Overpaid? Who, Me?

Everyone is overpaid - except him, and me!

Two-thirds of chief financial officers say the average chief executive is overpaid, but only 25 percent say that's true of their company's own C.E.O.

A national survey by Grant Thornton, a major auditing firm, found that chief financial officers and senior comptrollers think that considering the total pay and benefits package, only 33 percent of chief executives were appropriately paid and 1 percent underpaid. That leaves the majority overpaid, in the view of the 688 financial officers surveyed.

That is except for their own companies, where 62 percent of the financial officers believe that their chief executive was paid appropriately. Only 25 percent said their boss was overpaid, and 14 percent said the top boss was underpaid.

Even so, more than half, or 55 percent, said they would like to move up to the top spot one day.

But they also felt -- by an overwhelming 83 percent -- that the positions of chief executive and board chairman should be separate, according to the survey, which was conducted in early and mid-September.

No reasons were specified, but in a hint of what goes on behind the scenes, the majority -- 70 percent -- of financial officers from public companies said that the Securities and Exchange Commission should strengthen its filing rules to require explanations for all company dismissals of auditors, for all auditor resignations, and in all instances in which the auditor chooses not to stand for reappointment.

Two-thirds of them also said that shareholders should have greater access to the proxy in order to nominate directors more easily. Some 94 percent said this access should be available to shareholders on line.

Elizabeth Olson