NEW YORK — Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, fired back at a prominent proxy advisory firm that critiqued the company’s executive pay plan and how it has handled an overseas bribery probe.

Earlier this week, Institutional Shareholder Services urged shareholders to vote against Wal-Mart’s executive compensation package and asked them to back a resolution for the appointment of an independent chairman. It also recommended shareholders vote against the re-election of some board members, citing the failure of the board to provide more information to shareholders about specific findings of an investigation into bribery outside the U.S.

In a federal filing, Wal-Mart said the ISS analysis “misconstrues the nature and operation of Wal-Mart’s executive compensation program.” Wal-Mart also said the ISS analysis is based on information provided by CtW Investment Group, a union-backed organization that has a long history of opposition to Wal-Mart.