What's the difference between realised and reported CEO pay?

With company reporting season winding down, it’s worth considering the difference between reported and realised CEO pay and why ACSI monitors both.

The fixed pay a CEO receives for their work is ‘reported’ in their company annual report. ‘Realised pay’ is closer to what they actually take home during the reporting year. It includes any bonuses, exercising of options and vesting of shares under long term incentive schemes.

Statutory reporting of executive pay is designed to show the expense to the company, not the reward to the individual. By considering realised pay, investors can measure how the amounts flowing to executives compare to the return on their investments.

Below you’ll see the 10 highest-paid ASX100 CEOs on a realised-pay basis (excluding foreign-based company CEOs) - find out more in our most recent CEO pay in ASX200 companies research.

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