The most recent issue of Accounting Today features an article by Dan Zitting, the creator of ACL Workpapers and ACL’s Vice President of Product Management & Design discussing how audit departments can partner with their IT team as promoters of change when adopting cloud-based technology. Moving to the cloud is often associated as security threat – learn the many benefits of this technology and how to address the IT pain points for a smooth implementation.
Here’s an excerpt from Dan’s article, “Talking to IT About Cloud Technology”
In order to improve the process for everyone and create a situation in which the team carries an influential voice in implementing the right services, when approaching IT management, accounting and finance teams should consider these key pieces of advice.
1. First, engage the IT department early on. Inquire about where the IT team is in terms of integrating different cloud systems. Emphasize that you want to understand what the strategy is with regard to consolidating these different technologies and implementing them throughout the company. Be thoughtful with respect to that strategy when considering potential services.
2. Position the technology as valuable in achieving corporate objectives across all levels of the organization, not just for your department. Rather than viewing IT as a hurdle, approach your IT officer as a partner and advocate of the systems that will deliver value to the entire business and ultimately, make everyone more successful. In other words, think of those within the IT department as heroes to the organization and approach them in a corresponding manner.
3. Find an ally within the IT department that understands the required accounting, finance, or audit functionality well enough to see why the specific technology being requested is important. If you don’t have an advocate to thoroughly and correctly inform management of the need, the chance of management being immediately dismissive is much higher. Unfortunately, it is often the case that the IT point of contact will suggest continued use of a generic solution that doesn’t really solve the fundamental, strategic needs that led to the request for cloud technology in the first place.
Read the rest of Dan’s article in Accounting Today
What are your tips for generating IT support for adopting cloud-based technology?
