- Advertising, Metals Industries Saw Largest Salary Increases -
FLORHAM PARK, N.J., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial executives on
average reported nearly a 5% salary increase, according to a new study by
Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF), the research affiliate of
Financial Executives International (FEI). The second annual executive
compensation study, which provides a year-to-year comparison of
compensation for finance professionals, examined salaries, bonuses,
long-term incentives and retirement benefits of over 1,900 financial
executives from both public and private companies, of which nearly half
were CFOs. The findings were unveiled today at FEI's 2008 Summit in
Phoenix, Arizona.
"While the current economic conditions and market turmoil are likely to
impact the C-Suite this year, our results show that the salaries of the
overall financial professional group are still up," said FEI/FERF CEO and
President Michael P. Cangemi. "As an important benchmark, the Financial
Executives Compensation Survey is unique since it is completed by financial
executives themselves, and members of the financial community will be able
to utilize it as a tool to measure how their pay stacks up against their
peers'."
Salary & Bonuses
The estimated average salary increase of all respondents was 4.75%,
with public companies awarding the highest salary increases (4.96%). The
two industries with the highest reported salary increases were advertising
(8%) and metals (7.5%).
For the second year in a row, the base salaries of public and private
company CFOs were proportionate to the annual revenues of their employers.
However, median base salaries for public company CFOs with less than $25
million or over $5 billion in annual revenues are generally consistent or
slightly higher from the prior year. No public company CFOs from companies
with annual revenues of less than $25 million earned more than $400,000 per
year.
CFO Median Base Salary Ranges
All Co.=< $25 mil. Co.= >$ 5 bil.
annual revenue annual revenue
2008 2008 2008
Public $226,000 - 250,000 $201,000 - $225,000 >$401,000
Private $176,000 - 200,000 $151,000 - 175,000 No responses
from a company
of this size
With regard to bonuses, annual bonuses of private company CFOs were
lower than those of public company CFOs. Most bonus percentages for public
company CFOs fell within the range of 21-70%, while those of private
company CFOs fell within the range of 11-60%. The study also showed that
many public companies with annual revenues of $99 million or less received
discretionary bonuses.
Beyond the Paycheck
For the second year in a row, the trend indicates more specialized
technical and compliance-type responsibilities at public companies, which
include legal, purchasing, operations, investor relations, planning, M&A,
and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Additionally, private company respondents
reported more responsibility in the areas of treasury, tax, human
resources, administration and risk management/insurance than their public
company counterparts.
"As we all know, executive compensation is more than just salary, and
this study continues to examine the structure of pay packages in their
entirety," said Cheryl de Mesa Graziano, Vice President, Research and
Operations for FERF. "The results of this year's study showed decreases in
other compensation benefits, such as long-term and retirement incentives,
and we feel this helps to illustrate a complete and clearer picture of the
overall impact that the broader economy has on financial executives."
Key statistics from areas additional to salary and bonus include:
Retirement
-- The number of respondents eligible for their company's defined benefit
plan saw an overall increase from 2007
-- The overall number of supplemental retirement plans decreased from
2007.
-- A significant majority of respondents are not entitled to receive
additional monthly retirement benefits
Long-term incentives
-- 20.3 percent were eligible to receive cash-based long-term incentive
compensation (of those 43.6 percent were from public companies and 50.4
percent from private companies), a decrease from last year
-- Stock-based awards decreased from 2007, as many respondents noted that
their target award is based on a fixed number of shares or units
Perks
-- Most popular perk continues to be company car or car allowance
(29 percent of CFOs receive)
-- Least popular perk continues to be housing or other living expenses
(2 percent of CFOs receive)
Performance measures
-- Most common performance measures used to determine annual compensation
were company and individual goals and objectives
- Company Goals/Objectives (Nearly 79 percent of public company
respondents)
- Individual Goals/Objectives (75 percent of public company
respondents)
The report includes detailed tables of the base salary and annual bonus
for each major title, and is broken down further by company's annual
revenue and public or private status. To purchase the survey report for
$129, visit the FERF bookstore online at http://www.ferf.org/bookstore.
About FEI and FERF
Financial Executives International is the leading advocate for the
views of corporate financial management. Its 15,000 members hold
policy-making positions as chief financial officers, treasurers and
controllers. FEI enhances member professional development through peer
networking, career management services, conferences, teleconferences and
publications. Members participate in the activities of 85 chapters, 74 in
the U.S. and 11 in Canada. Visit http://www.financialexecutives.org for more
information.
Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) is the non-profit 501
(c)(3) research affiliate of FEI. FERF researchers identify key financial
issues and develop impartial, timely research reports to FEI members and
non-members alike, in a variety of publication formats.
SOURCE Financial Executives International
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Related links:
http://www.financialexecutives.org
CONTACT:
Nicole Madison of FD, +1-212-850-5647,
Nicole.Madison@fd.com; or Lili DeVita of FEI, +1-973-765-1021,
ldevita@financialexecutives.org
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