PRNewswire-FirstCall
FLORHAM PARK, N.J.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF), the research affiliate of Financial Executives International (FEI), will launch today results of its first annual executive compensation study at FEI''s 2007 Summit in Boston.

The study examined the salaries, bonuses, long-term incentives and retirement benefits of over 1,800 financial executives, over half of which are CFOs. Notably, the survey was completed by the financial executives themselves, rather than human resources executives or executive search firm executives. Hereafter this study will be conducted on an annual basis to allow for year-to-year compensation comparisons.

"We are excited to release the 2007 Financial Executives Compensation Study, and believe that the results will serve as a valuable empirical benchmark for senior financial executives and Boards of Directors," said FEI CEO and President, Michael P. Cangemi. "By interviewing our members -- senior financial executives themselves -- we went directly to the source to provide data for this unique report."

SALARY: On average, the base salaries of public and private company CFOs were proportionate to the annual revenues of their employers.

  CFO Median Base Salary Ranges

                             Co.=<$25 mil.      Co.=>$ 10 bil.
            All               annual revenue     annual revenue

  Public    $251-275,000      $176-200,000       >$401,000
  Private   $176-200,000      $126-150,000       $301-350,000*

BONUSES: The study found that annual bonuses of public companies were proportionate to the annual revenues of their employers, and those of private company CFOs were somewhat proportionate.

  CFO Median Target Award (Percentage of Base Salaries)

             All indicating
             specific %
             target bonus      Co.=<$25 mil.      Co.=>$ 10 bil.
             award             annual revenue     annual revenue


  Public     41-50%            31-40%             91-100%
  Private    31-40%            21-30%             51-60%*

  * Note: Only one private company corporate CFO responded whose company had

          annual revenues of over $10 billion

"Financial executives will find the study to be a useful tool in benchmarking their own compensation," said FERF's Vice President, Research and Operations, Cheryl de Mesa Graziano. "Recognizing that salary and bonus alone do not paint a full compensation picture, we also examined other areas such as benefits and long-term incentives to compile a comprehensive body of information."

BEYOND THE PAYCHECK

The study explored the value and structure of pay packages in their entirety. Key statistics from areas additional to salary and bonus include:

  Retirement
  * A minority of respondents (21 percent) are eligible for their company's
    defined benefit plan
  * Even less (8 percent) have supplemental defined benefits or supplemental

    defined contribution plans (9 percent)
  * The majority (77 percent) are not entitled to receive additional monthly

    retirement benefits

  Long-term incentives
  * 23 percent receive cash-based awards (split between public and private
    companies)
  * 60 percent received stock-based awards

  Perks
  * Most popular perk is company car or car allowance (34 percent)
  * Least popular perk is housing or other living expenses (2 percent)

  Performance measures
  * Most common performance measures used to determine annual compensation
    were company and individual goals and objectives

    -- Company Goals/Objectives (86 percent of public company respondents)
    -- Individual Goals/Objectives (80 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 $129.00, visit the FERF bookstore online at http://www.ferf.org/bookstore

About FEI

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.fei.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

CONTACT: Kristen Crofoot, of FD for FEI, +1-212-850-5692,
kristen.crofoot@fd.com, or Chris Allen of FEI, +1-973-765-1058,
callen@fei.org

Web site: http://www.fei.org/
http://www.ferf.org/bookstore