Why is the CFO on the executive board and the CIO not?

Interesting session about why the CFO is usually on the executive board, and the CIO isn't. Why we should be, and what we should do about it.

Lot of comparison with the CFO :-). So, if someone in your organisation decided they didn't want to use the central finance system and went and opened a Swiss bank account, the CFO would soon stop them. So why do we let people do the same with IT? And why is there reluctance when we say we should have oversight of it all?

What should we do to improve our visibility and get our organisations to understand the strategic importance of IT?

Clarify and communicate business value of IT operations. Expand the CIOs operational responsibilities
Ensure that the CIO addresses full end to end business risks of IT and that the Board recognises their impact.
Expose total technology spend across whole enterprise including shadow IT. Show value of CIOs oversight of it all.
Communicate CIOs strategic value. Join major non IT projects. Talk about strategic impact of IT and digital revolution.
Build board members understanding and confidence about ambiguities and risks the CIO controls. Link digital business issues to enterprise success and survival
Assess and understand the issues. Build valued partner relationships with board members.
Use coaching, mentoring to identify personal development goals. Concentrate on business credibility. Demonstrate personal maturity in your enterprise. Build CEOs trust.

Really interesting session, and lead to lots of discussion afterwards with colleagues, about whether we really wanted to be on the Executive Board.



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