Average US CFO pay jumps 16%, outpacing inflation

Dive Brief:

Average U.S. CFO salaries at small to medium-sized companies jumped 16% to about $224,000 (€217,000) this year from 2021, according to a survey from French fintech startup Spendesk. The robust increase outpaced inflation, which is near a 40-year high, as the consumer price index rose 8.5% in July compared with the same month last year.
Hikes in most country’s finance chief salaries failed to close the gap between U.S. and European payouts. Average earnings for CFOs in Germany in the same year-over-year period rose by 21% to $160,092 (€156,000), in France by 15% to $106,762 (€103,500) and in the U.K. by 1% to $167,110 (€162,000), Spendesk found.
Across borders, older CFOs and those at more established companies take home more than their counterparts. The average salary of CFOs aged 50-60 was the highest at $186,710 (€181,000) compared to $84,068 (€81,500) for CFOs aged 25-30. Meanwhile, finance leaders at companies founded 10 or more years ago earned almost double their counterparts at companies started two or less years prior.

Dive Insight:

The survey provides a snapshot of pay levels at small and medium-sized businesses and comes as CFOs at some of the biggest firms are getting multi-million bonuses and salary packages that dwarf the payouts at their more modestly-sized counterparts. Digital payments giant PayPal Holdings handed its new CFO Blake Jorgensen a $6 million new hire cash bonus earlier this month.

The Spendesk study was conducted in April and May among members of its CFO Connect community and results are based on responses from about 800 finance leaders, mainly in the U.S., U.K., Germany and France.

The findings also included data on pay levels across various roles in finance departments which showed “discrepancies between geographies, genders, and experience levels. While not surprising, these deserve attention from senior finance leadership,” the report states.

Overall, male finance professionals in unspecified roles earned about 13% more than their female counterparts with take-home pay for men averaging $120,172 ( €116,500) compared to $106,250 (€103,000) for women. The size of the gender pay gap varies according to roles, with salaries of men and women more closely aligned in such senior positions as vice president of finance and CFO, the study found.