Should the CIO report to the CFO?

If we are to believe "Optimize" the business technology magazine (link) the CIO has everything to gain from reporting to the CFO:

• The CIO can certainly have better access to budgets
• There is a generally better understanding and implementation of the SOX compliance recommendations
• The IT is "better aligned to the business goals and pro-actively matches the company goals rather than reacts on a day to day basis"

The article lets us then decide whether the CIO should report to the CFO.

All this is perfectly agreeable to me.

However, what the article fails to point out is that the CFO/CIO relationship is highly beneficial for certain configurations only, more specifically when the company is leaning for stability and optimizing its current operations rather launching into aggressive growth and expansion to new markets. When a company is mostly focused on acquiring market shares, having the business side constantly looking for new opportunities, being ready to discard one model for the next, tracking the sales, the customers data, having new model established back and forth, the CIO clearly needs to be as close as possible to the business side, its strategy, breath their air, excitment, understands their disappointments, needs, share their pulse.

While the CFO is certainly a central figure of any company, all this is best achieved by following closely the CEO, sharing his concerns and be ready support the objectives he sets.

"Should the CIO report to the CFO?..."

The rule of thumb is very easy; it all depends on where your company is leaning to:

• Stability, stucturing and streamlining operations will require a stronger relationship with the CFO.
• Aggressive growth, expansion will require to build a close link with the CEO.

It's easy to see what your company model is and make the right choice. "Should the CIO report to the CFO?" - As many things in this world... it depends! You probably know, by now, the answer...

Gilles Daquin at http://gillesdaquin.blogspot.com