CIOs and CFOs have to play nice if your company’s going to succeed, but it’s not always easy. This week’s Management Strategies story in Network World outlines the importance of harmony and what IT can do to ensure a happy relationship.

Our author says CIOs and CFOs have developed complicated relationships based on their changing roles in the enterprise. First, CFOs were the final say when it came to spending money on technology. Then, the late ’90s tech boom hit and CIOs were given blank checks. Now that we’re in the belt-tightening boom, CFOs once again have the upper-hand.

Here’s some advice for improving relations or maintaining harmony:

* Become more comfortable with financial lingo. Just as CFOs try to understand the technology and its impact on business, so should you grasp concepts such as ROI and total cost of ownership.

* Align your spending with business objectives. Gone are the days of buying technology because it’s cool first and possibly helpful, second. With eyes firmly on the bottom line, your proposed expenditures must further business objectives, streamline processes or save money, or they won’t make it off the page and into your server closet.

* Qualify and quantify IT spending. Account for every penny spent and why. You’ll spare the CFO the hassle of asking and you’ll appear as someone who is concerned for the company’s well-being, not just that of your department.

Check out this week’s Management Strategies story in its entirety for more ideas on how to keep a smooth relationship between IT and finance: http://www.nwfusion.com/careers/2003/0908man.html