Tools, skills to measure IT investment value lacking

Chief financial officers are increasingly concerned that their companies lack both tools and ability to determine the value and return on investment of technology, according to a new report released here.

Respondents to a survey conducted by Financial Executives Institute (FEI) and Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) said they recognised that IT's value was underestimated and that they needed to coordinate their technology and business strategies.

While 54 per cent of the 417 FEI-member CFOs who responded considered IT to be a core competency of the company, only 42 per cent have a strategic plan to deploy their IT resources, according to the survey findings.

IT was also designated as "very critical" among CFO respondents, for its role in the areas of prioritising technology investments (62 per cent); establishing and maintaining an effective dialogue between IT department and users (53 per cent); ensuring year 2000 systems compliance (50 per cent); and identifying the appropriate level of technology investment (50 per cent).