The average basic salary for FDs has risen to £350,000, plus £225,000 in short-term, performance-related bonuses and other perks worth £30,000, according to this year's FD salary survey carried out by Accountancy Age's sister title Financial Director.

Seven FDs are in the million-pound bracket: Man Group's Peter Clarke (£1.73m); Vodafone's Ken Hydon (£1.33m); GSK's John Coombe (£1.33m); Diageo's Nick Rose (£1.26m); BP's John Buchanan (£1.15m); Reckitt Benckiser's Colin Day (£1.14m); and Unilever's Rudy Markham (£1.09m).

Two other FDs were within a whisker of the seven-figure mark: Amvescap's Robert McCullough - the UK's first million-pound FD two years ago - on £987,000 and Tesco's Andrew Higginson's on £974,000. Friends Provident FD Martin Jackson enjoyed the biggest rise of the year. His package jumped 69% to £365,000. But spare a thought for Sage's Paul Harrison. With a total pay package of £192,000, he was the lowest earning FD in the FTSE-100.