Business reporting for decision making: An integrated framework for Information Technology and Information Systems evaluation

In the last fifteen years Information Technology (I T) has changed dramatically the way of working and doing business. IT has changed how entire departments work and people live. For example Finance has been automated to sim plify strategic planning, better manage projects, automate payroll and incentive management , optimize cash management and make accounting closes more efficient. Human Resource sy stems are computerized to streamline recruiting, hiring, performance management and training. IT and Information Systems have also changed how companies communicate and transact with their customers and suppliers (i.e. CRM, SCM). Indeed, IT can be seen everywhere, but does ubiquity is equal to “value”? Researches and the trade press demonstrates that at least two over three IT projects fail to meet business goals. The former bursting of the Int ernet bubble, legislated standards such as Sarbanes-Oxley, IAS-IFRS, and high-profile ERP, SCM , and CRM project failures have created a permanent shift in how worldwide IT expenditure is being treated. As the economy changes, new ways to evaluate IT investments are needed. Traditional methodologies focused solely on cost, or those that merely take snapshots in time, are inadequate in today’s business climate. IT value depends on the value of data/info rmation treated along the whole enterprise. Ordinary capital budgeting methods used to evaluate infrastructure or industrial investments need to be integrated into a more complex approach/framework in order to capture this information value over the whole enterprise. The reporting practices presented in this paper are written to support businesses and their stakeholders understand the value of measuring IT and IS investment performance, and thereby take the first step towards developing the capability to manage, continuously improve, and con vert the value created from their IT investments into shareholder value and competitive advantage.