CFO/CIO Dynamics in Measuring ROI

Drinker Biddle teamed up with The CFO Alliance and the Society for Information Management (SIM) to bring together CFOs and CIOs to deliver a valuable breakfast event exploring CFO/CIO dynamics, the perspectives and priorities from each side, and the future of these roles working together.

CFOs and CIOs are both experiencing a diversification and increase of responsibility within their roles. Historically, finance and technology executives have had very different priorities. The CIO is tasked with maximizing the benefits of IT use, creating a cyber-security strategy, and staying ahead of the technology curve. On the other hand, the CFO is tasked with reducing risk without overspending, tracking ROI, managing exposures from data security incidents, and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders.

In order for CFOs and CIOs to optimize their effectiveness and confidence in decision making, they must work collaboratively on an overall technology strategy and tie their priorities together. By establishing transparency and bridging the gap between technology strategy and spend, CFOs and CIOs can drive innovation and performance within their companies like never before.

Drinker Biddle partner Ira Kalina framed our discussion on the CFO/CIO dynamics related to the following:

• The life cycle of an IT project;
• The 360º of the cloud;
• Risk management and defining what privacy means to you;
• The biggest “oops” in IT contracts;
• A case study measuring the ROI of IT projects -- The Graham Company; and
• The future of big data/analytics.