UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A

 

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.     )

 

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Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

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Definitive Proxy Statement

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Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

 

XETA Technologies, Inc.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

 

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Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

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Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

 

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1814 W. Tacoma Street
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma  74012

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

TO BE HELD APRIL 3, 20078, 2008

To the Shareholders of XETA Technologies, Inc.

Notice is hereby given that the                The 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of XETA Technologies, Inc. will be held at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center located at 6808 South 107th East Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma, on April  3, 20078, 2008 at 6:30 p.m., local time, for the following purposes:

1.(1)          To elect six (6)seven (7) members to the Company’s Board of Directors to serve until the next Annual Meetingannual meeting of Shareholders and until their successors have been elected and qualified;shareholders;

2.(2)          To ratify the selection of Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP as independent certified public accountants for the Company for the 20072008 fiscal year; and

3.(3)          To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment or adjournments thereof.of the meeting.

The Board

                Only shareholders of Directors has fixedrecord at the close of business on February 20, 2007, as26, 2008, the record date forfixed by the determinationBoard of shareholdersDirectors, will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or adjournments thereof.  Only shareholders of record at such time will be entitled to vote.  The Company’s proxy statement is attached.  The proxy statement and form of proxy will first be sent to shareholders on or about March 8, 2007.Meeting.

ItYour vote is important that your stock be represented at the Annual Meeting regardless of the number of sharesimportant.  Whether or not you hold.  If you do not expect to attend the meeting in person, please sign, date, and return the enclosed proxy or voting instructions in the accompanying envelope.  The giving of this proxy does not affect your rightwe urge you to vote in person inyour shares at your earliest convenience.PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETURN YOUR PROXY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE, OR VOTE BY INTERNET BY FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR PROXY CARD.  Submitting your proxy now will not prevent you from voting your shares at the eventmeeting if you attend the meeting.desire to do so, as your proxy is revocable at your option.

By Order of the Board of Directors

 

 

/s/ Robert B. Wagner

 

 

/s/ Robert B. Wagner

 

 

Robert B. Wagner

 

Corporate Secretary

February 9, 2007

 

February 26, 2008

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials

for the Shareholder Meeting To Be Held April 8, 2008

Our Proxy Statement and Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007 are available on our corporate website at www.xeta.com.





1814 W. Tacoma

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma  74012

PROXY STATEMENT

Annual Meeting of Shareholders
To be Held April 3, 2007

This Proxy Statementproxy statement is furnished to the shareholders of XETA Technologies, Inc. (the(“XETA” or the “Company” or “we” or “us”) by itsour Board of Directors to solicit proxies for use at the Annual Meetingour annual meeting of Shareholdersshareholders (the “Annual Meeting”).  The Annual Meeting will be held on April 3, 2007,8, 2008, at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center located at 6808 South 107th East Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 6:30 p.m., local time.  The purpose of the Annual Meeting is: (i) to elect six (6) members to the Company’s Board of Directors to serve for the ensuing year and until their successors are elected; (ii) to ratify the selection of Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP as the Company’s independent certified public accountants for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2007; and (iii) at the discretion of the

        This proxy holders, to transact any other business that may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment thereof.

This Proxy Statementstatement and the accompanying proxy card together with a copy of the Company’s Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, will first be mailed to shareholders on or about March 8, 2007.18, 2008.

VotingINFORMATION ON VOTING

Who Can Vote

Only shareholders of record at the close of business on February 20, 2007 (the “Record Date”) are26, 2008, the record date fixed by the Board of Directors, will be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting and any adjournment thereof.  Shareholders areMeeting.  Each record holder is entitled to one vote per share of Common Stock registered in their nameto the holder on the Record Date.record date.   As of January 15, 2007,February 26, 2008, there were 10,214,74110,254,310 shares of Common Stock of the Company outstanding, the only voting stock of the Company.outstanding.

How You Can Vote

You may vote in person at the Annual Meeting or by proxy.  We encourage you to vote by proxy even if you plan to attend the meeting.  Proxies properly executed and received by us in time to be voted at the Annual Meeting will be voted in accordance with the specifications marked on the proxy card.  Signed proxies which are returned to us with no voting specifications marked will be voted “FOR” the proposals described in this proxy statement and in the discretion of the persons named in the proxy on any other matter which may properly come before the meeting.

The process by which you vote depends upon how you hold your shares, as follows:

If you hold your shares in your own name as the stockholder of record, you may vote by proxy eithermail or the internet.  To vote by completing, signingmail, complete, sign and datingreturn the enclosed proxy card and returning it in the envelope provided, or viaprovided.  To vote using the internet, by followingfollow the internet voting instructions included with yourdescribed on the proxy card.  Shareholders who vote by internet do not need to return the proxy card.

If you hold your shares in a stock brokerage account or through another nominee such as a bank, your shares are held in what is known as “street name” through an account with aname.”  You are the beneficial owner of the shares but the broker bank or other nominee the organization holding your account is considered to be the shareholder of record holder for purposes of voting at the Annual Meeting.  Youshares.  As the beneficial owner, however, you have the right to direct your broker bank or other nominee on how to vote the shares in your account.  To do so, please follow the voting instructions on the form you receive from them.the broker or nominee.  If you hold your shares in street name and you wish to vote in person at the Annual Meeting, you must obtain a legal proxy issued in your name from your broker bank or other nominee, giving you the right to vote the shares.

Proxies properly executed and received by the Company will be voted in accordance with the specifications marked on the proxy card.  Proxies containing no specifications will be voted FOR the proposals described in this Proxy Statement.

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Revocability of ProxiesHow You Can Change Your Vote

Any shareholder giving a

You may change your vote by revoking your proxy has the power to revoke it at any time before it is acted upon.  Shareholdersvoting takes place at the Annual Meeting.  You may revoke theiryour proxy by submitting a noticenotifying the Secretary of revocation to the Company in writing, by submitting another proxy with a later


date, or by notifying the Company and voting in person at the Annual Meeting.  If you hold your shares in street name, you must contact your broker bank or other nominee regarding how to revoke your proxy and change your vote.

Quorum and Voting Requirements

A quorum is necessary to conduct the business of the meeting. This means that holders of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled toof common stock must be represented at the meeting, either in person or by proxy.

Votes Required for Approval

        Under our bylaws, the election of directors, as well as any other business which may properly come before the meeting, requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares present in person or represented by proxy is necessary to constitute a quorum at the Annual Meeting.  If a quorum is not present, the Meeting may be adjourned and rescheduled for a later date without additional notice, until a quorum is present.entitled to vote.

How Votes are Counted

        Abstentions and broker non-votes“non-votes” are both counted as shares present in determining whether the quorum requirement is satisfied.  However, they receive different treatment for purposes of whether they are considered shares present and entitled to vote on a matter.  A broker non-vote occurs when a nominee holding shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a particular proposal because the nominee does not have discretionary voting power with respect to that item and has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner.  Broker non-votes, therefore, are excluded from the number of shares present and entitled to vote on a matter and consequently do not count against the matter.  Abstentions, on the other hand, are also counted in the total number of votes cast with respectpresent and entitled to vote on a proposalmatter and thus have the same effect as a vote against the matter.  Broker non-votes are not counted as votes cast in the tabulation of votes on any matter brought before the Meeting.   The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of the Company’s Common Stock having voting power at the Annual Meeting is required for the election of directors.  Votes will be tabulated by UMB Bank, n.a.

Cost of Solicitation

The cost of soliciting proxies, including preparation, assembly, printing and mailing of this proxy statement, the proxy card and any additional information furnished to shareholders, will be borne entirely by the Company.   The Company will reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other nominees, custodians and fiduciaries for their reasonable expenses incurred in sending proxy materials to beneficial owners of shares and obtaining their instructions.  The Company has retained UMB Bank, n.a. to assist in the distribution of the proxy materials for an approximate fee of $1,000 plus reasonable expenses.

PROPOSAL 1

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Information Concerning the Nominees for Election as Directors

The Company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that the        A Board of Directors shall consistconsisting of such number of directors asseven members is fixed from timeproposed to time by resolution of the Board of Directors.  The Board has most recently fixed the number of directorsbe elected at six, effective at the close of the Annual Meeting.  Members of the Board are elected for one-year terms.

The nominees for election to the Board of Directorsand the positions they currently hold with us are identified below.listed below, followed by their biographies.  All of the nominees areexcept Greg D. Forrest, our CEO, currently serve as directors of the Company exceptCompany.  S. Lee Crawley was appointed by the Board effective February 1, 2008 to fill the vacant seat created by the resignation of our former Board Chairman Jack R. Ingram.  Mr. Keller.  Mr. KellerCrawley was recommended as a nomineenominated by a non-management director and was subsequently approved for inclusion on the slate of directors by the Nominating Committee and the full Board.  Four of the nominees—Mr. Duke, Dr. Hisrich, Mr. Keller and Mr. Siegenthaler—are independent in accordance with Nasdaq rules.director.  All of the nominees have indicated that they are able and willing to serve if elected.  If any nominee should become unable to serve due to unforeseen circumstances, the persons designated as proxies will have full discretion to cast votes for another person recommended by the Board.

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote “FOR” the election of the seven nominees listed below.

Name

 

AgePositions with Company

 

Positions With CompanyAge

Donald T. Duke

 

Chairman of the Board

 

58

Greg D. Forrest

 

Chief Executive Officer and President

46

Ron B. Barber

 

52Director

53

S. Lee Crawley

 

Director

 

64

Donald T. Duke

57Dr. Robert D. Hisrich

 

Director

 

Robert D. Hisrich, Ph.D.

62

Director

63

Edward F. Keller

 

66Director

 

Jack R. Ingram

63

Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer

67

Ronald L. Siegenthaler

 

63Director

 

Director

64

 

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Mr. BarberDuke has been a director since 1987.1991 and became our Board Chairman on July 1, 2007.  Heis a shareholder in the law firm of Barber & Bartz, a Professional Corporation, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which serves as counsel to the Company.  Mr. Barber has been engaged in the private practice of law since October 1980, and is also a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Oklahoma.

Mr. Duke has been a director since 1991.  He is currently a consultant to the oil and gas industry.  industry and an independent investor.  From 1980 until August 2002, Mr. Duke was in senior management in the oil and gas industry, including time as President and Chief Operating Officer of Hadson Petroleum (USA), Inc., a domestic oil and gas subsidiary of Hadson Corporation, where he was responsible for all phases of exploration and production, land, accounting, operations, product marketing and budgeting and planning.

Dr. Hisrich        Mr. Forrest has been our Chief Executive Officer since June 7, 2007 and our President since July 2005.  He also served as our Chief Operating Officer from July 2005 until he became CEO in July of last year.  He first joined XETA as a Director of Sales over the Seattle branch sales and service operations in August, 2004 when the Company acquired Bluejack Systems, LLC.  Mr. Forrest was the CEO, principal owner and founder of Bluejack.  Prior to founding Bluejack, Mr. Forrest founded and operated several other fast-growing companies in the communications, clothing and commercial interior industries.

        Mr. Barber has been a director since 1987.  He currentlyis a shareholder in the law firm of Barber & Bartz, a Professional Corporation, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which serves as counsel to the Company.  Mr. Barber has been engaged in the private practice of law since October 1980, and is also a certified public accountant licensed in Oklahoma.

Mr. Crawley was appointed to the Board on February 1, 2008.  He has an extensive background in business and financial management, with an emphasis on business transactions and profit improvement.  His professional experience includes functioning as CEO, CFO and COO for several public and private companies, including Flint Engineering and Construction Company (CEO, 1992-1997) and Vantage Point Energy, a public exploration and production company (CEO, 1986-1992).  He also serves as Chairman of Intellevue, a software technology company he invested in in 1998.  Since May 2000 he has been the managing member of Corporate Finance Associates-Tulsa LLC, a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. CFA-Tulsa is a senior shareholder in Corporate Finance Associates Worldwide, a national M&A firm which Mr. Crawley joined in May 2004.  He serves as its Vice Chairman.

Dr. Hisrich has been a director since 1987.  He holds the Garvin Professor of Global Entrepreneurship and is Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Center at Thunderbird, the GarvinThunderbird School of InternationalGlobal Management in Glendale, Arizona.  He is also a marketing and management consultant.  Previously he occupied the A. Malachi Mixon III Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies and was Professor of Marketing and Policy Studies at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.  Prior to assuming such positions, he occupied the Boviard Chair of Entrepreneurial Studies and Private Enterprise and was Professor of Marketing at the College of Business Administration for the University of Tulsa.  He has also held a number of other academic positions and served on several editorial boards, including the Editorial Board of the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, of which he is currently a member.  Dr. Hisrich is a member of the Board of Directors of Jameson Inn, Inc., Noteworthy Medical Systems, Inc., and NeoMed Technologies.

Mr. Ingram has served as a director since 1989.  He has been the Company’s Chief Executive Officer since July 1990.  He also served as the Company’s President from July 1990 until August 1999 and from June 2001 until July 2005.  Mr. Ingram’s business experience prior to joining the Company in 1990 was concentrated in the oil and gas industry.

Mr. Keller,has been a director since April 2007.  He was an executive in the banking industry for over twenty years until he retired in September 2006 as the Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase in Oklahoma, a position he held for 10 years.  He previously served in a similar capacity with Bank One in Oklahoma, Bank IV and the Fourth National Bank.  Mr. Keller is a native of Oklahoma and continues to be involved in a number of community and business organizations.  He is a director of the St. Francis Health System, a trustee of the Oklahoma City Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a director of the Tulsa Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, a trustee of Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, a director of the Oklahoma Foundation of Excellence, and a director of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.

