CFOs Don't Appreciate Technology, Top IT Executives Complain

ByDoug Bartholomew Only two out of five of the CIOs at major U.S. companies believe that their firm's CFO understands "very well" the reasons for IT spending, according to a recent survey of 100 senior IT executives. The survey, conducted by Comdisco Inc., a leading provider of business continuity services for technology users, also found that almost the same percentage of CIOs say that their CFO is "very supportive" of spending on IT. "What we're seeing in these findings is a lack of understanding among CFOs about what value their companies are deriving from IT spending," says Thomas Flohr, president of IT control and predictability solutions and global services sales at Comdisco, based in Rosemont, Ill. "It is important for CFOs to know why and how IT spending helps their organization. Successful companies have their CIOs and CFOs on the same page in terms of IT and its value, because that maximizes the strategic impact of a company's IT dollars." Despite these attitudes on the part of some CIOs toward their top financial executives, most top technology officers expect a spending increase in computer networking (58%), software (56%), hardware (46%), and IS staffing (48%).