In terms of selecting the compensation contract for the tax director, traditional agency theory suggests that compensation
should be based on performance measures that are controllable by the agent (Holmstrom, 1979; Lambert, 2001). Therefore, if the
tax director’s primary responsibility is compliance, then the incentive component of pay should not be based on cash flow or
earnings objectives (i.e., there are more direct measures of tax director effort, such as fines paid for noncompliance). On the other
hand, the incentive compensation of a tax advisor and an active planner should be a function of the firm’s financial attributes,
since these performance measures are, in part, controllable by these types of tax directors.