Mr. Siegenthaler has been a director since the Company’s inception in 1981.  He served as the Company’s Executive Vice President from July 1990 until March 1999.  Since 1974, Mr. Siegenthaler has managed his personal investment portfolio and promoted sales activities for his own private investments.  Hehe  has been involved as partner, shareholder, officer, director, or sole proprietor in a number of business entities with significant involvement in fabrication and marketing of steel, steel products and other raw material, real estate, oil and gas, and telecommunications.  He is also CEO of Myriad Technologies, Inc., through which he has managed his personal investment portfolio and promoted sales activities for his own private investments.

Recommendation

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THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE FOR THE ELECTION OF ALL OF THE NOMINEES LISTED ABOVE AS DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY.CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

                The Board reviews its governance practices on an ongoing basis in light of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and the listing standards of the NASDAQ Stock Market (“NASDAQ”).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEESDirector Independence

Our Board of Directors must have at least a majority of independent directors.  Under the NASDAQ rules applicable to us, in order for a director to be deemed independent, the board must determine that the individual does not have a relationship (including those listed by NASDAQ that will preclude a finding of independence) that would interfere with the individual’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out his or her responsibilities as a director.  Applying this standard, the Board has determined that Messrs. Crawley, Duke, Keller, Hisrich, and Siegenthaler, all incumbent board members, are independent within the meaning of the NASDAQ standards for board service.  In its deliberations on independence, the Board considered Mr. Siegenthaler’s stock ownership, which is slightly over 10%, and the fact that his adult son is employed by the Company as a sales representative.  The Board determined that neither of these relationships interfere with Mr. Siegenthaler’s ability to exercise independent judgment as a director.  Mr. Barber is not an independent director due to his association with Barber & Bartz, the Company’s outside legal counsel, and Mr. Forrest will not qualify as an independent director since he is an executive officer of the Company.

Board Meetings and Attendance

The

Our Board of Directors of the Company held threesix meetings during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.  None of the directors2007.  Each director attended fewer thanat least 75% of the combined totalaggregate number of all Boardboard meetings and meetings of  Committees ofheld by all committees on which they were a member during fiscal 2006, except for Dr. Hisrich who attended 55% of such meetings.  All other action taken by the Board of Directors was consented to in writing by a Memorandum of Action in lieu of a meeting, to which all incumbent directors subscribed.  Directors meet their responsibilities not only by


attending Board and committee meetings but also through communication with members of management on matters affecting the Company.

he then served.  The Company encourages its local directors to attend the annual meeting of shareholders.  All threeAt last year’s annual meeting, all of the local, then incumbent directors were present, at the Company’s April 4, 2006 Annual Meeting.  In addition,as well as Mr. Duke traveled fromwho resides in the Oklahoma City to attend the Annual Meeting.area.

Committees of the Board

The

There are three standing committees of the Board of Directors has anDirectors: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, and the Nominating and Governance Committee.

  Each of these committees operates under a written charter approved by the Board.  A copy of each committee’s charter is posted under Governance Documents in the Governance section in the Investor Relations section of our website at www.xeta.com.  The Board has determined that all of the members of the three standing committees are independent according to NASDAQ’s independence standards for service on these committees, including Audit Committee.  Thein the case of the members of the Audit Committee, consists of directors Donald T. Duke, Robert D. Hisrichthe stricter independence requirements imposed by SEC rule and Ronald L. Siegenthaler, all of whom qualify as independent directors under Nasdaq’s current listing standardsNASDAQ for audit committee membership.

Audit Committee

The current members of the Audit Committee are Mr. Crawley, Mr. Duke (Chairman), Dr. Hisrich and Mr. Keller. The Board of Directors has determined that the Committee has at least onetwo members—Mr. Crawley and Mr. Duke—who qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” serving on the Committee, Donald T. Duke.  Mr. Duke is independent as that term is defined in Item 7(d)(3)(iv) of Schedule 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.by SEC rules.  The Audit Committee met six times independently of meetings of the Board of Directors during the 20062007 fiscal year.

The Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the quality and integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the Company.  Among other things, the Audit Committee is responsible for selecting and retaining the Company’s independent public accountants; pre-approving the engagement of the independent accountants for all audit-related services and permissible, non-audit related services; reviewing in advance the scope and focus of the annual audit; and reviewing and discussing with management and the auditors the financial reports of the Company, the audited financial statements, the auditor’s report, the management letter and the quality and adequacy of the Company’s internal controls; and reviewing and approving all related-party transactions.controls.

The Committee operates under a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors.  A copy of the Audit Committee charter is attached to this Proxy Statement as Appendix A and can also be found in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.xeta.com.

Compensation Committee

The members of the Compensation Committee consists of directors Donald T.are Mr. Duke Robert D.(Chairman), Dr. Hisrich and Ronald L. Siegenthaler.  AllMr. Keller.  Mr. Siegenthaler is a non-voting member of the members are independent as defined by Nasdaq’s current listing standards for compensation committee membership.

The Compensation Committee works with Company management and provides advice and assistance to the Board regarding establishment of the Company’s compensation philosophy, objectives and strategy; administration of executive and management compensation programs; significant changes in employee benefit plans; executive employment and severance agreements; and appointments to the Committee.  The Committee is also responsible for recommending for full Board approval the compensation of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, all other executive officers, and directors of the Company, and for providing an annual report on executive compensation to the Board.  Duringmet once during fiscal 2006, the Compensation Committee did not meet independently of meetings of the Board of Directors.2007.  The Committee conducted itsalso conducts business during the 2006 fiscal year in conjunction with meetings of the Board, via telephone, and e-mail communications and by written Memorandumconsent.

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The Compensation Committee oversees the Company’s compensation and benefits policies and programs and establishes and/or reviews the philosophy, objectives and goals of Action.such policies and programs.  The Committee’s primary responsibilities include: determining the compensation of the Company’s CEO, CFO and other executive officers, including awards to such persons under the Company’s cash-based incentive and long-term equity-based plans; reviewing and recommending compensation of directors to the Board; and administering the Company’s equity-based incentive plan.  The process and procedures followed by the Compensation Committee in considering and determining executive compensation are described below under the heading “Compensation Discussion and Anaylsis.”

Nominating and Governance Committee.  Ronald L. Siegenthaler is

The members of the Nominating Committee’s Chairman and sole member,Governance Committee are Mr. Keller (Chairman) and is independent as defined by Nasdaq’s listing standards for nominating committee members.Mr. Siegenthaler.  During the 2007 fiscal year, the Committee conducted its business via telephone, e-mail communications, informal discussions and written consents.

The Nominating and Governance Committee was establishedis responsible for the purposeidentifying, recruiting and evaluating qualified persons to serve on our Board of identifyingDirectors and recommending nomineessuch individuals to the Board for nomination for election as directors; evaluating director independence and the size and composition of Directors.the Board; reviewing and ratifying Committee assignments recommended by the Board Chairman and submitting such recommendations to the Board for approval; considering director nominations by shareholders; reviewing related person transactions involving directors; overseeing corporate governance matters; and leading the process for succession planning.

Director Nomination Process.    The Committee does not have specific minimum qualifications that must be met by a candidateCommittee’s process to identify candidates for election to the Board involves requesting recommendations from members of Directors in orderthe Board and individuals personally known to be consideredthem, and from senior level executive officers.  The process for nominationevaluating candidates includes gathering and reviewing a candidate’s biographical and background information, and personal meetings with the candidate by the Committee.  In identifying and evaluating nominees for director,members of the Committee and other Board members if appropriate.  While we have not established specific minimum qualifications for a position on our Board, nominees are selected on the basis of broad experience, wisdom, integrity, understanding of our business environment, the ability to make independent analytical inquiries and the need to maintain a majority of independent members on the Board.  The Committee also considers each candidate’s experience, integrity, backgroundany other qualities that a candidate may possess that could add to the overall quality, diversity and skills,skill of the Board, as well as any oth er qualities that the candidate may possess and factors that the candidate may be ablecandidate’s ability to bringdevote adequate time to the Board.Board duties.

Shareholder Nominations.    The Company has not paid a fee to any third party for the identification or evaluation of candidates.  The Nominating Committee will consider board candidates proposed in good faith by a shareholder.  IfShareholders who wish to recommend a shareholder desirescandidate to propose athe Committee for consideration should submit the candidate’s name for Board consideration, the name of the nominee should be forwardedand biographical information to the Nominating and Governance Committee in care of the Company’s Corporate Secretary.Board, c/o Donald T. Duke, Board Chairman, XETA Technologies, Inc., 1814 West Tacoma Street, Broken Arrow, OK  74012.  The Company does not haveCommittee will evaluate shareholder-recommended candidates in substantially the same manner that it evaluates candidates submitted by others.  If the Board determines to nominate a formal processcandidate recommended by a shareholder, then the candidate’s name will be included in placeour proxy card for shareholder nominations because it believes that this informal process serves the needsnext annual meeting of shareholders.

Shareholders may also be entitled to nominate director candidates directly, without any action or recommendation on the part of the Nominating and Governance Committee or the Board.  For nominations to be considered at next year’s annual meeting, shareholders must follow the procedures set forth in a recent bylaw amendment adopted by the Board.  Under these procedures, a shareholder must submit written notice of the shareholder’s nomination which must be received by us not later than 120 days prior to the anniversary of the mailing date of our proxy materials for the previous year’s annual meeting, so long as the date of the meeting is not changed by more than 30 days from the anniversary date of the previous year’s meeting.  If the date of the meeting is changed by more than such 30 days, then the notice must be received no later than the 10th day following the date on which notice of the meeting is mailed to shareholders or is announced publicly.  The notice must include the following information:  (1) a brief description of the candidate to be nominated; (2) the name and record address of the shareholder; (3) the class and number of shares beneficially owned by the shareholder; (4) a representation that the shareholder is a holder of record entitled to vote at the meeting and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to make the nomination; and (5) a description of any arrangement or understanding between such shareholder and the Board.person to be nominated by such shareholder.  The notice should be addressed to:  Corporate Secretary, XETA Technologies, Inc., 1814 W. Tacoma Street, Broken Arrow, OK  74012.

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Code of Ethics

We have adopted a financial officer Code of Ethics that applies to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and any principal accounting officer, controller and other persons who perform similar functions for the Company.  A copy of this Code of Ethics is posted under Governance Documents in the Nominating Committee charter is attached to this Proxy Statement as Appendix B and can also be found inGovernance section on the Investor Relations sectionpage of the Company’sour website at www.xeta.com.

Communications with Directors

The Board of Directors has not established a formal process for shareholders to follow to send communications to the Board or its members, as the Company’s policy has been to forward to the Board any shareholder correspondence it receives that is addressed to the Directors. 

Shareholders who wish to communicate with the Board of Directors or an individual director may do so by sending their correspondence in writing to the Company’s headquartersXETA Technologies, Inc., Attention Board of Directors (or individual named director) at 1814 West Tacoma Street, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012.  Any such communications will be delivered directly to the Board or named director.

DirectorCOMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANAYLSIS

This Compensation

The Company currently compensates its directors who are not officers Discussion and Analysis provides a narrative review of the Company $9,600 per year for Board membership.  In addition, Board members serving on a Committee receive $8,000 per yearobjectives and Board members serving as Chairmanelements of a Committee receive an additional $16,000 per year.  The Company also reimburses Mr. Duke and Dr. Hisrich, who are not residents of the Tulsa area, for travel expenses actually incurredcompensation paid to attend Board and Committee meetings and the Annual Shareholders Meeting.

The Company has also on occasion granted stock options to its outside directors.  No such options were granted during the 2006 fiscal year.  The last grant of stock options to outside directors was made on November 1, 2001.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

The members of the Compensation Committee are identified above under the section entitled “Committees”.  There are no “interlocks” (as defined by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission) with respect to any member of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.  No member of this Committee was at any time during the 2006 fiscal year an officer or employee of the Company.  No member of the Committee is a former officer or employee of the Company except Mr. Siegenthaler, who served as Executive Vice President of the Company from July 1990 to March 1999.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND RELATED INFORMATION

Summary of Cash and Certain Other Compensation

The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and the Company’s other three executive officers.

SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

 

 

 

Annual Compensation

 

Long Term Compensation

 

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)

 

(d)

 

(e)

 

(g)

 

(i)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common Stock

 

All

 

Principal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underlying

 

Other

 

Position

 

Year

 

Salary

 

Bonus

 

Other

 

Options (#)

 

Compensation (1)

 

Jack R. Ingram

 

2006

 

$

120,461

 

$

20,000

(2)

$

 

5,389

 

$

 

Chief Executive

 

2005

 

143,539

 

13,300

 

 

 

8,571

 

Officer

 

2004

 

165,000

 

19,000

 

 

 

6,242

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg D. Forrest (3)

 

2006

 

164,803

 

20,000

(2)

6,423

(4)

40,000

 

2,715

 

President

 

2005

 

136,212

 

18,862

(3)

75,177

(5)

 

 

 

2004

 

30,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry N. Patterson

 

2006

 

138,029

 

20,000

(2)

7,272

(6)

 

6,359

 

Executive Director

 

2005

 

138,029

 

13,300

 

7,933

(6)

 

6,598

 

of Operations

 

2004

 

137,500

 

19,000

 

6,611

(6)

 

6,524

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert B. Wagner

 

2006

 

110,423

 

20,000

(2)

18,280

(7)

20,000

 

4,932

 

Chief Financial

 

2005

 

110,423

 

13,300

 

 

 

4,990

 

Officer

 

2004

 

110,000

 

19,000

 

 

 

5,160

 



(1)     Represents the Company’s contributions to the employee’s account under the Company’s 401(k) plan.

