Optimizing the CIO and CFO Relationship

Earlier this year, I visited with Gina Mastanuono, CFO at ServiceNow, which provides a cloud  platform that helps companies manage digital workflows. As a former CIO, I recounted my early experiences to her about CFOs who were skeptical of new IT projects, and whose objections were a constant presence in budget funding meetings.

Mastanuono laughed. “That’s so old school!”

“Today, CFOs roles have changed significantly,” she said. “As CFOs, we recognize that we can’t just live in the financial world. We must be business strategists, capable of leading our organizations through a crisis like COVID, but also understanding how we will come out strong on the other side

It was a breath of fresh air to hear Mastanuono — yet in the back of my mind, I still wondered if it was really “old school” for CIOs to perceive the CFO as a project blocker and a skeptic.

Apparently, I’m not the only one.

“Ninety-six percent of survey respondents reported that CIO and CFO collaboration is critical to IT transformation success,” noted Anna-Lee Muck, an editor in chief for Dell who was reporting on a Dell survey. “However, a disheartening 89% cited significant barriers — ranging from outdated ideas about the role of CIOs to obsolete reporting structures — to this collaboration.”

Obsolete reporting structure is well understood Ways to Help CIOs and CFOs Calculate Cloud Costs and ROI

What Becomes of CFOs During Digital Transformation?

The Ever-Expanding List of C-Level Technology Positions