Top executives with large pay packages may be worth the money, or at least that’s what a consulting firm found during a survey that was released today. Watson Wyatt Worldwide – a global consulting firm – found that total compensation for chief executives at the top 1,072 companies was a media $7.9 million. Interestingly, the survey also found that companies performing well averaged $10.5 million while those performing poorly averaged just $6 million. The survey is welcome news to executives who have faced harsh criticism from the media to the President.

“The evidence from this year’s study clearly indicates that most boards of directors are linking executive pay to financial performance, when pay is measured by its realizable value,” said global director of compensation consulting Ira Kay of Watson Wyatt. “Executives who deliver above average performance are earning significantly more than those who don’t deliver. And many executives are losing great amounts of wealth when their companies perform poorly. Both are shareholder-friendly outcomes.”