(2)     Represents bonus amount awarded for 2006 fiscal year performance, to be paid in quarterly installments.  Bonus payments are subject to forfeiture if the employee is not employed at the time of payment.

(3)     Mr. Forrest became President on July 6, 2005.  Prior to that date, he was employed by the Company as Director of Sales of the Company’s Seattle branch office since joining the Company in August 2004.  His 2005 bonus consists of (i) $3,325 awarded for 2005 fiscal year performance in his capacity as President, and (ii) $15,537, representing 2% of the gross profits of the Seattle Branch Office during his service as Director of Sales of such office, which was paid pursuant to the terms of his employment agreement in such capacity.

(4)     Represents $3,250 in car allowance and $3,173 in unused vacation time for which Mr. Forrest was paid in cash.

(5)     Represents $71,300 in relocation expenses paid on behalf of Mr. Forrest, and $3,877 in commissions earned by Mr. Forrest while he was still Director of Sales of the Company’s Seattle branch office.

(6)     Represents unused vacation time for which the employee was paid in cash.

(7)     Represents the dollar value of the difference between the price paid for shares of the Company’s common stock upon exercise of stock options and the market value of such stock on the date of exercise.

Stock Options

The following table sets forth certain information regarding stock options granted during the 2006 fiscal year to personsofficers named in the Summary Compensation Table.  NoTable below.  For fiscal 2007, these named executive officers (“NEOs”) are:

·Greg Forrest, President and Chief Executive Officer

·Jack Ingram, former Chief Executive Officer

·Robert Wagner, Chief Financial Officer

Compensation of NEOs is established by the Company’s Compensation Committee (the “Committee).  In addition to determining NEO compensation, the Committee oversees the Company’s compensation plans and policies and administers the Company’s equity compensation programs.  A complete discussion of the Committee and its membership is included in the Corporate Governance section of this proxy statement.

General Compensation Philosophy

The focal point of the Committee’s compensation philosophy is to enhance long-term shareholder value.  To do this, the Committee believes that performance-based compensation should include modest but competitive base salaries and benefitscoupled with significant “at risk” compensation opportunities.  “At risk” compensation should include an annual incentive bonus program to reward near-term performance coupled with equity-based awards to reward long-term performance.

The Company designs its compensation programs to attract, motivate and retain quality managers who will improve long term shareholder value.  Under the Company’s compensation programs, the higher an executive’s level of responsibility, the greater proportion of his compensation will be dependent upon the Company’s performance and the executive’s individual performance and contributions.

Compensation Process

In implementing and administering the Company’s compensation plans, the Committee employs an encompassing analytical approach.  The Committee assesses, as described below, a variety of information, both objective and subjective in nature.  The Committee believes that no formulas or objective measures can fully or adequately take into account the full range of considerations in assessing individual performance or setting compensation.  The Committee’s deliberations therefore are inherently subjective in nature and are influenced by the experience and judgment of its members.

To carry out the Company’s compensation philosophy and to discharge its duties under its charter, the Committee meets after the close of each fiscal year to consider a range of information. This information includes “hard” data relative to the Company’s financial and operating performance scorecard during the year as well as the performance and trading levels of the Company’s common stock.  Additionally, the Company provides the Committee with historical compensation data on each NEO regarding previous salary levels, annual incentive

6



awards, and previous equity awards and the current status of such awards.  Other information includes reviews of the Company’s significant accomplishments during the year, the Committee’s view of the individual performance and contributions of each NEO, and Committee members’ individual and collective opinion(s) of the current compensation market for each NEO’s discipline.

The items included in the Company performance scorecard include various financial measurements including performance around revenues, earnings, net operating margin, EBITDA and EBITDA margin, and returns on equity, assets, and invested capital.  Operating measurements include gross profits, gross margins, sales contribution (defined as gross margin less sales expense as a percentage of revenues), operating expense as a percent of revenues, and revenue mix.  The Committee places emphasis on those financial measurements which in its view are of most significance to shareholders, such as return on equity, net operating margins, and growth in revenues.

Additionally, at the Committee’s annual review the CEO makes recommendations for adjustments in base salaries, annual incentive compensation awards, and equity grants.  These recommendations are based on data chosen by the CEO and may include competitive pay data gleaned from public company filings, research performed by a compensation consultant, and the CEO’s evaluation of each executive’s performance, including his own, against goals established for such executives at the beginning of each fiscal year.

The Committee considers all of this information together with its own evaluation of each NEO’s unique capabilities and their past and expected contribution toward the Company’s performance objectives.  The Committee then processes such information through the subjective review and evaluation mentioned above, which it believes is of vital importance to balance the interests of all stakeholders in the process.

Overview of Elements of Executive Compensation

The key elements of NEO compensation are:  base salaries, an annual incentive program, and long term equity compensation.  Additionally, NEO’s may participate in the Company’s standard benefits programs on the same terms as all other employees.  These benefit programs include health and welfare benefits, vacation and sick leave benefits, and a 401(k) retirement savings plan (“401(k) Plan”).  Under the Company’s 401(k) Plan, all employees have the opportunity, but are not required, to invest the Company’s matching contributions in XETA common stock.

The Company does not have employment, severance, or change-of-control agreements with any of its NEO’s.

Base Salary.  The Company pays a base salary to each NEO.  The Committee believes that base salaries should be competitive, but modest for each NEO’s area of responsibility.  The Committee believes that setting modest base salaries, coupled with significant annual and long term incentive compensation opportunities (discussed below), provides a balanced and clear incentive for NEOs to pursue prudent initiatives designed to achieve superior long-term performance.

Base pay is set at the commencement of employment and is reviewed annually for adjustment based on the Committee’s view of changes in market conditions and changes in the NEO’s level of responsibilities.  Base pay is also reviewed for adjustment when an NEO assumes a different executive office or position with the Company during the fiscal year.

Annual Incentive Compensation.  The Company pays an annual incentive bonus to NEOs based on Company profitability and the individual performance of each NEO.  The annual incentive compensation component is an integral part of the Company’s overall compensation philosophy, particularly in relation to the interaction between the annual incentive bonus and base salary.  The annual incentive bonus is intended to be a self-correcting tool that provides robust rewards in conjunction with expanding profit levels and correspondingly constricts executive compensation when profitability narrows.

The annual incentive bonus is paid from an aggregate bonus pool accrued during the year for NEOs and other key non-sales employees of the Company to tangibly recognize the leadership and sacrifice of many of its key employees.   In recent years, due to an extended period of poor industry and Company fundamentals, the amount of this bonus pool was set on a discretionary basis.  This practice continued through fiscal 2007.  At its annual compensation review subsequent to the close of fiscal 2007, the Committee authorized a total bonus pool of $317,000 on a discretionary basis for distribution to key employees.  From this pool, $100,000 was awarded in the form of cash bonuses to the Company’s CEO and CFO.  The remaining $217,000 was awarded to other key non-sales employees, also as cash bonuses.

7



Due to the improvement in the financial health and prospects of the Company, beginning in fiscal 2008 the Committee has set a target amount for the total bonus pool to be 10% of the Company’s annual pre-tax, pre-bonus profits.  Additionally, the Committee has set targets to award 50% of the total bonus pool for distribution among the Company’s NEO’s and non-sales executive director and to pay between 33% and 50% of each executive’s annual incentive bonus in restricted stock appreciation rightsawards.  All of these targets are subject to the Committee’s discretion and may be adjusted upward or downward based on a variety of factors including the size of the bonus pool and the NEO’s progress toward his targeted equity ownership (discussed below).

Long-Term Equity Compensation.  The Committee believes that the element of long-term equity compensation should be sufficient to provide NEOs the potential for meaningful wealth creation through stock price appreciation.  This opportunity serves to further motivate NEOs to enhance the value of the stock and more heavily aligns their interests with that of the shareholders.  Additionally, the Committee believes that equity awards can be an effective retention tool and thus grants awards with multi-year vesting periods.  In setting this portion of compensation, the Committee factors in the total number of outstanding equity awards and the expiration periods of each such award, in order to balance the Committee’s goal of promoting equity ownership by executives against the potential dilution which such awards can have upon current and future shareholders.  The Committee has set a general target of maximum potential dilution of 15%, but has not set a restriction on exceeding that level if, in its judgment, conditions warrant.

Traditionally, the Committee has granted equity awards in the form of stock options, typically with three year vesting on a cliff or pro rata basis.  These awards were granted duringfrom time-to-time based on Company performance, dilution considerations, recruiting of new executives, and/or to recognize additional responsibilities assumed by an executive.  Additionally, since the implementation of Financial Accounting Standard 123(R), and up until the Company’s financial performance began to improve in late fiscal 2006.2006, the Committee was reluctant to burden the Company’s already weak operating results with the additional compensation expense required by the new standard.

Option Grants in Last Fiscal Year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Potential

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realizable Value at

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assumed Annual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rates of Stock Price

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appreciation

 

Individual Grants

 

for Option Term

 

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)

 

(d)

 

(e)

 

(f)

 

(g)

 

 

 

 

 

% of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Securities

 

Options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underlying

 

Granted to

 

Exercise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Options

 

Employees

 

or Base

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granted

 

In Fiscal

 

Price

 

Expiration

 

 

 

 

 

Name

 

(#)(1)

 

Year(2)

 

($/Sh)

 

Date

 

5% ($)(3)

 

10% ($)(3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack R. Ingram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg D. Forrest

 

40,000

 

25

%

$

2.95

 

10/18/2011

 

$

32,601

 

$

72,040

 

Robert B. Wagner

 

20,000

 

12.5

%

2.95

 

10/18/2011

 

16,301

 

36,020

 

Larry N. Patterson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



(1)    AllBeginning in fiscal 2008, the Committee will consider annual grants of long-term equity compensation as part of its comprehensive review of total executive compensation.  In addition to stock options, were granted on October 19, 2006 underthe Committee may consider granting restricted stock or other forms of share-based compensation in the future which are provided for in the Company’s 2004 Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan.  Each such option is exercisable 100% three years fromPlan (the “2004 Omnibus Plan”).

In fiscal 2007, the date of grantCompany’s long time CEO and expires after five years fromsecond largest shareholder stepped down and Mr. Forrest, then serving as the date of grant.  If, after the options are vested, theCompany’s President, was named executive officer: (i) dies or becomes disabled, the option may be exercised for a year from the date of death or disability, or until the original expiration dateCEO.  To promote continuation of the option, whichever occurs first; (b)historically strong alignment between the Company’s officers and its shareholders, the Committee has set equity ownership targets for the positions of CEO, CFO, and Executive Directors as provided below:

Title

Equity Target

(shares)

CEO and President

250,000

CFO

125,000

Executive Directors

100,000

Annually, the Committee will monitor each executive’s progress toward achieving these equity targets.  Shares held in the Company’s 401(k) Plan count toward meeting the targets above.  Because this is dismisseda new program for cause, any unexercised options shall be forfeited; (c) leaves the employ of the Company, the Committee has not established timelines for any other reason,achieving these targets.

Material Factors Affecting Executive Compensation in Fiscal 2007 and 2008

Effective December 1, 2006, as a result of its annual review of Company and executive performance, the option mayCommittee approved base salary increases for Mr. Forrest and Mr. Wagner of $20,000 and $15,000, respectively, bringing Mr. Forrest’s annual salary at that time to $185,000 and Mr. Wagner’s to $125,000.  Mr. Forrest’s salary adjustment was made in part to reflect the steady increase over time in his duties and responsibilities since becoming the Company’s President on July 6, 2005, as the Company’s then CEO Jack Ingram began transitioning responsibilities to Mr. Forrest.  The adjustment in Mr. Wagner’s base salary was similarly based in part on his increased span of control in assuming responsibility for the Company’s contact center operations, material logistics, purchasing, and information technology functions.  The December 2006 salary increases for both executives also reflect the Committee’s view that the Company’s CEO and CFO base salaries had ceased to be exercised for three months fromcompetitive.

8



On June 7, 2007, Jack Ingram resigned as the dateCompany’s CEO and Mr. Forrest was appointed as the Company’s CEO, while retaining the position of terminationPresident.  Subsequently on July 5, 2007, the Committee increased Mr. Forrest’s base salary to $197,000 in recognition of employment, or untilhis assumption of additional responsibilities as CEO.  At the original expiration date of the option, whichever occurs first.

(2)    In fiscal 2006, the Company grantedsame time and in order to recognize their expanded leadership roles, increase their equity interests, and to balance short and long-term incentives, stock options were granted to Mr. Forrest for 40,000 shares and to Mr. Wagner for 25,000 shares.  These options were granted under the 2004 Omnibus Plan and have a total of 160,000 shares of the Company’s common stock.

(3)    Amounts shown are based upon assumed annualized rates of stock price appreciation of 5% and 10%, respectively, over the full term of the options as required by SEC regulations, and are not intended to represent or forecast possible future appreciation, if any, of the Company’s common stock price.

