Any advice for a new CIO planning their first budget for IT? What tips do you have for securing the funding IT needs?

Find a way to make it clear that IT has two budgets, one for Run, and one for Build. The Run budget is non-negotiable, the Build budget should not need to be defended by IT, but rather by the businesses benefitting from projects and changes.

Link the cost to business goals and outcomes. Set aside some dollars for upskilling the staff. Look at the history of variance from planned to actual costs to cover for any unplanned work.

The IT budget should be aligned with the organization’s business goals. Identify the technology changes required to achieve these goals, and define priorities based on the expected short-term and long-term benefits.

For your first budget, I would follow what was done the previous year with any business driven changes that you need. Get your CFO on board, and as much of the exec team as you can before submitting it.

Not sure if this will help, but we're building our first formal IT budget this year, as well. Since we've never done this before, my goal was to create a baseline and map current spend rather than forecast with precision.
1. Establish Categories
-Start by organizing IT spend into clear buckets:
-Infrastructure & Network
-Software & Subscriptions
-Hardware Lifecycle (including warranties)
-Personnel (salaries, benefits)
-Professional Services & Managed Services
-ISP & Connectivity
-Security (audits, pen tests, NIST compliance)
-Training, Certifications, Conferences & Travel
-AI (separate line item—this is growing fast)
-Modernization & Strategic Initiatives (5-year view)
-Employee Innovation (we track ideas and implementation)

2. Map Current Spend
Work with accounting to pull 12 months of actuals and assign costs to each category. This gives us a rolling baseline to compare against.

3. Forecast Strategic Initiatives
Identify any major projects on the horizon (cloud migration, AI deployment, etc.) and estimate their costs by category. Tie each initiative to a business objective or risk mitigation. Some benefits are intangible—be ready to explain the "why" behind the spend.

4. Plan for Headcount
Coordinate with HR on turnover and hiring trends. Break down IT personnel costs into OPEX and CAPEX where applicable to support headcount forecasting.

5. Monitor IT Staff Ratio
Track IT headcount relative to total employees. This ratio helps justify staffing levels as the company grows.

6. Build a Living Budget
Use Excel (or similar) tied to Power BI. Track:
-Current year actuals
-Forecasted spend
-Variance

IT budgets flex. A 12-month forward and backward view helps leadership spot trends and understand why IT spend shifts.

7. Institutionalize the Process
Once the first draft is complete, propose quarterly IT budget reviews as part of leadership updates. Consider forming an IT Governance Group to help translate IT spending into business terms.

Remember, this first budget is more map than forecast. It sets the foundation to justify headcount, track trends, and explain IT's role in supporting company growth. And I wish this text box had rich text!