share, the previous year.

The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., also forecast lower growth for the 2010 fiscal year than Wall Street expected.

At the time, Smith said the results were "a direct reflection of the economy." He noted that Intuit expanded its market share for online tax services, but that the number of tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service was flat compared with the prior year.

In September, Intuit agreed to buy rival Mint.com, which helps users keep track of their income and spending, for about $170 million in cash. The company said it expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of the year and to cut 2010 earnings by 3 cents per share.

The Associated Press compensation formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.

Shares of Intuit fell 66 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $29.07 Friday.