Chief financial officers (CFOs) play a key role in corporate technology strategies, according to a recent survey conducted by CFO Research Services in conjunction with IT services company Getronics. The survey reveals that 58% of the US and European CFOs questioned say they play an active role in IT, and 36% say that the IT department heads report directly to them. By contrast, 31% of IT directors reporting to the chief executive officer, and just 11% reporting to the chief operating officer.
Roger Whitehead of Getronics believes there has been a "sea-change" in the participation of CFOs in IT investment. Since IT is being used by a most organisations for financial planning, and is associated with cost-cutting and revenue generation, IT and finance are considered to be increasingly closely related functions, he says.
