It has been a year of changes in the boardrooms of the FTSE 100 companies but accountants still feature heavily among the chief executives of the country's largest companies. Our survey shows that 22 of the FTSE 100 CEOs have an accountancy qualification. This compares with 24 accountants in last year's survey but even so, accountants still represent the largest single professional group.

This year has shown that the role of chief executive is still a relatively precarious position. A record 14 of the CEOs in this year's sample were appointed to the post during the year. Some of the appointments followed the retirement of the previous CEO, but this year has been characterised by a number of high-profile boardroom coups and ejections.

Two accountant CEOs lost their jobs in high-profile circumstances during the year. Roger Holmes, CEO at Marks and Spencer, lost his position along with chairman Luc Vandevelde following Philip Green's bid for the retailer.

And Richard North left InterContinental Hotels when the company decided that it needed someone with different skills to take the organisation forward. In both cases, their departure was triggered by the non-executive directors.

Unfortunately, both instances led to suggestions that accountants did not hold the all-round business skills that were required to be in ultimate charge of a large organisation. The truth, though, is a little more complicated.

InterContinental's statement on Richard North's departure made it clear that the company was looking for a brand or franchise specialist to lead the company - financial skills no longer being the main priority now that the group has been demerged from Six Continents and restructured.

And Roger Holmes undoubtedly lost out over the shareholders' need to see a high-profile sector specialist in charge at M&S, a 'name' that could take on Philip Green. In some respects, Charles Allen, the CEO of ITV, is suffering under the same pressure, particularly since reports emerged that Greg Dyke would not say no if offered his job.

Gaining ground

Other accountants, though, have gained new ground in the FTSE boardrooms.

Philip Hampton, previously the finance director of Lloyds TSB, joined Sainsbury's as chairman during the summer following the departure of Sir Peter Davis. Davis had been in the firing line for several months from shareholders over his plans to transform the business. His settlement was a cash payment of £2.6m plus a reduced salary payment to the end of his contract in 2005.

One of the most controversial and public new CEO appointments during the year was that of James Murdoch at BSkyB. Chartered accountant Martin Stewart, the group's CFO, who had been one of the leading internal candidates for the top job, left BSkyB after the appointment to 'pursue other interests'.

The search for a new chief executive for 3i following the retirement of Brian Larcombe also hit the headlines when headhunters secured Philip Yea, former finance director of Diageo, when he was on the verge of signing for the same position with British Land. British Land eventually plumped for Stephen Hester.

Other notable changes at the top during the year include:

•   Matthew Barrett, who moved up from CEO to become chairman of Barclays on the retirement of Sir Peter Middleton. John Varley, previously the group's finance director, took over as CEO.

•   Paul Adams, previously managing director of BAT, was appointed CEO.

The previous CEO, Martin Broughton, joined the British Horseracing Board as chairman in March.

•   Denis Waxman took over as CEO of Hays plc when Colin Matthews joined Severn Trent.

•   Neil Carson took over at Johnson Matthey on the retirement of Chris Clark.

•   Francis Salway took over at Land Securities from Ian Henderson, who stepped down in July 2004.

•   Stefan Angwald took over at Rexam. The previous CEO, Rolf Borjesson, became non-executive chairman.

•   Alan Parker took over at Whitbread on David Thomas's retirement.

•   Niall Fitzgerald, chairman of Unilever, left the organisation to join Reuters as chairman.