Option Exercises and Holdings

The following table sets forth certain information regarding stock options exercised during the 2006 fiscal year by persons named in the Summary Compensation Table and the number and value of unexercised options held by such persons as of the fiscal year-end.  The Company has not granted stock appreciation rights.

AGGREGATED OPTION EXERCISES IN LAST FISCAL YEAR AND
FY-END OPTION VALUES

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)

 

(d)

 

(e)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of Securities

 

Value of Unexercised

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underlying Unexercised

 

In-the-Money Options

 

 

 

Shares Acquired

 

Value Realized

 

Options at FY-End (#)

 

at FY-End ($)(2)

 

Name

 

on Exercise (#)

 

($)(1)

 

Exercisable

 

Unexercisable

 

Exercisable

 

Unexercisable

 

Jack R. Ingram

 

 

$

 

 

35,000

 

 

$

 

$

 

Greg D. Forrest

 

 

 

 

40,000

 

 

16,000

 

Robert B. Wagner

 

30,000

 

18,282

 

63,000

 

20,000

 

 

8,000

 

Larry N. Patterson

 

 

 

125,000

 

 

 

 


(1)   Based upon the difference between the marketstrike price of the securities on the exercise date ($2.25$3.25 per share) and the exercise price.

(2)   Based upon the difference betweenshare, the fair market value of the securities underlyingCompany’s stock on the “in-the-money”date of grant.  These options atvest on January 5, 2011 (3½ years after the date of grant) and have a term of 7 years from the date of grant.

On December 5, 2007, the Committee met to conduct its annual compensation review.  The Committee awarded annual incentive bonuses to Mr. Forrest and Mr. Wagner of $50,000 each, in recognition of the Company’s improved financial results for fiscal year-end ($3.352007.  In fiscal 2007 the Company doubled its earnings compared to the prior year and made positive progress in several key areas, including improving return on equity from 1.9% in fiscal 2006 to 3.6% in fiscal 2007 and improving net operating margin from 1.2% in fiscal 2006 to 2.0% in fiscal 2007.  The increase in annual incentive awards in fiscal 2007 compared to fiscal 2006 reflects the Company’s pay-for-performance philosophy, in which the Company’s relatively modest base salaries are supplemented by relatively robust annual bonuses awarded as Company performance improves.  These bonuses were paid in cash on January 11, 2008.

Also as part of its annual compensation review, the Committee made a cost-of-living adjustment to Mr. Forrest’s base salary, increasing it to $203,000 per share)year.  The Committee also evaluated Mr. Wagner’s base salary in light of continuing market-driven pressures on financial executive compensation, as well as Mr. Wagner’s expanded responsibilities following the departure of Mr. Ingram in June 2007.  In response to these two factors, the Committee increased Mr. Wagner’s base salary to $145,000 per year.  Also on December 5, 2007, long term equity incentive awards in the form of stock options were granted to Mr. Forrest and Mr. Wagner for 20,000 and 10,000 shares, respectively.  In granting these options, the Committee weighed several factors including its goal to increase the weighting of total executive compensation toward long term incentives; the impact of additional equity incentive awards on the Company’s operating results; the stock ownership targets that have been established for executives; and the exercise price.  Options are in-the-moneytotal number of stock options ifoutstanding in relation to total shares outstanding.  These options have a strike price of $4.14 per share, the fair market value of the securities underlyingCompany’s stock on the date of grant.  The options exceedsvest on December 5, 2010 (3 years after the exercise pricedate of grant) and have a term of 6 years from the options.date of grant.

Employment Agreements

The Company has no formal employment agreements with any of the officers named in the Summary Compensation Table.

7




COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

The following report of the Compensation Committee isshall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to otherwise be considered “filed” with the focal point for senior management andSEC, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended or the Exchange Act of 1934 except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates it by reference into such filing.

January 23, 2008

To the Board of Directors to address corporateof XETA Technologies, Inc.

Given our role in providing guidance on compensation issues.  The Committee’s primary responsibility is to make recommendationsphilosophy and the administration of that policy in making specific compensation decisions for the named executive officers, we participated in the preparation of the Compensation Discussion and Analysis and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management.  Based on the review and discussions, we recommend to the Board regarding remuneration of executive officersDirectors that the Compensation Discussion and to evaluate the design and competitiveness of the Company’s compensation plans.  The Committee consists of three independent directors.

Compensation Philosophy.  The heart of the Company’s compensation philosophy is the enhancement of shareholder value.  Consequently, the interests of shareholders and the need toAnalysis be competitive in recruiting and retaining quality managers and to motivate management to improve shareholder value drive the design of executive compensation programs.  A primary component of the Company’s compensation philosophy is to structure compensation programs so that a high percentage of remuneration is “at risk”.  Near term cash compensation reflects corporate performance and larger long-term incentives are tied directly to share value.

Executive Compensation Program.  Compensation for executive officers is comprised of base salary, competitive employee benefits, an annual incentive compensation opportunity, and a long-term incentiveincluded in the form of equity based awards.  Under the Company’s incentive compensation program, the higher an executive’s level of responsibility, the greater his compensation will be dependent on performance.proxy statement.

The Compensation Committee reviews executive compensation levels with respect to corporate and individual performance, as well as competitive pay practices.  The Company’s Human Resources Department assists the Committee in this analysis and, in the past, the Committee has, also, retained the services of a third party compensation-consulting firm.  In addition, the Committee considers general industry conditions, as well as the Company’s recent recruiting experiences.  From its review, the Committee believes the Company’s executive compensation program to be generally competitive with similarly situated companies.

The Committee reviews annually the base salaries of XETA’s executive officers and recommends any adjustments it may deem appropriate, for approval by the full Board of Directors.  In its review, the Committee takes into account individual factors such as: experience; performance, both during the preceding twelve months and future potential; retention considerations; and other issues particular to the executive and XETA.  Additionally, the Committee considers the growth and performance of the Company as it assesses the market basis for executive salaries.

Due to poor industry and Company fundamentals, the salaries of senior executives and the cash compensation of directors have been frozen since fiscal year 2001, and the Company’s defined incentive compensation program for non-sales employees has been suspended, as well.  During fiscal year 2006, the Company’s revenues grew marginally, and although growth in the net income was encouraging, it remained at anemic levels.  However, progress was made toward the Company’s strategic initiatives in the service portion of its business.  As a result, salary increases were granted for two of the Company’s four senior executives, Greg Forrest, President and COO and Robert Wagner, CFO.

Additionally, the Company believes it is essential to appropriately recognize the leadership and sacrifice of many of its key employees.  To achieve that recognition, the Board, again, authorized a small discretionary bonus pool of  $208,097.  From the pool, a total of  $80,000 was awarded to the Company’s four executive officers with the remaining  $128,097 being distributed to numerous other key employees.  In keeping with the Company’s compensation philosophy, the Committee will continue to support this practice at current levels of profitability.  Additionally, as the Company returns to healthy business growth, the Committee believes a new incentive compensation program for senior executives will be necessary.

As a long-term incentive, the Company has in the past granted options to purchase shares of Common Stock to directors, executive officers, and other key employees.  These stock options have been awarded in two ways under plans approved by the Board of Directors.  The first is under the shareholder approved stock option plans, and the second is through special grants of non-qualified options.  Most of the grants are subject to a vesting period and carry a five to ten-year exercise term.  Additionally, strike prices for grants are determined by the market value of the Company’s stock on the date of the grant.


During fiscal year 2006, the Company made new option grants to employees for a total of 160,000 shares at a strike price of $2.95 per share.  These grants vest in 3 years and are for a five-year term.  Employees currently hold valid and unexercised option grants for a total of 1,265,568 shares of common stock, of which 1,105,568 are vested.  Of these totals, the Company’s executives presently possess option grants for 283,000 shares, 223,000 of which are vested.  The strike prices of the option grants currently outstanding range from a high of $18.13 per share to a low of $2.95 per share.

The Committee believes that stock options are a very effective compensation tool for the purpose of enhancing shareholder value.  However, in recent years newly adopted regulations regarding financial accounting for options, has, in many circumstances, significantly reduced their usefulness as a compensation tool for smaller companies such as XETA.  Therefore, the Company developed the 2004 Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan, approved by the shareholders at that year’s annual meeting.  Under the new plan, the Company can now award executives and other employees many forms of incentive equity compensation, such as SAR’s, Phantom Stock, Restricted Stock, Stock Bonuses, and Stock Options.  The Company’s most recent stock option awards were granted under this new plan.

2006 CEO Compensation.  The compensation package for the Company’s CEO, Mr. Jack Ingram, is consistent in all material aspects with the program for the Company’s other executive officers.  His annual base salary during fiscal year 2006 was $120,000, the same amount he has received since July 2005 when the Company promoted Mr. Greg Forrest to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer and Mr. Ingram relinquished those duties.  He retains the duties of Chairman of the Board and CEO.  Additionally, he was granted a cash bonus of $20,000 for his performance during fiscal year 2006 from the small, Board-authorized discretionary bonus pool, outlined above.

No long term equity awards were made to Mr. Ingram during the 2006 fiscal year.  Mr. Ingram currently holds stock options granted on November 1, 2001, to purchase 35,000 shares of the Company’s stock at $3.63 per share.  He vested in this grant on November 1, 2004.

In evaluating the compensation package of the Company’s CEO, the Committee considers such factors as XETA’s strategic and financial performance, the CEO’s compensation in relation to that of CEO’s at other comparable companies, his personal contribution to XETA’s success, and the Company’s overall executive compensation philosophy.  For fiscal year 2006, the Committee believes the compensation package of the CEO was consistent with the Company’s objectives.

Conclusion.  The Compensation Committee believes the Company’s executive compensation program has been consistent with the philosophy outlined in this report and has been effective overall in achieving its objectives during fiscal 2006.  The Committee hereby submits this report to XETA’s Board of Directors for approval.

 

The Compensation Committee

 

Donald T. Duke Chairman(Chair)

 

Robert D. Hisrich

 

Ronald L. Siegenthaler

Edward F. Keller

 

9



COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION

None of the members of the Compensation Committee of our Board is an officer or employee of the Company.   Mr. Siegenthaler, a non-voting member of the Compensation Committee was formerly an executive vice president of the Company during the 1990s.

No executive officer of the Company serves as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our Compensation Committee.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Our executive officers are as follows:

Name

Positions with Company

Age

Greg D. Forrest

Chief Executive Officer and President

46

Robert B. Wagner

Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director of
Operations and Secretary

46

Mr. Forrest was appointed our Chief Executive Officer on June 7, 2007.  He has been our President since July 2005 and also served as our Chief Operating Officer from July 2005 until he became CEO.  Previously he was Director of Sales over our Seattle branch sales and service operations.  Mr. Forrest joined XETA in August 2004 upon our acquisition of Bluejack Systems, LLC, a company which he founded, owned and served as CEO.  Prior to founding Bluejack, Mr. Forrest founded and operated several fast-growing companies in the communications, clothing and commercial interior industries.

        Mr. Wagner joined us in July 1988 as Chief Accounting Officer and became our Chief Financial Officer in March 1989.  He assumed the duties of Executive Director of Operations on January 2, 2007.  He was a member of our Board of Directors from March 1996 until April 2004.  Mr. Wagner is a certified public accountant licensed in Oklahoma and received his bachelor of science degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

        The following table presents information regarding compensation of each of the Company’s named executive officers for services rendered in fiscal 2007.

Name & Principal Position

 

FY

 

Salary
$

 

Bonus
$

 

Stock
Awards
$

 

Option
Awards
(1)

 

Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
$

 

All Other
Compensation
(2)

 

Total
$

Greg Forrest

 

2007

 

189,388

 

50,000

 

 

32,213

 

 

22,301

 

293,902

Chief Executive Officer and President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack Ingram

 

2007

 

76,000

 

 

 

 

 

13,395

 

89,395

Chief Executive Officer (3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Wagner

 

2007

 

125,019

 

50,000

 

 

17,146

 

 

5,887

 

198,052

Chief Financial Officer and Executive
Director of Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


(1)                            The expense for options awards above was computed in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R (“SFAS 123R”).  For a discussion on the assumptions and methodologies used to value the option awards granted in fiscal 2007, please see the discussion in the “Grants of Plan-based Awards” table presented below.

(2)                            The following table provides detail for the aggregate amount under “All Other Compensation” for each of the executive officers:

10



 

 

FY

 

401(k)
Matching
Contributions

 

Unused
Vacation
Time Paid
in Cash

 

Car
Allowance

 

Other
Perquisites

 

Total
$

Mr. Forrest

 

2007

 

6,205

 

 

3,000

 

13,096

(a)

22,301

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Ingram

 

2007

 

4,164

 

9,231

 

 

 

13,395

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Wagner

 

2007

 

5,887

 

 

 

 

5,887

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


(a)The Company paid for landscaping valued at $10,230 at Mr. Forrest’s private residence to enable the Company to hold a series of customer marketing and investor relations events at his home during the 2007 PGA Championship.  The value of the landscaping was based on the amount paid by the Company to the vendor.  Subsequent to the PGA event, the Company purchased certain catering and entertaining supplies from Mr. Forrest for use by the Company at similar events in the future.  The personal benefit received by Mr. Forrest from use of these items is included in this column and valued at 10% of the original cost paid to vendors for the supplies as evidenced by receipts.   The last component of this column is an amount the Company reimbursed Mr. Forrest for professional services provided to him by his personal accountant.

