One of the first questions I’m always asked is where technology business management should sit; within Tech or in Finance. Like most things, there no one correct answer. In a perfect world it wouldn’t matter as the two organizations would work closely together. However, years of anecdotal evidence suggests that it doesn’t really work that way. At most places, IT and Finance are two separate kingdoms; complaining about eachother. They have similar goals but different masters. That makes even common goals have different outcomes as people want to secure “credit” for the work.
My personal belief is that ITBM sits in technology but is accountable to Finance. A system of checks and balances really. The business manager must do just that; run the tech business. Finance must help in some functions, and provide oversight in others. A healthy tension if you will. If your finance function is only putting in accruals/entries and closing the books, they’ve missed the boat. If the tech side is just trying to push the crappy transactional work on Finance, it’s similarly wrong. If you are starting an org from scratch, start with the board or the customers. Who’s responsible for making sure technology meets its goals to these people. If it’s tech, TBM should sit there. If it’s Finance, put it there. But maintain the accountability in either case. That’s the important part. In fact, it’s the whole reason for the function. Without accountability, it’s just FYI work. FYI work is of limited value.