Good morning. CFOs and chief info officers (CIOs) steer know-how to fulfill enterprise wants. That additionally means justifying giant AI investments. However in terms of measuring the advantages of AI investments, the 2 C-suite leaders are usually not on the identical web page.
A new report by KPMG reveals that greater than a 3rd (39%) of CFOs and 49% of CIOs think about the definition of know-how ROI to be a contentious space. The findings are based mostly on a survey of 102 CFOs and CIOs and their direct experiences.
Not solely do they disagree on ROI, but in addition about who holds major duty for AI and know-how investments. Fifty-nine % of CFOs declare this duty, whereas 61% of CIOs see it as their prerogative—a recipe for a possible energy wrestle.
The leaders even have totally different views on whether or not collaboration works. About 57% of CFOs assume collaboration can considerably enhance operational effectivity, in comparison with 37% of CIOs. And simply over half of CFOs imagine collaboration can improve danger administration, whereas solely 29% of CIOs agree.
“CFOs and CIOs need to collaborate to execute strategy and achieve goals,” Marcus Murph, KPMG U.S. head of know-how consulting, stated in a press release.
There are some CIOs who do see the worth of collaboration. For instance, my colleague John Kell not too long ago talked with Kim Anstett, the CIO at Trellix, who stated she met with each division on the cybersecurity supplier to debate potential makes use of for AI brokers.
They got here up with a large checklist—over 100. However Anstett performed a task in paring down the checklist and has begun just a few pilots of the know-how. “From a strategy perspective, initially we will limit the number of add-ons we purchase,” Anstett informed Kell. “We’re looking at it from a cost perspective.”
Nonetheless, CEOs and boards are putting CFOs on the heart of strategic AI investments, particularly if it’s large and expensive. Additionally, many firms are searching for tech-savvy finance expertise. Of the 1,000 job listings for CFOs in January 2025, 27% included AI within the job description, analysis by software program firm Datarails finds.
The continuing debate over the possession of enterprise transformation continues, in line with Sanjay Sehgal, KPMG U.S. advisory head of markets. “CIOs are focused on building and securing technology, and CFOs on leveraging the infrastructure to refine processes,” Sehgal stated in a press release. “Yet, both see themselves as responsible for driving business transformation.”
Open communication, growing a unified technique, and establishing a standard framework and clear definitions of how you can measure ROI, are amongst KPMG’s recommendations for CFOs and CIOs to see eye to eye.
What’s your perspective on the CFO-CIO dynamic? Ship me an electronic mail and let me know.
Have an excellent weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
