Finance and IT often don't understand each other's needs, according to a Financial Director/IT Week survey commissioned by Unisys. But the results suggest both sides do agree on the importance of IT and that, if they can find a basis for evaluating systems, they can improve their communication.
A stereotyped relationship between the finance director and IT director goes something like this: the FD thinks the IT director wants to implement new systems because he has an unstrategic and unbusiness-like boys-with-toys attitude. The IT director thinks the FD refuses to provide the cash because he is technophobe, does not appreciate the intangible benefits that IT will bring the business and hasn’t opened his chequebook since the mid-1990s. Neither party talks to the other.
While these attitudes still exist in some far-flung corners of UK business, a new survey conducted by Unisys, in association with Financial Director and IT Week, reveals that the majority of FDs and IT managers appreciate IT is critical to a successful business. Moreover, both parties recognise that communication between the two departments is the key to successful implementation of technology and realisation of the benefits IT brings.
Full survey results including graphs and comment are available in PDF format here.
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