CFOs lack faith in CIOs and IT teams, survey shows

22.06.2011
National Harbor, Md. -- Increasingly, it's the chief financial officer (CFO) who has direct oversight of the IT department and IT-related spending, but it turns out the CFO has a low opinion of the CIO and the entire IT group.

That's according to a survey of 344 CFOs at North American companies involved in manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, energy, transportation and other fields. The survey, conducted by the professional organization in tandem with Gartner, sought to find out what CFOs think about use of information technology in their companies and the people who provide it. They weren't that happy.

According to the 2011 Gartner/FEI study, only about a quarter of the CFOs had confidence that their own IT organization "has the organizational and technical flexibility to respond to changing business priorities," or "is able to deliver against the enterprise/business unit strategy."

"Only 25% see the CIO as a key player in determining the business strategy," said Gartner analyst John Van Decker.

In addition, less than a quarter of the CFOs felt the IT department "delivers the technology innovation needed by the business," or that it "has the right mix of skilled people to meet business needs." And in the final act of disdain, only 18% of the CFOs said they thought "our IT service levels meet or exceed business expectations."