Pay rises for company directors have slowed down as boardrooms absorb the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley and other corporate governance changes, according to a new report.

The Mercer Human resource Consulting study found that corporate directors received an average 6.1 per cent increase in fees in 2005, versus a 17.8 per cent rise in 2004.

The drop-off has been attributed to the first year impact of Sarbanes-Oxley which increased had workloads. As companies learned how to work with the changes, the situation stabilized.

Still, 6.1 per cent is not shabby given that average hourly earnings for workers rose 3.8 per cent over the year, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data.