Establishing information strategy, architecture and processes Greater CFO contribution can improve organizational Chart 11: In which of the following areas do you think you need to make a bigger decision-making contribution? (Chart shows average ranking — a lower number means it was ranked more highly.) For CFOs and their teams, information is not only vital to internal and external Putting in place a more robust reporting, but also to their role as business partner and strategic advisor. information management strategy, 2.4 CFOs now play a key role in providing insight through analytics to drive architecture and processes decision-making. It is critical that the insights they provide are based on Determining where analytics can 2.5 accurate, timely data. add most value to the organization Despite being among the most important consumers of data and information, Cybersecurity management 2.5 only a minority of CFOs say that they make a significant or very significant Transitioning the IT function contribution to information strategy, architecture and processes (see Chart 10). into a digital world 2.6 Chart 10: How much of a contribution do you make to putting in place a more Closer alignment between the finance and IT strategies is sorely needed. robust information strategy, architecture and processes? Among the 652 CFOs we surveyed, 55% say that the finance and IT agendas Very significant contribution 16 are either significantly or completely aligned when it comes to data. But this leaves a sizable proportion for whom alignment is more limited (see Chart 12). Significant contribution 33 Chart 12: How would you rate the degree of alignment between the finance agenda and the business’s broader IT agenda on data? Average contribution 31 Completely aligned 17 Small contribution 16 Significantly aligned 38 No contribution at all 4 % Slightly aligned 32 0 10 20 30 40 CFOs recognize that they need to do more. Asked about where they think they Not very aligned 11 most need to make a bigger contribution, respondents point to information Not at all aligned 2 strategy as their number one priority (see Chart 11). % 0 10 20 30 40 Partnering for performance Part 3: the CFO and the CIO 24