IF YOU would like to know how much the top executives in the south are earning, there's now an easy way to find out.

It's called the Index of Directors' Remuneration and, for the first time ever, this intriguing list of names and numbers is freely available on-line, courtesy of CW Fellowes Chartered Accountants, a leading independent firm of business and tax advisers.

Just log on to www.cwfellowes.com, click on the Index of Directors' Remuneration.

The Index lists the highest paid executives of the top companies in the south, starting from the top and working down.

Compiled by Decision magazine, it shows each individual's total remuneration for the previous year, their name, job title and the company name.

Although the top earner comes in at £4,736,000, the Index does something to dispel the myth of fat cat directors in the south.

Out of the hundreds listed, only 23 individuals are paid more than £1m.

Just one of these is a woman, and 644 people listed earn over £100,000.

Of these, 46 per cent earn between £100,000 and £200,000. At the lower end of the index, earnings drop to around £35,000.

The website also features a second index, the Index of Directors' Pay by Company, which lists the top 500 companies in the south in alphabetical order and shows the remuneration of each company's highest paid director.

Bill Cuthbert of CW Fellowes, a business advisory firm based at Chandler's Ford, said: "The index is interesting, but the thing that really interests us is helping people to hang on to what they do earn.

"Most directors have very busy lives and tax planning is not high on their agenda. What we do is help them minimise their tax liabilities and protect their wealth, which means they can get on and enjoy life."

Meanwhile, it has emerged that directors at some of the country's biggest companies have awarded themselves pay rises worth more than six times than what their staff receive.

According to Incomes Data Services, an independent pay analyst, executive pay at Britain's top 350 biggest firms had risen 288 per cent over ten years.

A TO Z OF SOME OF THE SOUTH'S HIGHEST PAID DIRECTORS:

A - Alldays, Eastleigh, £462,000

B - BAE Systems, Farnborough, £750,000

C - Clipper Ventures, Southampton, £69,765

D - Dean & Dyball, Ringwood, £124,414

E - ExxonMobil Chemical, Fareham, £156,000

F - Food Brokers, Cosham, £1,333,000

G - G W Pharmaceuticals, Salisbury, £135,474

H - Hammer Group, Basingstoke, £186,892

I - IBM, Cosham, £296,000

J - Johnson Controls, Waterlooville, £239,000

K - Kenwood Appliances, Havant, £362,666

L - Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems, Havant, £189,000

M - Meridian Broadcasting, Southampton, £82,666

N - NetKonect Communications, Basingstoke, £412,510

O - Ottakar's, Salisbury, £171,000

P - P&O European Ferries (Portsmouth), Portsmouth, £170,422

R - Raymarine, Portsmouth, £245,077

S - Southampton Leisure Holdings, Southampton, £286,821

T - Travelbag, Alton, £227,000

U - UnumProvident, Dorking, £496,199

V - VT Group, Hedge End, £353,000

W - Watermark Group, Southampton, £250,842

X - Xyratex, Havant, £328,000

Y - Yeoman Group, Lymington, £219,000

Z - Zotefoams, Croydon, £119,599