We Need to Improve Financial Management in IT Governance

by Robert J. Benson, Tom Bugnitz

We've recently spent considerable time in IT organizations in the US and in Latin America dealing with aspects of IT financial management. Through the Cutter Benchmark Review, we've also conducted studies for four years about IT budgeting (see "Linking IT Budgeting, Governance, and Value," Vol. 8, No. 7; "The IT Budget: The Centerpiece of IT Governance," Vol. 7, No. 8; and "IT Budgeting: A Management Perspective," Vol. 6, No. 8; take this year's survey, here). In all of this, we've come to understand that IT financial management, including budgeting and cost practices, is a very large and important component of IT governance.