Microsoft Corp's board on Friday approved a proposal to allow shareholders to vote on its executives' compensation, as U.S. corporations' pay policies come under scrutiny in the wake of the financial crisis.

Shareholders will be allowed to vote every three years on Microsoft executives' pay, starting with the upcoming annual meeting on November 19, the world's biggest software company said.

The votes will not be binding, but the company said that in the result of a significant negative vote, it would consult directly with shareholders to better understand the concerns that influenced the vote, according to a regulatory filing late on Friday.

U.S. Congress has been discussing legislation on so-called say on pay measures to give shareholders more oversight on executive pay in the wake of scandals over massive bonuses paid to failing firms in the past few years, but so far none has been made law.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Richard Chang)

Software Microsoft