The relationship between chief information officers (CIOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) is facing a little more stress than normal. Companies are grappling with the mounting costs and risks associated with technology investments, and the divide between these two executives is more evident as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into business operations. While AI promises to drive efficiency, it also brings a host of complexities: High initial costs, integration hurdles and unforeseen challenges. This further complicates the conversation between CIOs and CFOs.
As AI adoption accelerates, CFOs are more and more concerned about the hidden costs and scalability risks. These concerns are compounded by the global supply chain challenges and regulatory shifts, all of which put additional pressure on profit margins. This environment creates a unique opportunity for the CIO — especially for those who can speak both the language of technology and finance.
What is a Multilingual CIO?
A multilingual CIO is a professional who not only excels in technology but also fluently communicates with the finance and business teams. This role has evolved from managing IT infrastructure to becoming a translator of technical concepts into financial value. The CIO must articulate how technology investments, particularly in areas like AI, will drive business outcomes that are tangible to CFOs, such as improved efficiency, reduced operational costs or increased revenue.
The CIO’s job is no longer just about keeping the lights on; it is about using technology as a strategic lever to generate measurable business value. The multilingual CIO guides the organization by bridging the gap between tech innovation and financial pragmatism, ensuring that technology investments align with business goals and deliver clear returns.
CFO vs. CIO: Breaking the Language Barrier
Based on numerous conversations with the CFO within my organization and CFOs in various enterprises, it is clear that financial leaders prioritize three key factors: Profitability, long-term growth and operational efficiency. Every new tech investment raises a fundamental question for the CFO: How will this affect the bottom line? As AI overwhelms more enterprises’ infrastructures, CFOs are taking a hard look at its cost-effectiveness and potential for value creation.
The multilingual CIO plays a pivotal role in changing this narrative. By demonstrating the tangible, strategic business benefits of AI and other technological innovations, CIOs can show CFOs how these tools contribute directly to financial goals, such as optimizing resource utilization, improving employee productivity and ultimately reducing the cost of running the business. Closing this gap is essential for maximizing the return on existing and future technology investments.
At BlackLine, we make technology investment decisions through a cross-functional forum that includes both the CIO and the CFO. Buyers are expected to provide a clear return on investment (ROI) justification that allows CFOs to gain full visibility and have the option to play a role in the decision-making process.
Working With Sales Leaders
Sales leaders are always under pressure to meet their top-line goals and are slowly learning about the impact of emerging technologies like AI on their ability to meet those goals. Savvy leaders have proven that the use of technology combined with good data can produce consistent results. CIOs can find common ground with sales leaders quickly if they can speak their language and help with everyday challenges like inaccurate forecasting, pipeline quality, growing cost of sales and enabling their teams with new go-to-market (GTM) strategy.
Sales teams produce and consume a lot of content but still grapple with the challenge of rallying around a changing GTM strategy. Emerging technologies like AI can dramatically improve the process of onboarding new sales members while making knowledge easily accessible in real-time and in a conversational way. AI is helping sales teams identify the right prospects and create personalized campaigns for outreach. CIOs who can articulate the potential opportunity to their sales partners can create a meaningful and direct impact on their business.
At BlackLine, the CIO team works very closely with the CRO and chief marketing officer (CMO) teams and reviews their tech strategy and goals on a quarterly basis. This discussion allows all teams to constantly evaluate their technology investments while keeping them aligned with business needs.
Working With Other Technology Executives Across the Board
Every organization is different, and sometimes there are multiple technology executives with varying responsibilities that need alignment. For instance, technology organizations often have two technology-focused executives, where the CIO is responsible for leveraging technology for operational excellence within the enterprise, while the chief technology officer (CTO) focuses on the customer-facing side. It is particularly important to align on the selection and use of technology to avoid duplicate costs and to simplify the overall technology framework.
There are also opportunities to create win-win outcomes. For example, the BlackLine CIO team runs a ‘customer zero’ program that provides an opportunity for the CTO team to collect useful feedback by using internal teams as their first customer before launching products to their premium paid customers. The feedback from the program helps catch quality issues early, so customers don’t have to deal with them later.
Another example is tackling the AI sprawl within organizations. The rapid adoption of AI tools without proper governance can lead to fragmented systems, redundant investments and wasted resources. Here, the CIO and CTO must work hand-in-hand to establish a governance framework that ensures all AI investments align with the company’s broader strategic objectives. Forming a technology council with the CTO and other relevant executives is one model that brings key leaders together with cross-functional teams to assess and approve technology purchases based on clear ROI justifications.
Another important technology leader in every organization is the chief information security officer (CISO). One of the top goals for the CISO is to manage cyber risks and ensure compliance with policies and regulations. Although the CISO team is responsible for leading the cybersecurity charter, they often depend on other teams — including the CIO and CTO teams — to enforce those policies.
At BlackLine, the three of us present jointly at our Tech and Cyber Board Committee, ensuring that board members have a full view and appreciation of our end-to-end technology strategy. This alignment is also helping us roll out technology effectively within the organization while managing risks.
