Description
Atlantic Paper Products has gone through a number of recent changes as an organization. Strategically, the company took a step in the right direction by going public. However, this decision resulted in a number of issues such as higher audit fees, resource constraints, and a lack of control around data, systems, and users. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is overwhelmed with these issues and believes that the Chief Information Officer (CIO) needs to improve the situation by devoting more time to supporting Internal Audit. The CIO, on the other hand, has expressed his frustration with the current situation due to the ineffectiveness of the current IT infrastructure. He is having trouble getting the CFO to approve the purchase of new technologies that will improve compliance through automated system controls. The two are struggling to understand one another’s reasoning and perspective. Under tremendous financial pressure to keep costs under control and focus on financial performance, the CFO believes the CIO is just looking for “more toys” and the problem can be solved through better process discipline while the CIO believes the CFO is just “being cheap” and putting the company at risk by refusing to allocate the necessary budget. It is up to the board of directors to make the final decision. Can the CIO get the board of directors to understand the need to invest in new technology or will the board of directors side with the CFO that new technology is not the most effective use of company resources?