ACCOUNTANCY ANNUAL FTSE 100 CHIEF EXECUTIVES SURVEY Company Chief executive Years Years Age Chart- Profession in with ered if not post comp- accoun any tant? 3i Group Philip Yea <1 <1 49 CIMA accountant Abbey Luqman Arnold 2 2 54 No Alliance & Leicester Richard Pym 2 12 55 ICAEW Alliance UniChem Stefano Pessina 3 7 63 No Engineer Allied Domecq Philip Bowman 5 6 52 ICAEW Amvescap1 Charles Brady 11 32 69 No Anglo CA American Tony Trahar 4 30 55 (SA) Antofagasta Antonio Luksic (chairman) 22 22 77 No Associated British Foods2 Peter Jackson 5 12 57 No AstraZeneca Sir Tom McKillop 5 5 61 No Pharmacist Aviva Richard Harvey 3 12 54 No Actuary BAA Mike Clasper 1 3 51 No Engineer BAE Systems Mike Turner 2 38 56 No Company secretary BG Group Frank Chapman 4 8 51 No Engineer BHP Billiton Charles Goodyear 1 5 46 AICPA BOC Group Tony Isaac 5 10 62 CIMA BP John Browne (Lord Browne of Madingley) 9 38 56 No Engineer BT Group Ben Verwaayen 2 3 52 No Barclays John Varley <1 22 48 No Boots Group Richard Baker 1 1 42 No British Airways Rod Eddington 4 4 54 No British American Tobacco Paul Adams <1 13 51 No British Land Co Stephen Hester <1 <1 43 No British Sky Broadcasting Group James Murdoch <1 1 31 No Bunzl Anthony Habgood (chairman) 8 13 57 No Management consultant Cable & Wireless Francesco Caio 1 1 46 No Management consultant Cadbury Schweppes Todd Stitzer 1 21 52 No Cairn Energy Bill Gammell 16 26 51 No Capita Group Paul Pindar 13 17 45 ICAEW Carnival3 Micky Arison 1 1 54 No Centrica Sir Roy Gardner 6 10 59 ICAEW Compass Group Michael Bailey 5 11 56 No Daily Mail & General Trust Charles Sinclair 15 29 56 ICAEW Diageo Paul Walsh 4 22 49 CIMA Dixons Group John Clare 10 18 54 No Emap Tom Moloney 1 23 45 No Enterprise Inns Ted Tuppen 13 13 52 ICAEW Exel John Allan 10 10 56 No Friends Provident Keith Satchell 7 18 53 No Actuary GUS John Peace 4 34 55 No Gallaher Group Nigel Northridge 4 28 48 No Glaxo- SmithKline Jean-Pierre Garnier 4 14 57 No Pharma- cologist HBOS James Crosby 3 10 48 No Actuary HSBC Holdings Stephen Green 1 22 55 No Hanson Alan Murray 2 16 51 CIMA Hays Denis Waxman <1 18 57 No Hilton Group David Michels 4 5 57 No ITV Charles Allen <1 13 47 CIMA Imperial Chemical Industries John McAdam 1 7 56 No Chemist Imperial Tobacco Group Gareth Davis 7 31 53 No Inter- Continental Hotels Group None (David Webster acting) Johnson Matthey Neil Carson <1 24 47 No Engineer Kingfisher Gerry Murphy 1 1 49 No Land Securities Group Francis Salway <1 4 46 No Legal & General Group David Prosser 13 16 60 No Actuary Liberty International David Fischel 3 19 46 ICAEW Lloyds TSB Group Eric Daniels 1 3 52 No Man Group Stanley Fink 4 17 47 ICAEW Marks & Spencer Group Stuart Rose <1 32 55 No mmO2 Peter Erskine 3 11 52 No Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets Sir Kenneth Morrison (chairman) 48 52 73 No National Grid Transco Roger Urwin 3 9 58 No Engineer Next Simon Wolfson 3 13 37 No Northern Rock Adam Applegarth 3 20 42 No Old Mutual Jim Sutcliffe 3 4 48 No Actuary Pearson Marjorie Scardino 7 7 57 No Lawyer Prudential Jonathan Bloomer 4 9 50 ICAEW Reckitt Benckiser Bart Becht 5 16 48 No Reed Elsevier Group plc Crispin Davis 5 5 55 No Rentokil Initial James Wilde 1 11 50 No Reuters Group Tom Glocer 3 11 44 No Lawyer Rexam Stefan Angwald <1 <1 54 No Rio Tinto Leigh Clifford 4 34 57 No Engineer Rolls- Royce Group Sir John Rose 8 20 52 No Royal & Sun Alliance Andy Haste 1 5 42 No Royal Bank of Scotland Sir Fred Goodwin 4 6 46 ICAS SABMiller Graham Mackay 5 26 55 No Sage Group Paul Walker 10 20 47 ICAEW Sainsbury (J) Justin King <1 <1 43 No Schroders Michael Dobson 3 3 52 No Scottish & Newcastle Tony Froggatt 1 1 55 No Scottish & Southern Energy Ian Marchant 2 12 43 ICAS Scottish Power Ian Russell 3 10 52 ICAS Severn Trent4 Robert Walker 4 5 59 No Management consultant Shell Transport & Trading Co none Shire Pharma- ceuticals Group Matthew Emmens 1 1 52 No Smith & Sir Christopher Nephew O'Donnell 7 16 58 No Engineer Smiths Keith Butler- Group Wheelhouse 8 8 58 No Standard Chartered Mervyn Davies 3 7 51 No Banker Tesco Sir Terence Leahy 7 25 48 No Tomkins Jim Nicol 2 2 50 No Unilever Patrick Cescau (chairman) <1 31 55 No United Utilities John Roberts 5 5 58 ACCA Also an engineer Vodafone Group Arun Sarin 1 9 50 No WPP Group Sir Martin Sorrell 18 18 59 No Whitbread Alan Parker <1 12 57 No William Hill David Harding 4 4 48 No Wolseley Charlie Banks 3 12 63 No Xstrata Mick Davis 3 3 46 CA (SA) Yell Group John Condron 4 31 54 No TOP DOGS

Accountancy lists the FTSE 100's elite group of accountant chief executives, starting with the best paid

1. STANLEY FINK, MAN GROUP

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £395,000

Bonus: £4,000,000

Total remuneration: £4,522,000

Known as the hedgemeister for his skillful way with complex investments

Stanley Fink, the ICAEW-qualified chief executive of hedge fund specialist Man Group, emerged not only as Britain's best paid accountant chief executive, but overall FTSE winner when a £4m bonus brought his total remuneration to £4.5m.

