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Sometimes it’s the little things.
For example: As CFO, you probably make less money than your CEO. If your 2023 comp was anything like the median CFO’s, though, you can at least enjoy that your pay grew more than your boss’s did, proportionally speaking.
That’s based on a new report from CAP, the executive compensation consultancy, which compiled changes in CFO and CEO salaries, bonuses, and incentives in 2022 and 2023 at 132 public companies (median revenue: $14.6 billion).
How do changes in your 2023 comp stack up? It’s only human nature to want to compare, so we’ve listed out some of the report’s top findings for you.
Largely speaking. CFOs enjoyed bigger increases across the board. Total direct compensation grew 8% for CFOs and 5% for CEOs. Increases for both groups “were largely driven by higher long-term incentive awards,” which accelerated last year due to “competitive pressures to deliver market competitive pay.” Long-term incentives (LTIs)—which include stock options, time-basedstock awards, and performance plans—rose 11% for CFOs and 9% for CEOs. The incentives, which comprise 60% of CFO pay and 70% of CEO pay, have grown an average of 6% each year over the last decade.
All about that base. Nearly three-quarters of CFOs got a raise last year (72%), compared to just half of CEOs. That’s a slight drop from 2022, when 75% of CFOs got a raise and 56% of CEOs did. Among those who did get raises, the median CFO saw a 5% salary increase and CEOs got 4%. When you include those who didn’t get a raise, the median increase for CFOs was 4% and the median CEO got bubkes.
Bonus! At companies where operating income grew, CFOs’ bonuses increased 5%, compared to 2% for CEOs. The median bonuses paid out didn’t change from 2022 to 2023, though, and “bonus payouts were mostly aligned with company performance.” At companies where operating income fell in 2023, CEOs got punished a bit more than CFOs, with bonuses that fell 8% vs. 7% compared to 2022.
Of course, the caveat. Most CFOs still make about a third as much as their bosses, ranging between 30% and 34% over the past decade. Last year, the median CEO’s target bonus was 160% of their salary, while the median CFO’s target bonus was 100% of their salary. CEOs also tended to spend longer in their roles than CFOs: In 2023, the median chief executive had seven years under their belt, compared to five for the median CFO.
Enjoy it while you can. The good times will continue to roll in 2024, the CAP authors wrote, with overall pay increases remaining “in the high-single digits.” But nothing gold can stay—figuratively and, if you’re getting paid in gold bars, also literally. “We expect salary increases to level off,” the report said, “as companies navigate the current labor market.”