The BDO 600 CEO and CFO Pay Study analyzed companies with annual revenues ranging from $25 million to $1 billion in eight different industries to determine how CEO and CFO pay have changed year-over-year.
According to the study, CEO compensation from 2013 to 2014 grew by a relatively small 0.7 percent, while CFO compensation increased by a larger 4.9 percent.
“CEO total compensation ($3,055,628) only grew by 0.7 % this year compared to a more robust 12.6% last year ($3,034,366). CFOs fared slightly better with a total compensation increase of 4.9% this year ($1,215,957), but still down from the 8.2% increase they enjoyed during the same period last year ($1,158,664),” the survey says.
Randy Ramirez, a senior director in the Global Employer Practice at BDO, explains that one possible reason for the rapid rise in CFO pay is that their companies have “increased responsibility placed on CFOs to leverage market momentum in order to realize a company’s financial vision.”
Pay levels by company size
The study found that CEOs at small-to-medium sized firms ($25 million to $325 million) had their pay decreased by 32 percent (CEO) and 22 percent (CFO) in 2014. That’s compared to 2013 when the smallest revenue range ($25 million to $325 million) increased by 39 percent (CEO) and 15 percent (CFO).
Compensation changes by industry
For both CEOs and CFOs, when it comes to change in total direct compensation, energy executives suffered the biggest drop, with CEO compensation falling by 23 percent and CFO salary dropping by 12 percent.
CEOs in healthcare were given massive 55 percent pay increases, while CFOs were awarded with a 34 percent increase in the same field.
The survey examined companies located in the energy, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, retail, and technology industries that are publicly traded. The survey includes proxy statements that were filed between May 15, 2014, and May 15, 2015.
This article was originally published on Business Insider. Copyright 2015.
