Should IT report to the CFO? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Director of IT in Software, 1,001 - 5,000 employees
I think IT organizations are increasingly moving and reporting to the CFO. We're a cost center and I think people are recognizing that through enabling technology there's opportunities for efficiency and cost savings. That's the same conversation that goes along with helping to develop a relationship with your CFO. When talking about technology, my expectation isn't that the CFO is going to understand the odds and ends of what the software deployment looks like. What he is going to understand is why it's important that we make investments in different tools. We look at our entire technology portfolio to help him gain insights into what we see as our core objectives for the company. But most importantly - and I say this to him often - is help me understand what the core company objectives are. If I don't understand what those are, I can't be effective or successful in my job because I'm going to be enabling the wrong people. If an objective is centered around growing revenue X percent, but I'm spending most of my time trying to understand what HR needs out of Salesforce, then those are misaligned objectives. We're never going to have success there. So I think that there's a huge benefit for IT to be under a CFO in that they really have a bird's eye view as most C-level executives do. But the CFO in particular has an important perspective on the roadmap, and where the company objectives fit in, and how to underlie that with the tools and technology to get us there.Senior Information Security Manager in Software, 501 - 1,000 employees
I’ve seen that where the organization lacks a CIO. And if it does, the CFO is the best worst place for IT to be under.With that, it a larger organization, there should be a dedicated CIO reporting to a COO/CTO/CEO.
Technology and Finance are two different domains. And they should be independent of each other.
Deputy Chief Engineer(Information Technology) in Energy and Utilities, 5,001 - 10,000 employees
Advantage: Investment will be more budget aligned.Disadvantage: May be challenging to come on the same page.
Head of Business Technology in Software, 201 - 500 employees
It depends. Typically, the CIO report into one of the C-level executives such as CEO, CFO or COO. Attaching the Deloitte report summarizes the findings. My experience shows if the CIO is working on strategic initiatives (innovation) must report into CEO, otherwise for tactical initiatives CFO is the next best choice. Remember CFO is cutting the checks for COO, CMO and other executives. He keeps the cost in control. So, the closer you are to the money the better leverage you will have in driving initiatives. https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/cio-insider-business-insights/trends-in-cio-reporting-structure.html
CIO in Energy and Utilities, 11 - 50 employees
I think it doesn't matter who you report to as long as you do do the job and contribute to the business.In my experience it is best to report to the CEO because it improves your chances of support and getting better business insights.
Chief Information Technology Officer in Finance (non-banking), 1,001 - 5,000 employees
Like everything, no two CFOs are alike and the drivers behind each one of them are different. For CFOs where IT is perceived as a cost-center, IT innovation, and possibly efficiency, would likely take a hit since the budgets are secondary in the corporate priorities. For CFOs with a holistic corporate view, they can become an empowering ally to provide support to visionary IT leads to improve processes and tools.Director in Manufacturing, 1,001 - 5,000 employees
No, the CIO should report to CEOIT will only be a cost if they report to CFO
Even if the business wishes to self fund a IT project for legitimate but difficult to quantify reasons it won’t be funded. I would never work under the CFO if it’s an option
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