CFOs need to get IT

CFOs and FDs have a vested interest in getting the IT investment right, says CEO, Gordon Lovell-Read.

Key Points

IT is an asset to be leveraged
The current economic crisis has put the investment under the spotlight
FDs are under pressure to make sure it delivers and adds value

The finance department’s interest in IT is not, of course, in the technology itself, but in the impact it can, and does, have on business performance. The impact will be skewed by the lenses that you look through:

1) IT is usually a big enough cost line to get attention;

2) In the majority of cases, IT reports into the most senior finance role;

3) IT spending in the left hand drives business productivity and innovation in the right hand;

4) There are usually financial systems that are key to compliance, planning, forecasting and results.

5) Often there are wider S&GA drivers across back office functions driving shared service thinking, of which one service is IT - and IT underpins all others.

Usually, IT lands in the lap of finance through organisational dynamics. Seldom does the finance executive have any real knowledge of IT itself and, more importantly, any real insight (or support) around the nuances of IT execs, their teams and their methods.

Finance Week will be looking through these lenses to explore how finance executives can get more out of their relationship with their IT executives and so drive some compelling business outcomes. We have teamed up with Gordon Lovell-Read, CEO of executive development firm CIODEVELOPMENT and a long term C-level advisor, to create a series of observations and interventions in this key area of influence.

Look out for our material over the coming weeks under the banner – Do CFOs get IT? - and become part of building our community to develop and explore this topic for business gain.