Advanced technologies: essential tools for today's CFOs; The CFO of a software company argues in favor of providing comprehensive tools so that CFOs can do their jobs as they are expected to.

• Author: Parker, Don
• Position: FROM WHERE I SIT

In today's complex and intense organizations, the CFO is expected to participate as a full partner in the development and execution of company strategy by playing an active role in developing and executing those strategies. In such an environment, and unlike his or her predecessors in the same role, it is imperative for today's CFO to bring detailed business knowledge to the table.

But where does the CFO obtain such knowledge? And how does he or she determine the accuracy and validity of the information received?

The CFO needs a dependable source of information to draw upon when offering advice or making decisions. Nowadays, however, thanks to information technology, executives are bombarded with data and raw information from multiple sources. The flood of data generated by the various operational components of an organization often becomes overwhelming.

It is essential that this flood of data be managed and converted easily into usable business intelligence. Older generations of information technology are simply not geared for this task. When critical business information is stored in multiple databases spread across the enterprise, it becomes virtually impossible for executives to assemble the facts required for making sound business decisions in a timely manner.

Responsible and Accountable

It's true that not every executive decision requires a deep foundation of rock-solid information. But the decisions made by the CFO are unlike most other decisions made in the organization. Unlike top management of most other corporate functions (such as sales, marketing, production, customer service, human resources, etc.), the CFO lives with an ever-expanding set of rules and regulations, enforced by an alphabet soup of agencies at almost every level of government. As such, the CFO, like the CEO, is both responsible and accountable for his or her decisions.

Yet, despite their broad responsibilities and elevated roles in management, many finance chiefs are not properly equipped with the technology required to make informed decisions. Instead, they deal with multiple legacy systems and a host of error-prone manual processes. How can CFOs working under such conditions hope to guide or influence strategy?

Perhaps the more pressing question is: What prevents CFOs from advocating more strongly for the technology they need to accomplish their mission?

Part of the answer, no doubt, is that many feel uncomfortable when assuming the role of technology...