Three-quarters of CFOs collaborating more with CIOs
Seventy-four percent of chief financial officers in Canada are collaborating more with their company’s chief information officers than they were three years ago, according to a Robert Half survey of 300 Canadian CFOs.
With technology an increasingly central part of organizations’ operations, C-suite collaboration has become standard procedure – especially between the finance and technology functions.
"Technology solutions and processes are now firmly integrated with, and vital to, the daily operations of today's organizations – particularly within the finance function, where areas such as data analysis, forecasting, and compliance rely heavily on IT support," David King, senior district president of Robert Half, said.
"Such an important, symbiotic relationship makes close communication and coordination between the CFO and CIO key to ensuring IT investments support the success of initiatives across the business."
The survey from the recruitment and HR consultancy found that tech investments and business system changes (49%) were the top collaboration areas for CFOs and CIOs, followed by staff technology training (44%) and digital transformation (42%). The survey also found that 39% of CFOs and CIOs were working together on cybersecurity initiatives.
According to Robert Half, there are three key advantages found in the close collaboration of finance and tech leaders at a company. One is the ability to make smarter IT investments, with CIO providing expert input on the best technology to achieve business goals, and the CFO offering financial and operational insights.
Second, collaboration can improve information security and compliance – obviously an important area in a rapidly digitizing context. Working together, the finance and tech departments can better coordinate and develop measure to address cyber risk and compliance demands, like GDPR.
Last, collaboration can help produce the right mix of technologies and processes to deliver accurate data – helping drive better decision-making for the business.
A collaborative culture, as opposed to one of sclerotic siloes, is probably a good bet for most organizations, in any case. "A good working relationship between leaders at the top is often reflected in a more aligned and effective approach by teams at all levels," added Deborah Bottineau, district president for Robert Half Technology.
"Encouraging staff to seek input across departments builds greater awareness of challenges and helps establish a collaborative culture where goals and big-picture strategies are consistently insightful, innovative, and successful."
