Higher CFO pay would leave some executives with another challenge: what to do with the bonanza. "Now I need to figure out how to give away all this money," says Chazen. "I want to arrange it so that when I die my hand opens up and the last quarter rolls out and into some charity's pocket."
Don Durfee is research editor of CFO.
Topping the CFO
Which finance executives have score the sharpest gains in pay?
One group of finance executives saw its pay rise more than any other last year, but it wasn't CFOs. It was controllers.
Between 2003 and 2005, the average base salary for corporate controllers rose 22 percent, from $151,500 to $184,300. Bonus and long-term incentive payments climbed even more sharply, by 37 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
It's a simple matter of supply and demand, says John Wilson, CEO of recruiting firm JC Wilson Associates. Still worried about the possibility of damaging accounting slipups, directors are pushing CFOs to hire the most qualified controllers they can find. Indeed, a recent survey of finance executives conducted by CFO Research Services (a division of CFO Publishing) and Ajilon finds that executives rate demand as stronger for controllers than for any of a CFO's other direct reports.
Controllers are in no greater supply today than they were five years ago, however. Given aggressive hiring by accounting firms, there may even be fewer.
"Controllers — especially the really good ones — are highly prized these days," says Wilson. "It's driven by the board's fear of surprises. As CFOs spend more time on strategy, directors want a strong controller as a second line of defense, knowing that the CFO won't be spending much time on green-eyeshade activities."
And as the numbers show, they're willing to pay to get one. — D.D.
| Controllers in Control How finance executives rate the demand for key specialties |
||||||
| Specialty | % rated as in highest demand | |||||
| Controllers | 27 | |||||
| Sarbox specialists | 21 | |||||
| Financial analysts | 20 | |||||
| Senior-level finance (CFOs, VP/finance) | 14 | |||||
| Internal auditors | 9 | |||||
| Clerical staff | 3 | |||||
| Temporary/seasonal support positions | 2 | |||||
| Source: CFO Research Services/Ajilon | ||||||
| The Highest-Paid CFOs With long-term incentive values up, CFOs are making more. |
|||||||||
| Executive/Company | Base Salary | Bonus | Total Cash Compensation | Gain on Option Exercise | Restricted Stock Grant Value | Long-term Incentive Payouts | Total Direct Compensation | Change from 2004 | |
| 1. | Stephen I. Chazen Occidental |
$720,000 | $1,200,000 | $1,920,000 | $18,065,254 | $10,494,520 | $2,274,898 | $32,754,672 | 39.0% |
| 2. | David A. Viniar Goldman Sachs |
$600,000 | $18,772,681 | $19,372,681 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $19,372,681 | 2.3% |
| 3. | Joel H. Rassman Toll Brothers |
$1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $15,386,033 | $0 | $0 | $17,386,033 | 423.9% |
| 4. | Samuel L. Molinaro Jr. Bear Stearns |
$200,000 | $15,563,000 | $15,763,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $15,763,000 | 15.7% |
| 5. | Charles L. Szews Oshkosh Truck |
$435,800 | $479,380 | $915,180 | $14,248,882 | $266,760 | $0 | $15,430,822 | 1,127.8% |
| 6. | Bruce E. Gross Lennar |
$600,000 | $1,595,000 | $2,195,000 | $5,596,604 | $3,798,900 | $0 | $11,590,504 | 519.8% |
| 7. | Sallie L. Krawcheck Citigroup |
$500,000 | $8,800,000 | $9,300,000 | $0 | $733,333 | $0 | $10,033,333 | NA* |
| 8. | Andy D. Bryant Intel |
$330,000 | $1,765,000 | $2,095,000 | $7,880,100 | $0 | $0 | $9,975,100 | 50.9% |
| 9. | Alan M. Bennett Aetna |
$550,000 | $540,000 | $1,090,000 | $7,539,678 | $0 | $952,200 | $9,581,878 | 179.8% |
| 10. | Alan W. Rutherford Crown Holdings |
$700,000 | $1,890,000 | $2,590,000 | $5,245,200 | $1,169,998 | $0 | $9,005,198 | 535.5% |
| 11. | Alvaro G. De Molina Bank of America |
$700,000 | $6,529,022 | $7,229,022 | $1,555,625 | $0 | $0 | $8,784,647 | 7.1% |
| 12. | Lawrence S. Smith Comcast |
$1,163,750 | $1,563,100 | $2,726,850 | $3,381,531 | $2,583,240 | $0 | $8,691,621 | -8.5% |
| 13. | Michael F. Devine III Coach |
$446,667 | $335,000 | $781,667 | $7,771,424 | $0 | $0 | $8,553,091 | 80.4% |
| 14. | Oscar Munoz CSX |
$546,513 | $835,313 | $1,381,826 | $0 | $0 | $7,125,980 | $8,507,806 | 861.3% |
| 15. | David F. Devoe News Corp. |
$2,603,750 | $5,778,000 | $8,381,750 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $8,381,750 | 80.6% |
| 16. | Thomas R. McDaniel Edison International |
$587,500 | $700,000 | $1,287,500 | $195,844 | $0 | $6,858,664 | $8,342,008 | NA* |
| 17. | James B. Flaws Corning |
$730,000 | $1,219,246 | $1,949,246 | $2,796,621 | $0 | $3,544,530 | $8,290,397 | 155.1% |
| 18. | Charles L. Atwood Harrah's Entertainment |
$922,115 | $1,700,000 | $2,622,115 | $5,667,159 | $0 | $0 | $8,289,274 | 319.5% |
| 19. | Henry C. Wolf Norfolk Southern |
$575,000 | $718,750 | $1,293,750 | $2,560,577 | $2,384,200 | $1,804,013 | $8,042,540 | 71.0% |
| 20. | Robert J. Bahash McGraw-Hill |
$779,000 | $1,045,000 | $1,824,000 | $4,657,255 | $0 | $1,552,532 | $8,033,787 | -8.9% |
| *New to position | |||||||||
Pay-Package Pieces
Reader Comments» Post a comment