The signs were hidden in the suds.

When executives at Progress Energy lost their company-paid car wash privileges last year, it was a harbinger of widespread perk cleansing at the North Carolina electric utility.

It's no joke. Starting April 1, the company's nine executives will no longer enjoy country club dues, personal travel on corporate jets, or car allowances, according to a filling with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tickets to events that are unrelated to business will also be shelved.

Progress Energy's move was reported first by the Raleigh News and Observer.

Not all is lost, though. Progress Energy executives will continue to enjoy company-paid tax preparation services, financial planning, and internet and telecomm service.
 
"There is no doubt there has been an increase in companies disclosing cutbacks in executive perks," said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Equilar, a compensation research firm.

The trend, added Cwirko-Godycki, started last year.

"In 2006, 16 Fortune 100 companies announced compensation cuts, whereas in 2005 only two companies made similar disclosures," said Cwirko-Godycki. "I would expect the number of cuts to increase this year."

The average Wall Street C.E.O. made $15 million in compensation in 2006, according to The Corporate Library, an independent research firm.

But industry experts say publicly traded corporations are increasingly worried about appearances after increased public scrutiny of executive compensation following scores of large compensation packages given to C.E.O.s who have performed poorly in recent years.