The Great Credit Squeeze has intensified the challenges faced by retail CFOs and other senior finance professionals. Already knee-deep in Sarbanes-Oxley requirements and battling the ill effects of reduced consumer spending, the nation’s financial meltdown has made their jobs even more taxing. Financial executives find themselves juggling liquidity issues, inventory reductions, employee layoffs and store closings.

There is a bit of consolation for this weary group of c-level executives: Median total compensation among CFOs at a select group of companies rose 7 percent last year, according to data compiled for STORES by Equilar, an information services firm that tracks executive and director compensation.

Aggregate compensation — the sum of all compensation for the 50 retail CFOs included in the data — was unchanged from 2007. The average total compensation is roughly $2.3 million; the average base salary is $508,789.

The CFOs included in the Equilar data all led public companies on STORES’ 2008 Top 100 Retailers list and filed proxy statements on or before May 22. The list provides an industry overview, though it is neither comprehensive nor a ranking of the highest-paid CFOs. To be included in the study, a CFO must have been in place for at least two full fiscal years.

According to Alexander Cwirko-Godycki, research manager at Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Equilar, retail CFOs fared better than their counterparts in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index. Among that group, median CFO pay fell 4 percent between 2007 and 2008, driven by a steep drop (-22.6 percent) in median cash bonus payouts.

Retail CFOs also fared better than retail CEOs, who experienced a 23 percent drop in median compensation and a 26 percent decline in average compensation (STORES, June 2009 Cover Story: “CEO Belt Tightening”).

What gave CFOs an edge in pay over the big boss? Cwirko-Godycki speculates that executives in this position may be more successful at maintaining or advancing their compensation as a result of the responsibilities added by Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements and the heightened sense of financial awareness that currently hangs over corporations.

“SOX resulted in nearly every aspect of financial accounting and reporting becoming more rigorous,” he says. “As time goes by, CFOs are applying SOX principles to areas such as operational and strategic risk. With a number of companies adding greater scrutiny to all aspects of risk, it’s broadening the job description of the CFO.”

Cwirko-Godycki also notes that more companies are looking to the CFO to help them navigate the financial storm. “The job is certainly more high-profile than it was just a few years back,” he says. “There was a time when the COO was typically the No. 2 executive in most public companies. We’re now seeing the CFO move into that spot. ”