Fink, known as the hedgemeister for his skillful way with complex investments, was among those to get bonuses topping £1m. It is reckoned the 46-year-old is currently worth £92m, if past salaries and dividends, as well as a Swiss hotel he owns, are included.

Fink joined Man in 1987, becoming chief executive in 2000. He is seen as one of the architects of the company's move from a small commodities broking business to FTSE 100 status. Man's hedge funds are designed to bring in money for clients whether markets go up or down, making them one of the fastest growing - though controversial - assets in the City.

The group itself is one of Britain's oldest companies, having been started 220 years ago as a sugar broker. It even once supplied the Royal Navy's rum ration until the practice was stopped in 1970.

Fink has dismissed the notion that hedge funds are, like the dotcom boom, a flash in the pan and says they are now around 2% of the investment universe.

2. PHILIP BOWMAN, ALLIED DOMECQ

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £665,000

Bonus: £1,035,000

Total remuneration: £2,003,000

His association with the drinks business goes back to 1985

Coming in as number three accountant chief executive in terms of cash is Philip Bowman of Allied Domecq. Bowman, 51, has been in the top job since 1999, having joined a year earlier as finance director. His association with the drinks business goes back to 1985, when he joined Bass, becoming finance director, then chairman of Bass Taverns.

Bowman has had a globe-trotting career. Before Bass he worked in accountancy and venture development in Iran, Australia and the US. He also has a clutch of non-executive directorships, including BSky B and Burberry Group.

3. CHARLES GOODYEAR, BHP BILLITON

Institute: AICPA

Salary: £626,000

Bonus: £429,000

Total remuneration: £1,942,000

He presided over a doubling of profits in the second half of the year

Charles Goodyear, who came in as number two accountant chief executive, scooped a total pay package of nearly £2m as head of BHP Billiton, the world's largest diversified mining company. Goodyear, who qualified through the US AICPA, was appointed to his position in January 2003, replacing Brian Gilbertson who left after only six months because of differences with the board. He was previously BHP's chief development officer. Although City analyst had doubts at the time of Goodyear's appointment whether he could fill the chief executive's shoes, he presided over a doubling of profits in the second half of the year.

4. PAUL WALSH, DIAGEO

Institute: CIMA

Salary: £788,000

Bonus: £1,112,000

Total remuneration: £1,929,000

5. SIR FRED GOODWIN, ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

Institute: ICAS

Salary: £898,000

Bonus: £990,000

Total remuneration: £1,916,000

6. MICK DAVIS, XSTRATA

Institute: South Africa

Salary: £733,000

Bonus: £981,000

Total remuneration: £1,840,000

7. SIR ROY GARDNER, CENTRICA

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £768,000

Bonus: £662,000

Total remuneration: £1,480,000

8. TONY TRAHAR, ANGLO AMERICAN

Institute: South Africa

Salary: £729,000

Bonus: £563,000

Total remuneration: £1,424,000

9. TONY ISAAC, BOC GROUP

Institute: CIMA

Salary: £654,000

Bonus: £367,000

Total remuneration: £1,143,000

10. JONATHAN BLOOMER, PRUDENTIAL

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £760,000

Bonus: £306,000

Total remuneration: £1,109,000

11. IAN RUSSELL, SCOTTISH POWER

Institute: ICAS

Salary: £650,000

Bonus: £414,000

Total remuneration: £1,097,100

AND THE REST…

12. CHARLES ALLEN, ITV

Institute: CIMA

Salary: £963,000 (when chairman of Granada - figures for ITV n/a)

Total remuneration: £1,005,000

13. RICHARD PYM, ALLIANCE & LEICESTER

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £487,000

Bonus: £483,000

Total remuneration: £996,000

14. ALAN MURRAY, HANSON

Institute: CIMA

Salary: £560,000

Bonus: £279,000

Total remuneration: £940,000

15. JOHN ROBERT, UNITED UTILITIES

Institute: ACCA

Salary: £467,500

Bonus: £280,500

Total remuneration: £783,600

16. CHARLES SINCLAIR, DAILY MAIL & GENERAL TRUST

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £764,000

Bonus: -Total remuneration: £765,000

17. TED TUPPEN, ENTERPRISE INNS

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £400,000

Bonus: £200,000

Total remuneration: £720,000

18. PAUL WALKER, SAGE GROUP

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £420,000

Bonus: £252,000

Total remuneration: £693,000

19. IAN MARCHANT, SCOTTISH & SOUTHERN ENERGY

Institute: ICAS

Salary: £412,000

Bonus: £187,000

Total remuneration: £615,000

20. DAVID FISCHEL, LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £375,000

Bonus: £194,000

Total remuneration: £584,838

21. PAUL PINDAR, CAPITA GROUP

Institute: ICAEW

Salary: £283,857

Bonus: £166,800

Total remuneration: £464,524

22. PHILIP YEA, 3i

Institute: CIMA

Appointed July 2004

Salary: n/a.