European executives enjoy pay boost in 2004, says Mercer’s

The base salaries of CFOs across most European countries have increased by more than 15% on average (in US dollar terms).according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting's latest Global Pay Summary 2004/2005. The head of finance and accounting or the head of sales and marketing are usually the highest paid heads of a function in an individual country, but in several countries - including the UK and Hong Kong - the head of information technology is the best paid function head. While there has been a relative increase in European executive pay, this can be partly attributed to the depreciation of the US dollar. Salaries of Swiss executives when converted into US dollars rose nearly 10% in 2004 solely as a result of the Swiss franc's appreciation. Salaries in the Euro zone rose by 9% last year due to changes in exchange rates.