The Attorney General of Iowa has asked the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate the high fees ACT Inc., a non-profit corporation, pays its board members and officers. The test development and education research firm is based in Iowa City.
The call for a federal review came in response to a Des Moines Register newspaper exposé, which disclosed that some ACT board members received more than $40,000 annually to attend four meetings, review documents and participate in conference calls. In addition, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Richard Ferguson, received total compensation of $596,000 in the company’s fiscal year ending in August 2005, the most recent on record. Four other top officers were paid more than a quarter million dollars each. FairTest assisted Register investigative reporter Lee Rood, who researched and wrote the article.
