If you need a reason to start posting those socialist memes, this article should do the trick.

Deloitte has published its annual Executive Compensation Report, revealing the salaries of top executives in South Africa.

The report analyses the remuneration disclosures of execs from 250 JSE listed companies, ranging from top-tier groups to mid-tier and low-tier companies, over a period of seven years, showing how executive pay has shifted.

I reckon Discovery CEO Adrian Gore is probably up there with the top earners, considering his recent multi-million payday.

The amount of cash being dealt out to high ranking execs across the globe has come under fire, with South Africa singled out as “the most unequal country in the world”, reports BusinessTech.

The problem is the growing divide between those at the top of the company and the general workforce, where the former earn hundreds of times more than the latter.

According to Deloitte, its assessment of current trends around executive pay found that:

• Executive pay has generally been aligned with a company’s performance and creation of value for shareholders, however over the past year pay has been resilient while company performance has been mixed because of the economy;
• Large, multinational companies pay the most – but the assessment of 250-plus companies listed on the JSE shows that pay isn’t necessarily linked to company size or sector;
• Executive pay consistently outstrips inflation, though is trending towards being more attuned to inflation;
• The gap between CEOs and CFOs and other executives is large – and thus the conversation around executive pay levels should be mindful of that;
• Executives almost always receive performance bonuses, and they are typically between 1x and 3x the base salary;
• Shareholders are getting more involved with executive pay, and remuneration reports are becoming more detailed and transparent;
• Expressing total pay as a single figure (the Single Figure Standard) is being adopted as per the King IV business rules.

The report takes into account three figures with regards to remuneration – an executives total guaranteed package (salary and benefits), total annual compensation (total guaranteed package plus bonuses), and lastly, the total remuneration (total annual compensation plus the accrual in value of any long-term incentives).

Overall, the average CEO earns R8,6 million a year, while the average CFO takes home a total remuneration of R4,8 million.

The tables below show how much CEOs earn in South Africa:

The data shows that the average total remuneration for the top 25% of executives ranges from R8,9 million to R85,4 million, depending on the size of the company.

The middle range goes from R5,1 million to R40,9 million, depending on company size.

The bottom 25% earn significantly less, ranging between R3,4 million and R29,9 million.

That’s still more than my total earnings in the 10 years that I’ve been a contributing member of society.

Time to seize the means of production, comrades.

[source:businesstech]