Thumbs down to IT investment

So it’s no longer true that nobody ever got sacked for buying IBM, but how is an FD supposed to resist pleas for the latest bit of gadgetry, or the latest grand scheme for serving up perfect information at the touch of a button?

However, evidence suggests FDs are as guilty of unproductive spending as their fellow executives. According to surveys by the IT Skills Forum, an organisation including many large businesses, 70% of IT users believe their investment has produced little in return. Members of accountants’ body CIMA revealed they don’t really believe they have got the right systems.

Plus, nearly two-thirds said their main financial software doesn’t provide the information they need.

The answer is clearly to spend more to build a better system.