The Technology Function Must be Managed

Source: Accounting Today

L. Gary Boomer, of Boomer Consulting in Manhattan, Kansas, says

• The firm’s success can be profoundly and positively affected if the technology leader reports to the managing partner. CIO Magazine has addressed the value of this:
  • Technology leaders who report to the CFO spend more time on projects and less time on strategy.
  • Forty-one percent of technology leaders who report to CFOs are on the executive committee. Sixty-eight percent of those reporting to CEOs are on the executive committee.
  • Technology leaders who report to the CFO, rather than to the CEO, are more likely to express frustration in demonstrating the value of technology.
• When reporting to a “numbers” person, a technology leader will tend to focus on numbers rather than on the relationship between technology and the firm’s strategic goals.
• Technology leaders should be involved in strategy, not just in technology projects, regardless of the size of the firm.
• Technology leaders must have skills in:
  • Leadership.
  • Communications.
  • Marketing.
  • Project management.
  • Human resources.
  • Budgeting and cash flow.

From Accounting Today, January 8, 2007, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809. For the complete article, click on the following link: www.webcpa.com/current_issue.cfm?issuedate=2007-01-08&pub=ato, then select the January 8, 2007, article: Governance—a Strategic Advantage in Technology.