So, here's something interesting. We've heard of the golden parachutes some ousted executives have, assuring them cushy severance packages to tide them over after the door hits them on the way out. But did you know that part of their exit deal might be a place to hang their proverbial hat?

The aptly named "Perks Watch" feature in today's New York Times reports that Richard D. Parsons, who exited his post as Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) CEO in 2007 and vacated the chairman role last year, still has the benefit of Time-Warner-supplied office space. A $776,000 benefit, to be specific.

When details about Dennis Kozlowski's $6,000 shower curtain emerged, which was paid for by his company, investors were outraged. How could you possibly justify a corporation paying for such an exorbitant and unnecessary perk for an executive?

In response to complaints from investors about this and other incidents like it, the SEC passed a rule requiring that companies disclose any perks paid to officers and directors that exceeded $10,000. The rule took effect at the beginning of the year and, according to BusinessWeek, it may be working: "The median value of benefits and perks received by chief executive officers at nearly 100 of the nation's largest companies fell 1.3% in 2006, to $334,433, according to the analysis by Equilar, a Redwood Shores (Calif.) research firm. And the median declined in three of the five perk categories Equilar studied. (There's a one-year lag in compensation disclosures, so this year's proxy filings quantified the perks received in 2006, and last year's proxies detailed those received in 2005.)"

Forced to disclose excessive perks, many companies have decided they would rather avoid the embarrassment. After all, isn't it easier to buy your own shower curtain, rather than give Dan Loeb ammunition to come after you if he ever takes a stake in your company?

The securities laws in the United States are based on disclosure and they appear to be working. If the SEC can force companies to tell shareholders what they're doing, we are increasingly gaining the willingness to stand up and demand change.

A number of high-profile CEOs must not have provided enough information on their compensation packages. The SEC is sending them letters asking for a little more detail. The agency has already sent out about 300 letters.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the heads of very large companies, including GE (NYSE: GE) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) are being asked to provide more information about how they are paid [subscription required].

Among the things that interest the SEC is how pay consultants make calculations for corporate boards. The Journal quotes the SEC's director of corporation finance, John White, saying, "We're seeing a lot of really vague disclosure" about individual performance goals and targets.

The issue can't really be that hard to resolve, especially at very big companies. They know full well how their CEO's pay is set, who is involved, who is consulted from outside the company, and what the final comp numbers are. It is not rocket science.

It is, however, another area of friction between the SEC and big companies.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.