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CFO Compensation, Severance Packages, and Cash Bonuses Rise in 2024

"Most CFOs are in the low- to mid-six-figure range for salary bands, with nearly three-quarters (73%) reporting they're set to earn between $201k-400k this year.... In 2021, 35% of CFOs said they earned between $151k-200k, a figure now reported by less than a quarter (17%). Instead, the number of CFOs earning over $250k has risen dramatically; 23% earn between $201k-250k and 22% earn $251k-300k. The most common salary band, between $301-400k, is earned by nearly three in 10 (28%) CFOs. In 2021, barely 10% received this type of compensation."

The CFO's Expanding Role in Corporate Health Benefits

"The pace of change in the employee health care benefit environment is rapidly broadening and deepening the CFO's role. CFOs influence four areas: managing costs, financing the program and transferring risk, examining private insurance exchanges and investing in workforce health programs. A close collaboration among HR, Benefits and Finance leaders is the key to creating -- and sustaining -- an effective health benefit program."

CFO Survey Shows Trends in Managing Financial Risks of Retirement and Benefits Programs (PDF)

"[Financial executives] show a growing awareness of, and interest in, DB plan liability transfer solutions, as well as increased interest in liability-driven investment (LDI) strategies for their DB plan portfolios.... Many ... perceive a trend toward employees extending their careers beyond historical retirement ages.... Controlling the employer's cost for company-provided healthcare benefits remains the number-one benefits priority[.]"

CFO Pay Trend Strong, but Slowing

"Median total compensation for chief financial officers in large U.S. companies grew almost 7% last year ... Last year's growth is down from the 8.7% increase in median total CFO compensation reported for 2011. While median salaries for CFOs grew 3.3% in 2012, cash bonuses declined slightly at the median (-1.3%) and median stock awards grew by 7.2%, down from just over 10% the prior year."

Broadcom CFO and CEO Indicted - Indictment Reveals Litany of Alleged Backdating Schemes

Excerpt: The former CFO and CEO of Broadcom Corporation have been indicted by a federal grand jury in California on securities fraud and conspiracy charges related to backdating stock options that caused the company to take a $2.2 billion write-down in 2007. The restatement is reported to be the largest accounting charge taken in connection with an options backdating case.

CFO Magazine Devotes an Entire Issue to Health Care, Retirement Plans, IT/Outsourcing, and Perks

Excerpt: CFO magazine has devoted many stories to the topic [of the cost of employee benefits], but because the problem has reached critical proportions, and because other research suggests that companies don't think they manage the problem well, we decided the time had come to devote an entire issue to the subject.

The CFO Perspective on Health: Cost of Health Benefits Is a Significant Concern (PDF)

18 pages. "Over two-thirds of CFOs view health benefit cost as a significant or very significant concern compared to other operating expenses.... Over a third of CFOs are not confident that long-term health benefit cost management strategies that require investment are saving money -- and 19% don't have enough information to say.... One third of respondents with fully insured plans are at least considering converting to a different funding mechanism."

The CFO Perspective on Health Care Costs (PDF)

13 pages. "[O]ver two-thirds of respondents (69%) indicate that health care costs are a significant concern -- including 16% who say they are a very significant concern. Respondents from the largest organizations (those with 5,000 or more employees) were the most likely to cite a high level of concern -- 85% say health care costs are a significant concern.... Only 39% of CFOs felt very or reasonably confident that the long -- term benefit cost management strategies being implemented are saving money, and nearly a fourth didn't feel they had enough information to say."

CFO Decision Making: Integrating Executive Benefits Into Employee Engagement

"The purpose and design of executive benefits should be different now because the world itself is different. But what do these differences look like and what steps should Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) be taking?"

Your CFO May Have a Few Questions about High-Cost Claims

"[1] What are you doing to proactively review and manage drug spending not just in your pharmacy plans, but also in your medical plans? [2] How effective are your clinical management programs? (Which specialty drugs present the biggest opportunity with better management? What is being done to promote the most effective site of care?) [3] When did the company last review the terms of its stop loss coverage? (The use of stop-loss is growing among employers of all sizes -- even the largest. Options to explore include stop-loss collectives and captive programs.)"