Five Key Questions to Expect From Your Board- Valutrics

If you’re like most CIOs, you’re getting more face time with your corporate board than ever: Nearly three of five public company directors meet with their CIO at least twice annually, up from 48% in 2012, according to industry research. One-quarter meet with their CIO at every formal meeting, up from 18% in 2012. Among other IT issues, board members are interested in progress on analytics, social media, mobility and, of course, cyber-security. And they’re also keenly focused upon how well CIOs and their tech teams are collaborating with business to accomplish strategic, ROI-boosting goals. To help you prepare for these meetings in advance, we’ve adapted the following list of five questions that CIOs should expect, as summarized in a recent McKinsey Company report, titled “Five Questions Boards Should Ask about IT in a Digital World.” No, your board isn’t seeking to learn how to develop software or conduct threat analysis anytime soon. But it is interested in whether tech investment is directly translating to increased business cost efficiencies and functionality—at an implementation pace that matches today’s rapid market environment. “The questions impose discipline on the relationship between the board and the CIO,” according to the report. “They prompt directors and technology executives to have productive discussions about the function’s strategic direction and the technology initiatives that matter most, to ensure that the overall management structure required to realize those projects is in place, and to monitor and discuss the results in a way that everyone understands.”