The course project for Corporate Finance this session involves an analysis of two competing companies, at least one of which is on the Dow. Sources suggested for information include http://finance.yahoo.com, http://www.morningstar.com and http://www.sec.gov/. Additional insights may be available in the Wall Street Journal. Choice of Microsoft and Google The first question involves a comparison of executive compensation between the two companies chosen. Since I own a software business, I chose Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) as competing companies for my evaluation. In the software space, these two companies also represent very different approaches to software design, development and consumer consumption of the end result. Business Models Before I jump in to my analysis, it might be worth mentioning that, while both are software companies, they follow different business models. Microsoft has been more of a traditional software company, selling software as a product. That includes packaging, distribution, wholesale, OEM and other supply chain concerns. Google has been a software as a service (SaaS) company from the beginning. Delivery of their products has been almost exclusively online. Both companies have deviated from their roots in recent years. For example, Microsoft is attempting to move into the cloud  and services space with offerings like Bing, Azure and Office Online. Meanwhile, Google has been moving into a product space with their Android devices and Chromebooks. Google’s purchase of Motorola is further evidence of their interest in the product space.  Compensation Analysis The professor suggested that the 10-k filing would be a good place to get information for this project. Unfortunately, the 10-k filing section for Executive Compensation only made a reference to a Proxy document. I did a little more digging and discovered that I could find the Proxy statement using these steps: Go to http://www.sec.gov/ In the main search type the company name (ticker symbol doesn’t work). Also make sure the option next to search has “company filings” selected. Click the link under the “CIK” column for the company you want. Multiple results will come up. In my experience, you want the result with the SIC value in the description, as shown below. In the “filter results” panel near the top, type “DEF” into the “Filter Type” box Results are sorted by filing date by default. Choose...