(3)                            Mr. Ingram was our CEO until he resigned on June 7, 2007.  Prior to his resignation, Mr. Ingram’s annual base salary was $120,000.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

                The following table presents information regarding the incentive awards granted to the Company’s named executive officers during fiscal year 2007.

 

 

Grant
Date

 

Estimated Future Payouts
Under Non-Equity
and Equity
Incentive Plan Awards

 

All Other
Option
Awards:
Number of
Shares of
Stock
(#)

 

Exercise
Price of
Option
Awards
($/Sh)

 

Grant
Date
Fair
Value of
Option
Awards
(b)

Mr. Forrest

 

7/5/2007

 

(a)

 

40,000

 

$

3.25

 

$

89,576

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Ingram

 

 

(a)

 

 

$

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Wagner

 

7/5/2007

 

(a)

 

25,000

 

$

3.25

 

$

55,985


(a)The Company’s non-equity and equity incentive award plans are described under “Elements of Executive Compensation” in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis above.  On December 1, 2006, the Compensation Committee granted cash bonuses to Mr. Forrest, Mr. Ingram, and Mr. Wagner of $20,000 each.  These bonuses were distributed in quarterly installments in January, April, July, and October of 2007.

(b)The grant date fair value was calculated using the Black Scholes valuation method.  In computing the fair value, the Company used an expected option life of 6½ years, a risk free rate of return of 4.725%, an expected volatility of 74%, and a dividend yield of 0%.  No turnover was assumed in calculating the fair value of shares granted to the named executive officers.  The expected option life was based on the Company’s experience that NEO’s generally hold options until near their expiration date.

11



Outstanding Option Awards at Fiscal 2007 Year-End

                The following table presents information regarding the outstanding equity awards held by each of the named executive officers as of October 31, 2007.

 

 

Number
of Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Exercisable

 

Number
of Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Unexercisable

 

Option
Exercise
Price
($)

 

Option
Expiration
Date

 

Mr. Forrest

 

 

40,000

(1)

$

2.95

 

10/19/2011

 

 

 

 

40,000

(2)

$

3.25

 

07/05/2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Ingram

 

35,000

 

 

$

3.63

 

10/31/2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Wagner

 

26,000

 

 

$

4.38

 

01/02/2008

 

 

 

12,000

 

 

$

18.13

 

04/16/2010

 

 

 

25,000

 

 

$

3.63

 

10/31/2011

 

 

 

 

20,000

(1)

$

2.95

 

10/19/2011

 

 

 

 

25,000

(2)

$

3.25

 

07/05/2014

 


(1)These awards vest in one installment on October 19, 2009.

(2)These awards vest in one installment on January 5, 2011.

COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS

We changed the composition of director compensation during fiscal 2007 when we separated the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer as of July 1, 2007.  Since then, the standard annual fee paid to non–employee directors for their services is $25,000.  The Chairman of the Board receives an additional annual fee of $55,000 and committee chairmen receive an additional annual fee of $16,000 for each chairmanship.  Presently Mr. Duke serves as chairman of the Audit and Compensation committees, but has waived the fee for these services.  Prior to July 2007, our directors received an annual fee of $9,600 for board membership, $8,000 annually for committee service, and $16,000 annually for chairing a committee.  All fees are paid monthly.  We also reimburse our non-local directors their reasonable travel expenses to attend Board and Committee meetings and the annual shareholder meeting.

It has also been the Company’s practice on occasion to grant stock options to its outside directors, typically upon their election or appointment to the Board.  Options (noted in the table below) were granted during fiscal 2007 to Mr. Keller upon his election to the Board and to Mr. Duke upon his appointment as Chairman of the Board.

12



The following table presents information regarding the compensation of non-executive directors during fiscal 2007.

 

 

Fees
Earned
or Paid
in Cash
$

 

Option
Awards
($)

 

All
Other
Compensation
($)

 

Total
$

 

Mr. Barber

 

14,733

 

 

10,795

(3)

25,529

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Duke

 

66,935

 

9,076

(1)

 

76,011

 

Chairman of the Board

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman, Audit & Compensation Committees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Hisrich

 

25,400

 

 

 

25,400

 

Member, Audit & Compensation Committees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Keller

 

23,917

 

3,473

(2)

 

27,390

 

Chairman, Nominating Committee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Member, Audit & Compensation Committees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Siegenthaler

 

41,397

 

 

8,333

(4)

49,731

 

Member, Nominating Committee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


(1)                      Upon his appointment as non-executive Chairman of the Board, Mr. Duke was awarded options for 25,000 shares of common stock which vest in two equal installments on July 2, 2008 and 2009, respectively.  Mr. Duke’s option was granted at the strike price of $3.25 per share, the market value of the stock at the time of grant and expires on July 5, 2014.  The dollar amount shown reflects the total option-related expense recognized for financial reporting purposes for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007 in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R (“SFAS 123R”), assuming no forfeitures.

(2)                      Upon his election to the Board at the annual meeting on April 3, 2007, Mr. Keller was granted an option for 10,000 shares of common stock vesting on April 5, 2010.  Mr. Keller’s option was granted at the strike price of $3.12, the market value of the stock at the time of grant and expires on April 5, 2012.  The dollar amount shown reflects the total option-related expense recognized for financial reporting purposes for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007 in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R (“SFAS 123R”), assuming no forfeitures.

(3)                      Prior to July 2007, Mr. Barber received an annual fee of $15,000, paid monthly, to serve as an adviser  to the audit committee.

(4)                      Effective July 1, 2007, Mr. Siegenthaler was appointed as a special liaison between the Board and the Company’s executive officers and management.  Mr. Siegenthaler is responsible to the Board for engaging with management and employees on behalf of the Board as appropriate, in all areas of the Company’s operations. Mr. Siegenthaler receives an annual fee of $25,000, paid monthly, to serve in this capacity.

RELATED TRANSACTIONS

Mr. Barber is a principal shareholder in the law firm of Barber & Bartz, a Professional Corporation, which serves as outside general counsel to the Company.  During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007, the Company paid legal fees to Barber & Bartz in the approximate amount of $133,165.  Mr. Barber was also paid $10,795 during the fiscal year for serving in an advisory role to the Audit Committee.

Related Transactions Policy.  We have adopted a written policy for the approval or ratification of “related person transactions.”  For purposes of our policy, related person transactions include any transaction, arrangement or relationship expected to exceed $120,000 in any calendar year which involves the Company and any officer, director, director nominee, or persons who own in excess of 5% of the Company’s stock, or any of their respective family members.  The policy requires officers and directors to annually complete a Company questionnaire designed to elicit information about potential related person transactions.  Under the Company’s Corporate Code of Conduct

13



applicable to all officers and directors, such persons have a duty to disclose potential conflicts of interest to the Company’s Chief Executive or Chief Financial Officer or to the Board.  When related person transactions or potential transactions are identified by these or any other method, they are referred for review to the Nominating and Governance Committee if the transaction involves a director, or to the Audit Committee in all other cases.

The policy requires the appropriate Committee to take into account the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction; the benefits of the transaction to the Company; whether the terms of the transaction are no less favorable than could be obtained in arm’s–length dealings with an unrelated third party under similar circumstances; the aggregate value of the transaction; whether the transaction involves a conflict of interest; the impact the transaction could have on the independence of a director if it involves a director or an immediate family member of the director; as well as any other factors that the Committee deems appropriate to its review.

On-going related person transactions are subject to annual review under the policy.  The policy also provides standing pre-approvals for the following transactions:

·compensation paid to an officer or director if approved by the Compensation Committee;

·grants of equity awards to any executive officer or director if made under the Company’s existing equity plans or future plans that receive shareholder approval;

·interests that arise solely from participation in a Company employee benefit plan that is maintained for the general benefit of all Company employees;

·interests that arise solely from stock ownership if all other owners benefit pro rata; and

·any transaction with another company if the related person’s only relationship with that company is as a non-officer employee, director or owner of less than 10% of that company.

PROPOSAL 2

INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

The Audit Committee has selected Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP (“TTSS”) as the independent public accountants to perform an integrated audit of the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2007.  Representatives of TTSS are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting with the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and to respond to appropriate questions.  While ratification of the Company’s selection of accountants by the Company’s shareholders is not required, in the event of a negative vote on such ratification, the Company’s Audit Committee will reconsider its selection.  Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may change the appointment at any time during the year if it determines that such change would be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.  TTSS audited the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal years ended October 31, 20062007 and 2005.2006.

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote “FOR” the appointment of Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP as the Company’s independent public accountants.

Recommendation

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF TULLIUS TAYLOR SARTAIN & SARTAIN LLP AS THE COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS.

Audit Fees and IndependenceServices

The following table sets forth the fees for professional services rendered during fiscal 20062007 and fiscal 20052006 by the Company’s registered public accounting firm, Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain:Sartain LLP:

Type of Professional Services

 

Fiscal 2006

 

Fiscal 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audit

 

$

86,000

 

$

75,000

(1)

Audit-Related (2)

 

7,000

 

7,000

 

Tax

 

 

 

 



 


Fiscal 2007

 


Fiscal 2006

 

Audit Fees(1)

 

$

87,000

 

$

83,500

 

Audit-Related Fees(2)

 

7,000

 

7,000

 

Tax Fees

 

 

 

All Other Fees

 

 

 


(1)           Includes fees for services related to the 2005 audit and to review theof our annual financial statements included inand review of our quarterly reports on Form 10–Q, as well as services that are normally provided by the Company’s Form 10-Qs for the 2nd and 3rd quarters of fiscal 2005.  Review of the Company’s Form 10-Q for the 1st quarter of fiscal 2005 was performed by its formerindependent registered public accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP.  The Company paid Grant Thornton $12,075 for these services.in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements and services that generally only the independent registered public accounting firm can reasonably provide, such as comfort letters,

statutory audits, attest services, consents and assistance with and review of documents filed with the SEC.

(2)           Relates to the audit of the Company’s 401(k) retirement plan.

14



The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has established a written policy to pre-approve audit and non-audit related services to be provided by the Company’s independent auditor prior to engaging the auditor for such purposes.  Pursuant to the policy, the Audit Committee will annually review the services and fees that the auditor may provide to the Company during the following 12 months.  Following such review, the Committee will issue a statement to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer as to the general services and fees that the Committee has pre-approved.pre–approved.  The pre-approval generally extends for a period of 12 months or such shorter period as may be specifically indicated by the Committee.  All other services to be performed by the auditors that are not included in the Committee’s annual pre-approval statement must be submitted to the Committee in advance for specific approval.

Change in Accountants

During fiscal 2005, Grant Thornton LLP was the Company’s independent public accountants through May 5, 2005, when the Audit Committee dismissed Grant Thornton as the Company’s independent auditors.  The decision to discontinue Grant Thornton’s engagement was the result of a competitive bidding process initiated by the Company in an effort to reduce the overall cost of its audit services.  As a result of that bidding process, the Audit Committee engaged TTSS as the Company’s independent public accountants on May 13, 2005.


The reports of the Company’s principal accountants on the Company’s consolidated financial statements for each of the last two fiscal years did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were those reports qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

During the two fiscal years immediately preceding Grant Thornton’s dismissal and the subsequent interim period from November 1, 2004 through May 5, 2005, (a) there were no disagreements with Grant Thornton on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure that, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Grant Thornton, would have caused them to make reference to the subject matter in connection with their report on the Company’s consolidated financial statements for such years, and (b) there were no “reportable events” as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

REPORT OF AUDIT COMMITTEERELATED TRANSACTIONS

January 7, 2007

ToMr. Barber is a principal shareholder in the Boardlaw firm of Directors of XETA Technologies, Inc.:

The Audit Committee oversees XETA’s financial reporting process on behalf ofBarber & Bartz, a Professional Corporation, which serves as outside general counsel to the Board of Directors.  Management hasCompany.  During the primary responsibility for the financial statements and the reporting process including the systems of internal controls.  We have reviewed and discussed with management and with the independent auditors the Company’s audited financial statements as of and for thefiscal year ended October 31, 2006.2007, the Company paid legal fees to Barber & Bartz in the approximate amount of $133,165.  Mr. Barber was also paid $10,795 during the fiscal year for serving in an advisory role to the Audit Committee.

Related Transactions PolicyWe have discussedadopted a written policy for the approval or ratification of “related person transactions.”  For purposes of our policy, related person transactions include any transaction, arrangement or relationship expected to exceed $120,000 in any calendar year which involves the Company and any officer, director, director nominee, or persons who own in excess of 5% of the Company’s stock, or any of their respective family members.  The policy requires officers and directors to annually complete a Company questionnaire designed to elicit information about potential related person transactions.  Under the Company’s Corporate Code of Conduct

13



applicable to all officers and directors, such persons have a duty to disclose potential conflicts of interest to the Company’s Chief Executive or Chief Financial Officer or to the Board.  When related person transactions or potential transactions are identified by these or any other method, they are referred for review to the Nominating and Governance Committee if the transaction involves a director, or to the Audit Committee in all other cases.

The policy requires the appropriate Committee to take into account the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction; the benefits of the transaction to the Company; whether the terms of the transaction are no less favorable than could be obtained in arm’s–length dealings with an unrelated third party under similar circumstances; the aggregate value of the transaction; whether the transaction involves a conflict of interest; the impact the transaction could have on the independence of a director if it involves a director or an immediate family member of the director; as well as any other factors that the Committee deems appropriate to its review.

