Viacom, Occidental Petroleum and Apple Top CFO Pay Report

Big is better when it comes to CFO’ing a company. That’s the immediate take-away from the recent CFO compensation survey from the Wall Street Journal and CapitalIQ. Google and Comcast weren’t far behind in the pay race, with each CFO topping out at over $20 million in annual pay.

Not too bad for a profession that some would consider the “Safety School” corner of business-related professions.

Median CFO pay is on the rise, jumping nearly 19% year over year. There’s a lot going into that increase—but at as any financial professional will tell you, the number one driver is an ever-increasing set of responsibilities.

Gone is the concept of bean-counting finance professionals staring in the rearview mirror to cross the T’s and dot the I’s on the annual report. These days, CFOs and everyone underneath them, are being called on for real-time intelligence on business execution and for projections on where the business is going.

New technology and better tools are driving that trend. Whether it’s NetSuite or Adaptive Planning or Intacct or one of the myriad other software suites out there, there’s an undeniable correlation between the move away from simple Excel sheet swapping, improved functionality and better pay. The modern CFO has the capability to be a true competitive advantage for a business.

Still, pay ain’t where it could be. CFOs typically see only a third of the pay of the CEO at the same company, the report shows.