CFOs at $100M+ companies earn ~55% more than CFOs at sub-$10M companies. Title-level averages mislead; always filter by revenue tier first.

Severance is concentrated at CFO level. VP and Director executives are largely unprotected. Boards should standardize provisions by title before a crisis.

Base-only comparisons understate the true package by 20-35%. Use TTC ($219K-$405K interquartile range) for all offer and retention analysis.

Geography is a significant secondary pay driver. Global compensation benchmarking must apply market-specific adjustments or it systematically misprices talent.

Executives who have held the CFO title multiple times dominate the senior market and are placed primarily via retained search and board networks.

CFO median annual equity value: $1M (75th: $3M). Equity grant size, not cash, is the primary long-term compensation differentiator at senior levels. Participation rate is important, but equity percentage (grant size) is the key variable.

Realized compensation is materially below headline TTC. Retention risk assessments must benchmark actual earnings, not plan-level targets.

Vesting mechanics are non-negotiable across the market. Executives should focus equity negotiations on grant size and annual refresh, not vesting structure.

Annual-only bonus creates cliff-edge retention risk in below-target years. Companies should evaluate semi-annual or milestone structures for high performers.

Realized compensation is materially below headline TTC. Retention risk assessments must benchmark actual earnings, not plan-level targets.