On-going related person transactions are subject to annual review under the policy.  The policy also provides standing pre-approvals for the following transactions:

·compensation paid to an officer or director if approved by the Compensation Committee;

·grants of equity awards to any executive officer or director if made under the Company’s existing equity plans or future plans that receive shareholder approval;

·interests that arise solely from participation in a Company employee benefit plan that is maintained for the general benefit of all Company employees;

·interests that arise solely from stock ownership if all other owners benefit pro rata; and

·any transaction with another company if the related person’s only relationship with that company is as a non-officer employee, director or owner of less than 10% of that company.

PROPOSAL 2

INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

The Audit Committee has selected Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP (“TTSS”) as the independent public accountants to perform an integrated audit of the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2007.  Representatives of TTSS are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting with the independent auditorsopportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and to respond to appropriate questions.  While ratification of the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, Communication with Audit Committees, as amended,Company’s selection of accountants by the Auditing Standards BoardCompany’s shareholders is not required, in the event of a negative vote on such ratification, the Company’s Audit Committee will reconsider its selection.  Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may change the appointment at any time during the year if it determines that such change would be in the best interests of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.Company and its shareholders.  TTSS audited the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2007 and 2006.

We have received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from the independent auditors required by Independence Standard No. 1, Independence Discussions with Audit Committees, as amended, by the Independence Standards Board, and have discussed with the auditors the auditors’ independence.

Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above, we recommend to theThe Board of Directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote “FOR” the financial statements referred to above be included inappointment of Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP as the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2006independent public accountants.

The Audit Committee,

Donald T. Duke, Chairman

Ronald L. Siegenthaler

Robert D. Hisrich

 


SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENTAudit Fees and Services

The following table sets forth certain information known to the Company as of February 9,fees for professional services rendered during fiscal 2007 regarding beneficial ownership ofand fiscal 2006 by the Company’s Common Stock, par value $.001 per share, by (a) each person knownregistered public accounting firm, Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP:



 


Fiscal 2007

 


Fiscal 2006

 

Audit Fees(1)

 

$

87,000

 

$

83,500

 

Audit-Related Fees(2)

 

7,000

 

7,000

 

Tax Fees

 

 

 

All Other Fees

 

 

 


(1)Includes audit of our annual financial statements and review of our quarterly reports on Form 10–Q, as well as services that are normally provided by the Company to own more than five percent (5%)Company’s independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements and services that generally only the independent registered public accounting firm can reasonably provide, such as comfort letters,

statutory audits, attest services, consents and assistance with and review of documents filed with the Company’s Common Stock, (b) each director and nominee for election as a director of the Company, (c) each executive officer named in the Summary Compensation Table, and (d) all directors and executive officers of the Company as a group.SEC.

 

Amount and Nature

 

 

 

Name and Address

 

of Beneficial

 

Percent of

 

of Beneficial Owner(1)

 

Ownership(2)

 

Class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ronald L. Siegenthaler

 

1,117,003

(3)

10.92

%

P.O. Box 571300

 

 

 

 

 

Tulsa, OK 74157

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack R. Ingram

 

1,048,579

(4)

10.23

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry N. Patterson

 

157,962

(5)

1.53

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron B. Barber

 

118,472

 

1.16

%

525 S. Main Street, Suite 800

 

 

 

 

 

Tulsa, OK 74103

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg D. Forrest

 

100,456

(6)

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert B. Wagner

 

80,032

(7)

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert D. Hisrich, Ph.D.

 

56,550

 

*

 

15249 North 59th Ave.

 

 

 

 

 

Glendale, AZ 85306

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donald T. Duke

 

54,500

 

*

 

1505 Vandivort

 

 

 

 

 

Edmond, OK 73034

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edward F. Keller

 

0

 

0

 

5314 S. Yale, Suite 205

 

 

 

 

 

Tulsa, OK 74135

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All officers and directors as a group

 

2,733,554

 

26.05

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8 persons)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Others Known to Own 5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FMR Corp.

 

974,969

(8)

9.55

%

82 Devonshire St.

 

 

 

 

 

Boston, MA 02109

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon A. Wiese

 

580,000

(9)

5.37

%

11509 S. Granite Ave.

 

 

 

 

 

Tulsa, OK 74137

 

 

 

 

 

 



*Less than one percent of the shares outstanding.

(1)                      Address is that of the Company’s principal office at 1814 W. Tacoma Street, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012 unless otherwise indicated.

(2)           Except as indicated inRelates to the footnotes to this table, the persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares shown as beneficially owned by them, subject to community property laws where applicable.  The numberaudit of shares beneficially owned includes the number of shares of Common Stock that such persons presently have the right to acquire pursuant to unexercised options under the Company’s stock option plans, as follows:  13,000 shares for Mr. Siegenthaler; 35,000 shares for Mr. Ingram; 125,000 shares for Mr. Patterson; 13,000 shares for Mr. Barber; 63,000 shares for Mr. Wagner; 13,000 shares for Dr. Hisrich; 17,000 shares for Mr. Duke; and 279,000 shares for all directors and executive officers as a group (8 persons).

(3)                      Includes 129,000 shares held by Mr. Siegenthaler’s wife’s trust.

(4)                   Includes 10,000 shares held by Mr. Ingram’s wife.  Of the total shares shown as beneficially owned by him, Mr. Ingram shares voting power over 997,579 shares with his wife.

(5)                   Includes 9,324 shares, the equivalent number of shares held as units for Mr. Patterson’s account by the Company’s 401(k) retirement plan, over which Mr. Pattersonplan.

14



The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has shared investment powerestablished a written policy to pre-approve audit and no voting power.

(6)                   Includes 100,000 shares held by Bluejack Systems LLC, a limited liability company owned by Mr. Forrest; and 456 shares, the equivalent number of shares held as units for Mr. Forrest’s account by the Company 401(k) retirement plan, over which Mr. Forrest has shared investment power and no voting power.

(7)                   Includes 4,400 shares held by Mr. Wagner as custodian for his minor children, over which he has sole voting and investment power; and 4,632 shares, the equivalent number of shares held as units for Mr. Wagner’s accountnon-audit related services to be provided by the Company’s 401(k) retirement plan, over which Mr. Wagner has shared investment power and no voting power.

(8)                   This information is based upon a Schedule 13G dated February 14, 2005 filed withindependent auditor prior to engaging the Securities and Exchange Commission jointly by FMR Corp., Edward C. Johnson 3d, Abigail P. Johnson, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Fidelity Low Priced Stock Fund.  Accordingauditor for such purposes.  Pursuant to the Schedule 13G:  FMR Corp. ispolicy, the Audit Committee will annually review the services and fees that the auditor may provide to the Company during the following 12 months.  Following such review, the Committee will issue a parent holding companystatement to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer as to the general services and fees that the Committee has pre–approved.  The pre-approval generally extends for a period of Fidelity Management & Research Company (“Fidelity”).  Fidelity,12 months or such shorter period as a result of acting as an investment adviser to various investment companies, including Fidelity Low Priced Stock Fund (the “Fund”), is the beneficial owner of these 974,969 shares.  Members of the Edward C. Johnson 3d family, including Abigail Johnson, may be deemedspecifically indicated by the Committee.  All other services to form a controlling group with respect to FMR Corp.be performed by reason of their ownership of approximately 49% of the voting power of FMR Corp. and a shareholders’ voting agreement among them and the other shareholders of the voting stock of FMR Corp.  Edward C. Johnson 3d, FMR and the Fund each has sole investment power over the 974,969 shares of XETA stock shown above.  Neither FMR Corp. nor Mr. Johnson has sole voting power over such shares, asauditors that power resides with the Fund’s Board of Trustees.

(9)                   Reflects options which are presently exercisable.  Mr. Wiese is shown as a 5% beneficial owner solely by reason of these outstanding options, of which the Company has direct knowledge.  Except for these outstanding options, the Company has no other information or knowledge regarding Mr. Wiese’s security holdings, if any,not included in the Company.Committee’s annual pre-approval statement must be submitted to the Committee in advance for specific approval.

RELATED TRANSACTIONS

Mr. Barber is a principal shareholder in the law firm of Barber & Bartz, a Professional Corporation, which serves as outside general counsel to the Company.  During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006,2007, the Company paid legal fees to Barber & Bartz in the approximate amount of $71,681.$133,165.  Mr. Barber was also paid $10,952$10,795 during the fiscal year for serving in an advisory role to the Audit Committee.

Related Transactions Policy.  We have adopted a written policy for the approval or ratification of “related person transactions.”  For purposes of our policy, related person transactions include any transaction, arrangement or relationship expected to exceed $120,000 in any calendar year which involves the Company and any officer, director, director nominee, or persons who own in excess of 5% of the Company’s stock, or any of their respective family members.  The policy requires officers and directors to annually complete a Company questionnaire designed to elicit information about potential related person transactions.  Under the Company’s Corporate Code of Conduct

13



applicable to all officers and directors, such persons have a duty to disclose potential conflicts of interest to the Company’s Chief Executive or Chief Financial Officer or to the Board.  When related person transactions or potential transactions are identified by these or any other method, they are referred for review to the Nominating and Governance Committee if the transaction involves a director, or to the Audit Committee in all other cases.

The policy requires the appropriate Committee to take into account the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction; the benefits of the transaction to the Company; whether the terms of the transaction are no less favorable than could be obtained in arm’s–length dealings with an unrelated third party under similar circumstances; the aggregate value of the transaction; whether the transaction involves a conflict of interest; the impact the transaction could have on the independence of a director if it involves a director or an immediate family member of the director; as well as any other factors that the Committee deems appropriate to its review.

On-going related person transactions are subject to annual review under the policy.  The policy also provides standing pre-approvals for the following transactions:

·compensation paid to an officer or director if approved by the Compensation Committees.Committee;

·grants of equity awards to any executive officer or director if made under the Company’s existing equity plans or future plans that receive shareholder approval;

·interests that arise solely from participation in a Company employee benefit plan that is maintained for the general benefit of all Company employees;

·interests that arise solely from stock ownership if all other owners benefit pro rata; and

·any transaction with another company if the related person’s only relationship with that company is as a non-officer employee, director or owner of less than 10% of that company.

PROPOSAL 2

INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

The Audit Committee has selected Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP (“TTSS”) as the independent public accountants to perform an integrated audit of the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2007.  Representatives of TTSS are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting with the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and to respond to appropriate questions.  While ratification of the Company’s selection of accountants by the Company’s shareholders is not required, in the event of a negative vote on such ratification, the Company’s Audit Committee will reconsider its selection.  Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may change the appointment at any time during the year if it determines that such change would be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.  TTSS audited the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2007 and 2006.

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote “FOR” the appointment of Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP as the Company’s independent public accountants.

Audit Fees and Services

The following table sets forth the fees for professional services rendered during fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2006 by the Company’s registered public accounting firm, Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP:




 


Fiscal 2007

 


Fiscal 2006

 

Audit Fees(1)

 

$

87,000

 

$

83,500

 

Audit-Related Fees(2)

 

7,000

 

7,000

 

Tax Fees

 

 

 

All Other Fees

 

 

 


A son(1)Includes audit of CEOour annual financial statements and review of our quarterly reports on Form 10–Q, as well as services that are normally provided by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements and services that generally only the independent registered public accounting firm can reasonably provide, such as comfort letters,

statutory audits, attest services, consents and assistance with and review of documents filed with the SEC.

(2)Relates to the audit of the Company’s 401(k) retirement plan.

14



The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has established a written policy to pre-approve audit and non-audit related services to be provided by the Company’s independent auditor prior to engaging the auditor for such purposes.  Pursuant to the policy, the Audit Committee will annually review the services and fees that the auditor may provide to the Company during the following 12 months.  Following such review, the Committee will issue a statement to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer as to the general services and fees that the Committee has pre–approved.  The pre-approval generally extends for a period of 12 months or such shorter period as may be specifically indicated by the Committee.  All other services to be performed by the auditors that are not included in the Committee’s annual pre-approval statement must be submitted to the Committee in advance for specific approval.

REPORT OF AUDIT COMMITTEE

January 4, 2008

To the Board of Directors of XETA Technologies, Inc.:

The Audit Committee oversees XETA’s financial reporting process on behalf of the Board of Directors.  Management has the primary responsibility for the financial statements and the reporting process including the systems of internal controls.  We have reviewed and discussed with management and with the independent auditors the Company’s audited financial statements as of and for the year ended October 31, 2007.

We have discussed with the independent auditors the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, Communication with Audit Committees, as amended, by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

We have received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from the independent auditors required by Independence Standard No. 1—Independence Discussions with Audit Committees—as amended, by the Independence Standards Board, and have discussed with the auditors the auditors’ independence.

Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above, we recommend to the Board of Directors that the financial statements referred to above be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2007.

