CIO CFO Alignment

CIO CFO alignment can be built on a partnership of business value, metrics, and governance. ...

... "So engage the CFO on a shared set of requirements and implementation actions. Then follow up with outcomes that can be tracked to common measures ... " ...

Via Baseline: CIO-CFO Partnership

Holistic Business Case

It's better to be more inclusive in defining project costs and benefits in the initiation process. Let the CFO understand your thought process and refine from there with finance's help, especially if the business is responsible for delivering benefits. ...

... "CFOs see [a project's] budget in [its] totality. There are a lot of other costs that sometimes get left out of the IT project pitch. " ...

Via ZDNet Asia: Gartner on Speaking CFO Language

CFO CIO Collaboration

How best to bridge the gap between CFO and CIO perspectives? Well-written business cases. Balance of tangible and business-relevant measures. A functioning governance process. Staffed governing council(s). A business-savvy IT strategic story. What else? ...

... "ROI doesn't always capture the true value of an IT project, but CFOs pretty much insist on some sort of ROI calculation. Suggesting other sorts of metrics that measure the full impact of a technology rollout might get the CFO in the CIO's corner. " ...

Via CIOZone Forum, Discussion Thread: Collaboration Mechanism across CIO/CTO/CFO

Make Business Case for Strategics

Load up your project portfolio with operational efficiency projects that deliver tangible returns. Always add a few strategic investments that speak directly to enabling important business strategies, where IT can support innovative business models or a differentiated position in the marketplace. Prove to the CFO that you understand the business. ...

... "If an IT project is neither simple nor fast, it may still get funding if you can show how it supports the enterprise’s top strategic goals. Use financial measures to make your case. " ...

Via SMART ENTERPRISE: Convince the CFO

Holistic Project Budget

Occupy the high ground and define a holistic set of project financials --- the benefits (tangible and intangible), the one-time costs, recurring costs, and potential investments in future to further scale the business capability, if appropriate. ...

... "There are few things more distressing to a CFO than being told up front about only part of the costs involved in a proposed project. " ...

Via CIO Australia: Get Your Budget Approved by the CFO

SaaS Projects Alternative

If capital investment is being curtailed at your enterprise, SaaS-enabled IT projects may be a model to keep some investments moving forward. SaaS tools can be funded through operating expenses, in a buy-by-the-drink model. This changes the profile of the project financials. ...

... "Software as a service is generally treated as a operating expense. CFOs don't need to go hat-in-hand to their banker and beg for money. " ...

Via Computerworld: Financing IT

References for Project Proposals

Checking references, reference visits, and other external benchmarks are helpful to demonstrating to your governance team that you have done your homework with regards to outside-in perspectives. ...

... "Use reference visits to similar organisations to reassure your management. Best of all, put them in touch with their peers such as CFOs in those other companies to see how they view virtualization. " ...

Via DaniWeb: Virtualization

Project Approvals: A Tasty Proposition

The CFO's perspective is valuable to properly positioning project proposals in the portfolio. ...

... "The most important thing a CIO could do is take their CFO out to lunch and find out what the CFO looks for when considering a project, he said. " ...

Via bMighty: Have You taken Your CFO Out to Lunch Yet?