Amid a Changing Economy, Transparency in Executive Compensation Gains Focus

For years, company shareholders, investors, and employees have been demanding more transparency in compensation, leading to heightened examination of executive pay practices. Organizations face the challenge of balancing the creation of shareholder value with crafting compensation packages that attract and retain top senior leaders. This complexity is further compounded by economic uncertainties, talent shortages, and an increasing focus on sustainability. These elements must be weighed alongside the effectiveness of incentive programs aimed at rewarding executives for their contributions to organizational objectives, long-term success, and workforce resilience.

The BDO 600 examines compensation plans and pay levels of 600 mid-market public companies — a unique feature, as most compensation studies focus on much larger companies. The study is focused on CEO and CFO Compensation and includes comparisons by company size and industry.

Event

Month D, YYYY

City
Address

Download the Report

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

CEO and CFO Compensation

In fiscal year 2023, salary increases were more subdued compared to previous years, as post-pandemic pay hikes became more restrained and economic concerns resurfaced. According to our study, in fiscal year 2023:

Asset 139.png

CEO total direct compensation increased by an average of
4.2%


Asset 166.png

CEOs were paid
69% in equity and 31% in cash

Asset 369.png

CFO total direct compensation increased by an average of 
0.7%


Asset 141.png

CFOs were paid
62% in equity and 38% in cash

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Download the Full Report

Methodology

These reports focus on pay levels as reported in 2024 proxies, which include data between April 2023 and March 2024. While a snapshot in time, The BDO 600 Study can be a useful benchmarking resource to compare compensation practices to public companies in a similar industry and size range. For private companies planning to go public, these studies provide insight into the structure of public company executive compensation packages, which can vary greatly from that of a private company.

Looking for private company benchmarking data?
Check out BDO's 2023 Private Company Executive Compensation Survey Insights Report