The Audit Committee,

Donald T. Duke, Chairman

Robert D. Hisrich

Edward F. Keller

15



SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth certain information known to the Company as of February 14, 2008 regarding beneficial ownership of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $.001 per share, by (a) each person known by the Company to own more than five percent (5%) of the Company’s Common Stock, (b) each director Jack Ingram is employed byand nominee for election as a director of the Company, (c) each executive officer named in the Summary Compensation Table, and (d) all directors and executive officers of the Company as a sales representative, and a son of director Ron Siegenthaler is employed by the Company as a sales representative.  Both receive a base salary and commissions in accordance with the Company’s standard compensation plan for all sales representatives in their respective lines of business.  During fiscal 2006 Mr. Ingram’s son received a total of $183,000 in base salary and commissions and Mr. Siegenthaler’s son received a total of $119,000 in base salary and commissions.  Both of these individuals were among the Company’s top ten sales representatives for the fiscal year.  All payments made by the Company to them were made in the ordinary course of business.  Neither the CEO nor the director has a material interest in these transactions, nor does either of them share a household with these employees.  Neither of these employees is an executive officergroup.

 

 

Amount and Nature

 

 

 

Name and Address
of Beneficial Owner(1)

 

of Beneficial
Ownership(2)

 

Percent of
Class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directors, Director Nominees
and Executive Officers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ronald L. Siegenthaler
P.O. Box 571300
Tulsa, OK74157

 

1,117,003

(3)

10.88

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron B. Barber

525 S. Main Street, Suite 800
Tulsa, OK74103

 

118,472

 

1.15

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg D. Forrest

 

103,160

(4)

1.00

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert B. Wagner

 

72,075

(5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Robert D. Hisrich
15249 North 59th Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85306

 

56,550

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donald T. Duke
1505 Vandivort
Edmond, OK 73034

 

54,500

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ed Keller
5314 S. Yale, Suite 205
Tulsa, OK 74135

 

11,600

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S. Lee Crawley
2431 E. 51st St., Suite 600
Tulsa, OK 74103

 

0

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All officers and directors as a group

 

1,533,158

 

14.79

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8 persons)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Others Known to Own 5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patara Capital LP
5050 Quorum Drive, Suite 312
Dallas, TX 75254

 

616,000

(6)

6.00

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

William M. Sams
750 North St. Paul, Suite 1650
Dallas, TX 75201

 

570,000

(7)

5.56

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deanna K. Ingram

7777 S. Jamestown

Tulsa, OK  74135

 

518,579

(8)

5.06%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon A. Wiese

11509 S. Granite Ave.

Tulsa, OK  74137

 

580,000

(9)

5.66%

 


16



*Less than one percent of the shares outstanding.

(1)

Address is that of the Company’s principal office at 1814 W. Tacoma Street, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012 unless otherwise indicated.

(2)

Except as indicated in the footnotes to this table, the persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares shown as beneficially owned by them, subject to community property laws where applicable. The number of shares beneficially owned includes the number of shares of Common Stock that such persons presently have the right to acquire pursuant to unexercised options under the Company’s stock option plans, as follows: 13,000 shares for Mr. Siegenthaler; 13,000 shares for Mr. Barber; 54,046 shares for Mr. Wagner; 13,000 shares for Dr. Hisrich; 17,000 shares for Mr. Duke; and 110,046 shares for all directors and executive officers as a group (8 persons).

(3)

Includes 129,000 shares held by Mr. Siegenthaler’s wife’s trust.

(4)

Includes 100,000 shares held by Bluejack Systems LLC, a limited liability company owned by Mr. Forrest; and 3,160 shares, the equivalent number of shares held as units for Mr. Forrest’s account by the Company’s 401(k) retirement plan, over which Mr. Forrest has shared investment power and no voting power.

(5)

Includes 4,400 shares held by Mr. Wagner as custodian for his minor children, over which he has sole voting and investment power; and 5,629 shares, the equivalent number of shares held as units for Mr. Wagner’s account by the Company’s 401(k) retirement plan, over which Mr. Wagner has shared investment power and no voting power.

(6)

Based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2008 by Patara Capital, LP on behalf of itself and Patara Partners, LP and Patara Capital Management, LP, all of whom are reported to have shared power to vote and dispose of the shares.

(7)

Based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 8, 2008.

(8)

Based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on October 10, 2007. Of the 518,579 shares included in the report, Ms. Ingram reports sole power to vote and dispose of 492,579 shares as trustee of the Jack R. Ingram Revocable Trust, and of 26,000 shares in her individual capacity.

(9)

Reflects options which are presently exercisable and will expire (if not exercised) as follows: 180,000 on 8/1/2009; 200,000 on 8/1/2010; and 200,000 on 8/1/2011. Mr. Wiese is shown as a 5% beneficial owner solely by reason of these outstanding options, of which the Company has direct knowledge. Except for these outstanding options, the Company has no other information or knowledge regarding Mr. Wiese’s security holdings, if any, in the Company.

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the Company’sour directors and executive officers and holders ofpersons who hold more than ten percent (10%) of our stock, to report their initial ownership and any subsequent changes in ownership of our stock to the SEC.  SEC regulations impose specific deadlines for filing these reports and we are required to disclose in this proxy statement any failure to comply with these regulations.  Based on our review of these filings and the written representations of our directors, executive officers and 10% shareholders, we believe that during fiscal 2007, our directors, executive officers and 10% stockholders complied with all Section 16(a) filing requirements, with these exceptions:.  Two reports on Form 4, each reporting a single transaction for Ed Keller, were filed one day late.

17



SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR 2009

The deadline for submitting a shareholder proposal intended to be included in the Company’s Common Stock to fileproxy statement and form of proxy for next year’s annual meeting is November 17, 2008.  Such proposals must comply with the provisions of Rule 14a–8 of the Securities and Exchange Commission initial reports of ownership of the Company’s Common Stock on Form 3 and reports of changes in ownership on Form 4 and/or Form 5, and to provide the Company with a copy of each such report filed.  Based solely upon a review of copies of such forms (and any amendments thereto) furnished to the Company and upon written representations made to the Company by its directors and officers, the Company knows of no director, officer, or beneficial owner of more than ten percent of the Company’s Common Stock who has failed to file on a timely basis any such reports of beneficial ownership of the Company’s Common Stock for the 2006 fiscal year.


STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH

The following graph shows the Company’s stock price as an index assuming $100 invested on November 1, 2001, along with the composite prices of companies listed in the SIC Code (Telephone, Telegraph Apparatus) Index and the Nasdaq Market Index.

 

2001

 

2002

 

2003

 

2004

 

2005

 

2006

 

XETA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

 

100.00

 

29.72

 

158.33

 

99.72

 

65.56

 

93.06

 

NASDAQ MARKET INDEX

 

100.00

 

80.46

 

116.86

 

119.44

 

128.59

 

144.80

 

SIC CODE INDEX

 

100.00

 

41.75

 

82.92

 

100.11

 

103.44

 

104.12

 


SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS

Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a shareholder proposal may be eligible for inclusion in the proxy statement for the Company’s 2008 annual meeting.  Shareholders who desire to submit such a proposal must ensure that the proposal is received by the Company’s Corporate Secretary no later than October 1, 2007 and must otherwise comply with Rule 14a-8.  Such proposals should be sent to the attention of Corporate Secretary at XETA Technologies, Inc., 1814 W. Tacoma Street, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012.

Anyas amended.   A shareholder who wishes to present a proposal for consideration at the 2008next year’s annual meeting that is not intended to be included inoutside of the Company’s proxy materials should provide writtenmust give us notice of the proposal no later than November 17, 2008 as required by our bylaws.  Such notice must include (1) a brief description of the proposal and the reasons for making the proposal; (2) the name and record address of the shareholder; (3) the class and number of shares beneficially owned by the shareholder; (4) a representation that the shareholder is a holder of record entitled to vote at the Company’smeeting and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to present such business; and (5) a description of any arrangement or understanding between such shareholder and any other person(s) in connection with the business of the proposal, and any material interest of the shareholder in such business.

All shareholder proposals must be received by us on or before the deadline in order to be considered timely and should be delivered or mailed to our Corporate Secretary at the address noted above, no later than January 21, 2008.  The proxy holders namedshown in the proxy card for the 2008 annual meeting will be granted discretionary voting authority with respect to any such shareholder proposal that is not timely submitted to the Company.next section below.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE—CODE OF ETHICS

The Company has adopted a financial officer Code of Ethics applicable to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and any principal accounting officer, controller and other persons performing similar functions. A copy of this Code of Ethics is posted on the Company’s website at www.xeta.com under the Investor Relations section.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

A complete copy of the Company’sWe are mailing our 2007 annual report to shareholders (which includes our Annual Report on Form 10-K, excluding exhibits, is included in10–K for the Annual Report provided to shareholders concurrentlyfiscal year ended October 31, 2007) with this Proxy Statement.  The Company will provideOur Form 10–K for the year ended October  31, 2007 is also available on our website at www.xeta.com.  In addition, any person solicited by this Proxy Statement is entitled to request in writing a copy of any exhibits to the Form 10-K and we will provide it without charge.  Such requests should be submitted to any shareholder who requests a copy and pays the Company’s reasonable expenses in furnishing such copy.  The Company will advise the shareholder of the specific amount of such expenses after receiving the request.  Shareholders may submit their requests to Corporate Secretary addressed as follows:

ATTN: Corporate Secretary

XETA Technologies, Inc.,

1814 W. Tacoma Street

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012.74012

NO INCORPORATION BY REFERENCESOLICITATION EXPENSES

Notwithstanding anything

The cost of soliciting proxies will be borne by the Company.   Employees of the Company may solicit proxies personally or by telephone without additional compensation. Upon request, we will reimburse the reasonable costs incurred by brokers, banks, or other nominees for mailing proxy materials and annual shareholder reports to the contrary set forth in anybeneficial owners of the Company’s previous filings under the Securities Actshares they hold of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that might incorporate future filings made by the Company under those statutes, the preceding Compensation Committee Report on Executive Compensation, Audit Committee Report, and the Stock Performance Graph will not be incorporated by reference into any of those prior filings, nor will such reports or graph be incorporated by reference into any future filings made by the Company under those statutes.record.


OTHER MATTERS

As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the Board of Directors knows of no matter other than those described herein that will be presented for consideration at the Annual Meeting.  However, should any other matters properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment thereof, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote in accordance with their best judgment.

By Order of the Board of Directors

 

/s/ Robert B. Wagner

Robert B. Wagner

Secretary

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

February 26, 2008

18



Electronic Voting Instructions

You can vote by Internet!

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Instead of mailing your proxy, you may choose the voting method outlined below to vote your proxy.

VALIDATION DETAILS ARE LOCATED BELOW IN THE TITLE BAR.

Proxies submitted by the Internet must be received by 1:00 a.m., Central Time, on April 8, 2008.

Vote by Internet

·    Log on to the Internet and go to www.investorvote.com

·    Follow the steps outlined on the secured website.

Using a black ink pen, mark your votes with an X as shown in this example. Please do not write outside the designated areas.

x

Annual Meeting Proxy Card

123456

C0123456789

12345

IF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED VIA THE INTERNET FOLD ALONG THE PERFORATION, DETACH AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.

A. Proposals – The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR all the nominees listed and FOR Proposal 2.

1.

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

For

Against

Abstain

For

Against

Abstain

For

Against

Abstain

 

 

01 - Ron B. Barber

o

o

o

02 - Lee Crawley

o

o

o

03 - Donald T. Duke

o

o

o

04 - Greg D. Forrest

o

o

o

05 - Robert D. Hisrich

o

o

o

06 - Edward F. Keller

o

o

o

07 - Donald T. Duke

o

o

o

For

Against

Abstain

2.

To ratify the selection of Tullius Taylor Sartain & Sartain LLP as the Company’s independent certified public accountants for the 2008 fiscal year.

o

o

o

 

 

 

/s/ Robert B. Wagner

 

 

3.

Robert B. Wagner

IN THEIR DISCRETION ON ANY OTHER MATTERS THAT MAY PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE MEETING.

 

Secretary

 

 

 

 

 

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

February 9, 2007

B.

Non-Voting Items

Change of Address – Please print new address below.

C.   Authorized Signatures – This section must be completed for your vote to be counted. – Date and Sign Below

NOTE:   Signature(s) should follow exactly as name appears on your stock certificate. In case of joint ownership, each owner should sign. Executors, administrators, guardians, trustees, etc., should add their title as such and where more than one executor, etc. is named, a majority must sign. If signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer.

 

Date (mm/dd/yyyy) – Please print date below.

Signature 1 – Please keep signature within the box.

Signature 2 – Please keep signature within the box.

/       /

17





Appendix A

IF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED VIA THE INTERNET FOLD ALONG THE PERFORATION, DETACH AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.

Proxy – XETA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARTER
October 9, 2003

In order to improve the effectiveness of the Board of Directors’ oversight of the corporate audit process of XETA Technologies, Inc. (the “Corporation”), to strengthen the independence and involvement of those Directors charged with such oversight, and to enhance mechanisms for accountability among the Corporation’s outside auditors and its management, the Board of Directors hereby adopts this formal written charter for the XETA Technologies, Inc. Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

I.              Constitution of Audit Committee

ThereThis proxy is hereby created a committee of the Corporation’s Board of Directors to be known as the Audit Committee.  The Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors in accordance with the qualifications and other rules governing membershipsolicited on the Committee as set forth in Section III below.

This charter governs the operations of the Audit Committee.  The Committee shall review and assess the charter at least annually and obtain the Board of Directors’ approval of the charter.

