6 things that should be in the CFO's budget -- not mine!

CIOs are from Venus. CFOs are from Mars. And nowhere is this more obvious than at budget time.

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5. Nothing

Some CIOs believe that with the pain of wearing the cost comes the pleasure of controlling the expense. After all, the hand that signs the cheques is the hand that runs the shop.

So it was for former senior VP and department head of SMBC Leasing & Finance, Arun Manansingh, whose responsibilities for the subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation included IT.

“My budgets contained everything I needed to run my department,” Manansingh says. “It was better that I had oversight over every line item.” Given that the bulk of Manansingh’s budget was spent running mission-critical operations in New York and London, why take the risk of letting a CFO anywhere near the money?

6. Pharmaceuticals?

Law-abiding CIOs might not know that Diazepam has anticonvulsant, hypnotic and sedative properties. It is commonly used for treating anxiety, insomnia, seizures, muscle spasms, and restless legs syndrome. Sound familiar?

Dematic CIO Allan Davies says his monthly Diazepam bill is the first thing he’d send back to the finance department. Davies notes that Diazepam can be administered as a suppository. He can think of no better way for a CFO to enjoy the occasional pill.

Now, lest you think CFOs know the cost of everything and the value of nothing, we’re giving the final word to former Queen front man Freddie Mercury. It is a little-known fact that Mercury studied accountancy before going on to become the greatest live performer of all time. Clearly a CFO trapped in the body of a rock god, Mercury once said: “We have no such thing as a budget anymore. We’re lavish to the bone.”