The key for successfully controlling the IT spend at StarBev is the ongoing follow-up. On a monthly basis the actual spend is captured and tracked against budget.

A summary is presented on a one page financial scorecard. This balance scorecard is shared with all IT staff to ensure everyone understands the financial position. The balance scorecard is also presented to the senior executive team. There is only a single picture as far as IT spend goes.

Furthermore, on a quarterly basis an IT steering committee meets to discuss and prioritize the IT investments for the forthcoming quarter and remaining part of the year. This steering committee includes the senior leaders of the business, including the CEO, CFO together with CIO and Project Portfolio Director.

The IT steering committee reviews the business IT initiatives as well as how over- or under-spend in previous months will impact proposed future projects. The aim is to ensure that the total annual budget is adhered to.

The key lessons learned from implementing the cost control framework and managing the IT costs successfully at StarBev comes down to a few simple rules: