By Nancy Cooper

Today’s CIOs have a unique opportunity to help their enterprises thrive with new, mission-critical IT initiatives. But when it comes to obtaining funding for these projects, the rules of engagement have changed. The days when a CIO could sell an IT project to the CFO on its technical merits alone are long gone. CFOs now expect IT executives to be fully prepared to make the business case for all IT projects.

So what does it take for CIOs to convince CFOs that an IT initiative merits funding? Here are some ideas:

Speak the CFO’s Language: CIOs have always done a great job of describing how specific technologies are critical to the business, and this will continue to be important. But today’s CIOs also need to explain IT projects in terms a finance person can relate to. That means numbers. So whenever possible, CIOs should link technology initiatives to measurable numbers: dollars, headcount, market share and the like. The CFO will also want hard numbers to ensure that there’s a good return on investment.

Use the Right Metrics: Most CFOs will respond favorably to any of three metrics: cost control, regulatory compliance, and short returns on investment (ROI) that are accomplished through revenue growth. Also, CFOs prefer projects that have short time-to-benefit periods. If a project will take longer to achieve ROI, then the CIO will need to make a strong case showing that the project truly supports the business. Further, CIOs should consider using a “zero-based” approach to budgeting. Traditionally, CIOs have used incremental budgeting, in which they justify only increases over the previous year’s budget. By contrast, zero-based budgeting requires that all expenditures be approved, not just the year-to-year increases. Today, with so much less certainty about the economy, CFOs want these more thorough reviews of spending.

Support Top Business Goals: Know your company’s top strategic priorities. Then ensure that you can tie your proposed IT project to at least one of these priorities.

Build a Successful Track Record: CFOs like to work with people who repeatedly do what they say they’ll do, whether that’s meeting a budget and project deadline or achieving a stated goal. CIOs with favorable track records are credible, and CFOs are willing to bet on them. With that kind of relationship, organizations are more likely to reap the benefits of IT initiatives, discontinue those that are not beneficial, and invest in the right things.

Nancy Cooper is Executive VP and CFO at CA.