The IT department has become an integral, indispensable part of organisations across all industries, and yet many companies struggle to quantify and evaluate their IT investments. Consumers are often lumped with Bills of IT that look complicated and often seem way out of control compared to their usage of the systems. Often the information is disparate and convoluted.

To get some clear answers from your CFO or CIO, you need to know what to ask.

Some of the more common questions that need clarification are:-

Manager: Where would you classify IT as an expense in terms of your department?

CFO: Right about at the very top of the pile.

Manager: For all that expense, do we get sufficient clarity of the services IT provides?

CFO: No we don’t. The data is too high level, and IT struggles to make it meaningful.

Manager: How about the cost of the IT services and their value?

CFO: Our IT costs are not visible, and they are not managed well. We have a team of great people however they struggle with our spreadsheet systems.

Manager: Can our team provide analytics and definitive insight into our IT investments?

CFO: Not to the extent we would like – it takes too long and we often have to hire outside consultants to get across the numbers.

Have you ever been on either side of this conversation?

So many C-level executives struggle to articulate their IT investments in business terms, even though it has become essential to do so.

Strangely, even though no other department is more deserving of a systematic approach than IT, the solution – IT financial management software is often overlooked and underutilised. Think about it – the Human Resources department has its own purpose-built system, Finance has its General Ledger system, and yet the IT department often has to try to exist with spreadsheets or very basic software not fit for purpose.

While spreadsheets can be useful for tracking specific projects, they are not sophisticated enough to deliver the information that a CFO may demand. With an IT Financial Management software system, you will be able to provide IT service costs fully integrated back to the General Ledger. Your IT team will be able to explain your company’s IT investments, produce clear and defensible Bill of IT and will be able to quickly identify and recommend areas for cost saving.

A ClearCost ITFM solution, which can be implemented within 90 days, will provide a cost and usage breakdown of each IT service, so you can see what – or who – drives your IT spend. You’ll be able to identify chargeback or showback of costs, and you’ll be able to reconcile your Budget and Actuals to support reforecasting. This saves money and valuable time.

When your IT team begin planning your budget for next year, you’ll have invaluable data at your fingertips. Imagine reviewing your year-on-year analysis and making projections for next year with absolute certainty?

In other words, once you implement your ClearCost IT financial management software system, you’ll finally be able to have in-depth conversations with your CFO that are meaningful and can deliver results.