II.            Purpose

The Audit Committee shall assist the Board of Directors in fulfilling its responsibility to oversee the Corporation’s accounting and financial reporting functions by providing independent review and oversight of the financial reporting processes, internal controls and the Corporation’s independent auditors.  In so doing, it is the responsibility of the Committee to maintain free and open communication between and among the Audit Committee, the Corporation’s independent auditors, and management of the Corporation.

III.           Composition

A.            Number

The membership of the Audit Committee shall be composed of no fewer than three (3) directors.

B.            Qualifications

Each Audit Committee member shall qualify as an “independent director,” and shall be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a corporation’s Statement of Financial Condition, Income Statement, Reconciliation of Retained Earnings, and its Statement of Changes in Financial




Position and Cash Flows.  In addition, at least one (1) member of the Audit Committee shall qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by SEC regulations.

For purposes of this Charter, “independent director” means a person that (i) does not accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee from the Corporation except in his or her capacity as a member of the Board, and (ii) who is not an “affiliated person” of the Corporation as defined by SEC regulations, and (iii) who qualifies as “independent” under the criteria of Nasdaq Rule 4200, unless the Board, under exceptional and limited circumstances, determines that it is in the best interests of the Corporation and its shareholders for an individual who does not so qualify to serve on the Committee, provided that any such person may not serve under this exception for longer than two years and may not serve as the chair of the committee, and (iv) who does not own or control 20% or more of the Corporation’s voting securities (or such lower amount as may be established by SEC regulations).

IV.           Responsibilities and Duties

The following shall be the principal duties and responsibilities of the Audit Committee.  These functions serve as a guide with the understanding that the Audit Committee may carry out additional functions and adopt additional policies and procedures as may be appropriate in light of changing business, legislative, regulatory, legal or other conditions.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee is not responsible for certifying the Corporation’s financial statements or guaranteeing the independent auditor’s report.  The fundamental responsibility for the Corporation’s financial statements and disclosures rests with management and the independent auditors.

A.            Pre-approval of auditing and non-audit services

(1)           Pre-approve all auditing services and all non-prohibited (i.e., those not proscribed by law or regulation), non-audit services provided to the Corporation by the auditor of the Corporation, other than as provided in the following subparagraph (2).

(2)           Pre-approval is not required with respect to non-audit services for the Corporation if:

(a)           The aggregate amount of all such non-audit services provided to the Corporation is not more than five percent (5%) of the total amount of revenues paid by the Corporation to its auditor during the fiscal year in which the non-audit services are provided;

(b)           Such services were not recognized by the Corporation at the time of the engagement to be non-audit services; and


(c)           Such services are promptly brought to the attention of the Audit Committee of the Corporation and approved by the Audit Committee prior to the completion of the audit.

(3)           The Audit Committee may delegate to one (1) or more designated members of the Audit Committee the authority to grant the pre-approvals required by subparagraph (1).  The decisions of any Audit Committee member to whom authority is delegated shall be presented to the full Audit Committee at each of its scheduled meetings.

B.            Review of Reports and Documents

(1)           Review with management and the independent auditors, prior to public dissemination, the Corporation’s annual audited financial statements, interim financial statements, and any reports (including the Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) or other financial information submitted to any governmental body or the public, including any certification, report, opinion, or review rendered by the Corporation’s independent accountants.  These reviews shall include the disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, and discussions with the independent auditors regarding the matters required to be discussed by Statement of Auditing Standards No. 61.

(2)           Receive and review, prior to filing its audit report with the SEC, a report from  the independent  auditor on all critical accounting policies and practices of the Company, all material alternative treatments of financial information within generally accepted accounting principles that have been discussed with management, including the ramifications of the use of such alternative treatments and disclosures and the treatment preferred by the independent auditor, and other material written communications between the independent auditor and management.

(3)           Receive and review required reports from attorneys regarding material violations of securities law or breaches of fiduciary duty by the Company or any agent thereof.

(4)           Perform any other review functions required to be performed by it or otherwise appropriate under applicable law, rules or regulations or resolutions or directives by the Board.

C.            Independent Accountants


(1)           Select, retain and when appropriate, terminate the independent auditors.  The independent auditors report directly to the Audit Committee.

(2)           Review with the Corporation’s independent auditors and management the overall scope and plans for their annual audit and the areas of audit focus

(3)           Review and assess, at least annually, the qualifications, performance and independence of the independent auditors, including a review and evaluation of the lead partner.  This review and evaluation should include:

(a)           a review of the written report of the independent auditor that delineates all relationships between the independent auditor and the Corporation that the auditors believe may impact their independence and objectivity, which report should be submitted to the Committee at least annually, and discuss with the independent auditor and management the scope of any such disclosed relationship and their actual or potential impact on the independent auditor’s independence and objectivity; and

(b)           confirmation of the rotation of the audit partners (as defined in Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X) to ensure that the independent auditor remains independent under such Rule.

(4)           Determine and obtain appropriate funding from the Corporation for payment of the Corporation’s independent accountants.

D.            Financial Reporting Processes

(1)           In consultation with the independent auditors and management, review the integrity of the Corporation’s financial reporting processes, both internal and external, and the adequacy and effectiveness of the accounting and financial controls, including the Corporation’s policies and procedures to assess, monitor, and manage business risk, and legal and ethical compliance programs.

(2)           Review management’s assertion on its assessment of the effectiveness of internal controls as of the end of the most recent fiscal year and the independent auditors’ report on management’s assertion.

(3)           Meet separately periodically with management and the independent auditors to discuss issues and concerns warranting committee attention and provide sufficient opportunity for the independent auditors to meet privately with the members of the Committee.  The Committee shall also


review with the independent auditor any audit problems or difficulties and management’s response.

(4)           Consider and approve major changes to the Corporation’s accounting principles and practices as suggested by its independent accountants.

E.             Compliance

(1)           Review management’s monitoring of the Corporation’s compliance with laws, regulations and corporate policies to assure that the Corporation’s financial statements, reports and other financial information satisfy legal requirements.

(2)           Perform any other activities consistent with this charter, the Corporation’s Bylaws and governing law as the Audit Committee or the Board of Directors deems necessary or appropriate related to the financial affairs of the Corporation or its external audit.

F.             Audit Committee Report

(1)           Present a report in the annual proxy statement reflecting the Audit Committee’s findings resulting from its financial reporting oversight responsibilities.

G.            Other Advisors

(1)           Engage independent counsel and other advisors, as determined necessary to carry out the duties of the Audit Committee.

(2)           Determine and obtain appropriate funding from the Corporation for compensation of any advisors employed by the Audit Committee under subparagraph (1).

H.            Complaint Procedures

(1)           Establish procedures for the receipt, retention, and treatment of complaints received by the Corporation regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters.

(2)           Establish procedures for the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of the Corporation of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matter.

I.              Related Party Transactions


Review and approve all “related-party transactions,” meaning those transactions required to be disclosed by SEC Regulation S-K, Item 404.

V.            Structure and Authority

The Audit Committee shall designate one (1) of its members to serve as chairman and one (1) of its members to serve as secretary to keep a record of its meetings which shall be held not less than four (4) times a year, and shall report the results of its meetings to the full board at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.  Each member of the Audit Committee shall have complete access during normal business hours to such business records and information, and shall be authorized to discuss corporate matters with the Corporation’s employees and officers, as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out his responsibilities as a member of the Audit Committee and representative of the shareholders.

VI.           Accountability

The Audit Committee shall annually obtain a formal written statement from the Corporation’s outside auditor (i) acknowledging the outside auditor’s ultimate accountability to the Corporation’s  Audit Committee as representatives of the Corporation’s shareholders and the Audit Committee’s ultimate authority and responsibility to select, evaluate and, where appropriate, replace the outside auditor (or to nominate and propose in any proxy statement the outside auditor to be recommended for shareholder approval ) and (ii) delineating all relationships between said auditors and the Corporation, consistent with Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1 and shall investigate and engage in serious dialogue with said auditors regarding any disclosed relationships or services that could reasonably impact the auditors’ objectivity or independence and, when necessary, shall take appropriate action to oversee and ensure the independence of the outside auditors.

VII.         Annual Evaluation

The Committee shall review and reassess, at least annually, the adequacy of this Charter and recommend to the Board any improvements to this Charter that the Committee considers necessary or valuable.

VIII.        Effective Date

This Audit Charter, as amended, shall become effective as of the 9th day of October, 2003.

6




Appendix B

XETA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHARTER

Purpose

This charter (“Charter”) governs the operations of the Nominating Committee (“Committee”)behalf of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of XETA Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”).  The Committee has been appointed by the Board to assist the Board by identifying individuals qualified to become Board members, and recommending to the Board the Director nominees for the next annual meetingAnnual Meeting of shareholders.

Organization

This Committee is organized by the Board pursuantShareholders to the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (“NASD”) Rule 4200(c)4, and shall be comprised of at least one (1), and no more than five (5), Directors.  All members of the Committee shall meet the independence requirements of, and satisfy all other criteria imposedheld on the Committee pursuant to the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq.

Further qualifications of individuals eligible to serve on the Committee shall be determined by the Board and all members shall be elected annually by the Board.  The Committee shall be subject to the provisions of the Company’s Bylaws relating to committees of the Board, including those provisions relating to removing committee members and filling vacancies.

Responsibilities

This Committee shall be responsible for selecting, or recommending for the Board’s selection, qualified candidates for Board membership.  Such duties shall be performed annually in time for the annual meeting of shareholders and as needed for filling vacancies that may occur between annual meetings of shareholders.

Director nominees shall be selected on the basis of broad experience, wisdom, integrity, ability to make independent analytical inquiries, understanding of the Company’s business environment and willingness to devote adequate time to Board duties.  The Committee shall be responsible for assessing the appropriate balance of skills and characteristics required of Board members. The Committee shall use reasonable efforts to attract a diversified membership and shall ensure timely compliance with Nasdaq rules related to independence.

The Committee shall annually review its performance and the adequacy of this Charter and shall recommend changes to the Board as appropriate.




The Committee shall undertake all further actions and discharge all further responsibilities imposed upon it from time to time by the Board, the federal securities laws or the rules and regulations of the SEC or Nasdaq.

Meetings

The Committee will normally meet once a year, in conjunction with a regular meeting of the Board of Directors, or on a more frequent basis if necessary to carry out its responsibilities.  Upon the request of the Board, the Committee shall submit the minutes of all meetings of the Committee to, or discuss the matters discussed at each Committee meeting with, the Board.

2




Tuesday, April 8, 2008

c/o UMB Bank, N.A.
P.O. Box 419064
Kansas City, MO 64141-6064

VOTE BY INTERNET

Have your proxy card available when you access the website www.cesvote.com
and follow the simple instructions to record your vote.

VOTE BY MAIL

Please mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope
provided or return it to: Proxy Tabulator, P.O. Box 535450, Pittsburgh, PA 15253.

Vote 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you vote by internet, do not mail your proxy card.


If voting by mail, this proxy card must be signed and dated below.

      Please fold and detach card at perforation before mailing.     

XETA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
This proxy is solicited on behalf of the Board of Directors for the
Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2007

.

 

The undersigned hereby appoints Jack R. IngramDonald T. Duke and Robert B. Wagner, or either of them, as proxies and attorneys for the undersigned (with full power to act alone and to designate substitutions), hereby revoking any prior Proxy, and hereby authorizes them to represent the undersigned and to vote as designated on the reverse side, all the shares of Common Stock of XETA Technologies, Inc. held of record by the undersigned on February 20, 200726, 2008 at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on April 3, 2007,8, 2008, or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

 

Dated:

2007

Signature

Signature (if held jointly)

NOTE: Signature(s) should follow exactly as name appears on your stock certificate. In case of joint ownership, each owner should sign. Executors, administrators, guardians, trustees, etc., should add their title as such and where more than one executor, etc. is named, a majority must sign. If signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer.

PLEASE DATE, SIGN AND RETURN THE PROXY CARD PROMPTLY, USING THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.




YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT

If you do not vote by internet, please sign and date this proxy card and return it promptly in the enclosed postage-paid envelope, or otherwise to Proxy Tabulator, P.O. Box 535450, Pittsburgh, PA 15253, so your shares will be represented at the Annual Meeting.  If you vote by internet, it is not necessary to return this proxy card.

Please fold and detach card at perforation before mailing.

XETA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

PROXY

This Proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the  manner directed herein by the undersigned shareholder. If no direction is made, this Proxy will be voted FOR the two following proposalsproposals..

The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR Items 1 and 2.

1.

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS:

Nominees:

(1) Ron B. Barber

(2) Donald T. Duke

(3) Robert D. Hisrich

(4) Jack R. Ingram

(5) Edward F. Keller

(6) Ronald L. Siegenthaler

o

FORall nominees listed above

o

WITHHOLD AUTHORITY

(except those specified in the space below)

for all nominees listed above

 

(INSTRUCTION:  To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee, write that nominee’s name on the line provided below.)PLEASE DATE, SIGN AND RETURN THE PROXY CARD PROMPTLY, USING THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.

2.

PROPOSAL TO RATIFY THE SELECTION OF TULLIUS TAYLOR SARTAIN & SARTAIN, LLP AS INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS FOR THE 2007 FISCAL YEAR.

 

o

FOR

o

AGAINST

o

ABSTAIN

3.

IN THEIR DISCRETION ON ANY OTHER MATTERS THAT MAY PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE MEETING

(CONTINUED ON REVERSE SIDE)