CFOs at Workday, Kickstarter and McKinsey on how finance and IT can get along

Can finance and IT get along? Yes, it’s possible. And the two teams can form partnerships that could help propel the company forward, especially in the age of tech transformations and AI.

In today’s uncertain environment, driving innovative growth means “technology probably becomes the number one source of productivity,” Eric Kutcher, senior partner and CFO at McKinsey & Company said during Fortune’s Emerging CFO virtual event on Wednesday, in partnership with Workday, a CFO Daily sponsor.

Kutcher was joined by Workday CFO Zane Rowe and Kickstarter CFO Sindy Wilson in a panel discussion where Fortune senior editor at large Geoff Colvin and I asked the finance chiefs what has worked for them in creating a beneficial partnership with IT.

Traditionally, CFOs were concerned with “How do you make sure that we are not overspending?” Kutcher explained. “And then you look at IT and say it is a major source of spend. I think there’s a natural clash that has just happened historically. And in many ways, it’s a good, healthy clash.”

However, the role of the CFO and partnership with the CTO or CIO is “profoundly different today,” he says. “If you look at the role of the CFO today, which in many ways is a core component, if not the strategic architect of an institution, you have to look at what the opportunities are around technology.” 

McKinsey conducted research on how CFOs rebrand themselves as innovation allies. And Kutcher explained how he positions himself in conversations about tech investments.

When he’s told, “We need to invest in X,” his response is typically, “That’s great, we should, absolutely,” Kutcher said. But there’s a follow-up question. “What number [on your priority list] is that for you as a leader?” And if it falls in their top five or six, or even 10, “I say, let’s assume we’re going to make that investment; now let’s look at all the things that fall below that line and force some reallocation,” he explained.

“It’s not about the dollar amount at that point,” he continued, “it is about, what can we do successfully? It’s about putting myself as their partner to help them get to a yes, through a variety of different mechanisms.”

As a result, “I think they view me as an enhancer and accelerant to our innovation more so than a blocker,” Kutcher said. 

He continued, “At some level, we all are burdened with incredible amounts of tech debt. I just think we’ve entered a potential time period going forward where that technical debt is going to be less of an inhibitor.”

At Kickstarter, Wilson has prioritized has prioritized “building a very strong trust relationship with my CTO,” she said. At least once a week, Wilson schedules time with her CTO. “I want myself and my team to be students of the functions that we support,” she said. “Getting an understanding of what capabilities we have, and the challenges, really helped to build trust and less friction-filled interactions.” Wilson also said she likes to be transparent about her decision-making process. 

“I’m an incrementalist,” she said. “I want to do a pilot test to have proof before making big investments.”

Rowe then explained his perspective as finance chief at Workday. “When your company is technology, I think the partnership is on an incredibly high level, because it’s part of your product,” he said. It’s essential for the finance team to spend a lot of time with their technology partners, Rowe said. “As a goal, you can identify opportunities together, think about prioritization, and think about what your mission is,” he said.

The CFOs agreed that one of the best ways to learn is from your peers. For example, Rowe’s accounting organization and the technology group recently worked together and presented him with several ideas and use cases for applying AI, he said.

“I am pretty bullish on opportunities around AI and finance,” Kutcher said. “The limited experiments we’ve already done with AI have created real opportunities for us to have better insight and be able to synthesize much faster.”

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Abhi Khandelwal was named SVP and CFO at IDEX Corporation (NYSE: IEX), effective Nov. 20. Khandelwal returns to IDEX where he served from 2010 to early 2020 in several financial roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as VP of finance operations, treasury and financial planning and analysis. He joins IDEX after serving as CFO of Multi-Color Corporation, since 2022. And, before that, as SVP and CFO for CIRCOR International.

Stephen Weiland was named CFO at Hyzon Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: HYZN) , effective Nov. 1. Most recently, Weiland served as CFO for Boom Supersonic where he was responsible for the supersonic aircraft manufacturer's financial and information technology functions. Before his role at Boom, Weiland worked at Caterpillar as a Division CFO for manufacturing and engineering, digital, and procurement divisions.

Big deal

Technology Transformation in Financial Crime Compliance, a new report by WorkFusion, an automation provider for banks and financial institutions, and Celent, a research and advisory firm, examines how organizations are using automation to increase efficiency and productivity.

Eighty-six percent of compliance, operations, risk and IT professionals at banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) surveyed said that over the next two years, they would increase spending on AI and machine learning. Through technology and digital transformation strategies, 46% have reduced workloads by more than 25%, according to the report. 

And 93% of respondents said that instead of using automation to reduce staff, they would focus that extra capacity on strategies to manage risk and grow the business. "AI isn't coming for your jobs, is the huge takeaway from this report," Adam Famularo, CEO of WorkFusion, said in a statement.

Going deeper

5 Questions to Get Your Project Team on the Same Page, a new report in Harvard Business Review, discusses how project success ultimately depends on maintaining project team alignment from inception to completion. That means a project manager must consistently realign the team throughout the project, according to the report. The author presents five questions every project manager should periodically ask their teams. 

Overheard

"Ted is a strategic leader with a strong track record of building and growing our client franchise, developing and retaining talent, allocating capital with sound risk management, and carrying forward our culture and values."

—Tom Glocer, lead director of Morgan Stanley's board, said in a statement on Wednesday regarding copresident Edward (Ted) Pick's appointment as the firm's CEO, effective January 1.