How Finance Can Partner with IT Without Having to Ask for “Better Data”

For years, the default handshake between finance and IT has sounded something like this:

Finance: “We need better data.”

IT: “Define better.”

And just like that, progress stalls.

Today, that loop no longer works. Why? Because artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerating complexity are raising expectations for finance. As Forward Finance makes clear, the chief financial officer (CFO) is stepping into a new role — becoming not just a steward but also a strategic integrator. That means the CFO is connecting systems, data, and decisions across the business.

If finance wants to lead, the partnership with IT must evolve at a structural level.

The real issue isn’t “better data.” It’s unclear ownership, inconsistent definitions, and a lack of shared operating models.

“Better Data” Is a Symptom, Not a Solution

In recent years, expectations on CFOs have multiplied. Many are still struggling to balance strategy with operational demands.

At the same time, the business is asking for more:

Faster forecasts
Real-time insights
AI-driven decisions
Audit-ready outputs

These expectations all depend on one thing: data that finance can trust.

But here’s the disconnect: Many organizations believe they’re ready for this shift — but their governance and operating models haven’t caught up.

That’s why simply asking IT for “better data” doesn’t fix anything. The ask often just creates more ambiguity. For example, teams are left asking a host of questions:

What does “better” mean — accuracy, timeliness, completeness?
Who owns the definition?
Who ensures consistency across systems?
Who is accountable when data drives a decision?

Until those questions are answered, every initiative becomes a rework loop.

Why Finance and IT Get Stuck (and Stay Stuck)

While not new, the friction between finance and IT is becoming more costly. Here’s what the research says:

72% of executives report a significant bad-data incident costing $500,000 or more
74% of CFOs say unified data and data-driven decisions are now critical to success

While the stakes are rising, the root causes remain familiar:

1. Different Languages

Finance defines value in business terms: key performance indicators (KPIs), materiality, forecasts.

IT manages systems: pipelines, lineage, architecture.

Both are right. Without a shared framework, however, they talk past each other.

2. Implied Ownership

Many organizations say finance and IT are aligned, but ownership is rarely explicit.

That lack of clarity shows up in various ways:

Duplicate metrics across systems
Conflicting definitions of the same KPI
Decisions based on “versions” of the truth

The problem? When something breaks, no one owns the outcome.

3. Governance That Doesn’t Scale

For reporting, informal alignment works.

It breaks under AI.

As AI scales across workflows, every inconsistency is amplified — introducing risk, rework, and lost confidence.

What Forward Finance Does Differently

Forward Finance entirely reframes the relationship. Instead of treating finance and IT as separate domains, Forward Finance treats them as a shared value engine.

At the center is a simple shift:

Finance defines what “right” looks like. IT ensures it’s consistently delivered at scale.

With the shift, partnership becomes operational and shows up in five key ways.

1. Start with Definitions, Not Data

The fastest way to get stuck is to start with systems.

The fastest way forward is to start with meaning.

High-performing organizations do one thing differently: They make finance accountable for defining business meaning, before IT touches the data.

How? They use clear definitions for specific data:

KPIs
Hierarchies
Materiality thresholds
What qualifies as “decision-ready” data

When these definitions are clear, IT can implement them consistently. When they aren’t clear, every report becomes a negotiation.

That type of strong finance–IT alignment makes it far more likely that organizations can trust their data.

2. Make Ownership Explicit (No More “Shared Accountability”)

“Shared accountability” sounds collaborative. In practice, it means no accountability.

Here’s a better model:

Finance owns meaning and decision accountability
IT owns data movement, control, and enforcement
Technology enforces governance by design

This model removes ambiguity and replaces handoffs with a contract.

As finance becomes more strategic, those benefits matter even more. Our research shows that investors now rank CFO competence as one of the top factors in investment decisions, second only to market opportunity.

That competence depends on confidence in the data behind decisions.

3. Build a Unified Data Layer (Not More Integrations)

More integrations don’t solve fragmentation. In fact, they often make it worse.

Forward Finance focuses on creating a unified layer that does the following:

Combines financial and operational data
Preserves lineage and context
Supports automation and AI at scale

This unity is critical because simply normalizing data can strip away the context that finance needs to interpret the data.

The goal is data that retains its financial meaning.

4. Shift From Reactive Fixes to Preventive Controls

In many organizations, data issues are discovered late — during reporting, audits, or close.

By then, the issues are expensive.

This reactive model doesn’t scale in an AI-driven environment, where errors can propagate instantly across workflows.

Instead, leading teams take the following preventative steps:

Embed controls earlier in the data pipeline
Automate validation and anomaly detection
Monitor data quality continuously

In other words, teams stop fixing outputs and start fixing the system upstream.

5. Co-Architect the Roadmap (Not Just Request Tickets)

Perhaps the biggest shift for finance and IT: finance stops acting as a customer of IT and becomes a co-designer.

Forward Finance organizations follow a clear roadmap:

Build a shared finance–IT roadmap
Prioritize use cases jointly
Align on constraints (speed vs. control, flexibility vs. standardization)

This roadmap is what turns IT from perceived blocker to solution broker.

Given finance’s expanding role, the shift is essential. Today, two-thirds of business leaders expect the CFO to become more important by 2035, driven largely by the ability to leverage data and technology.

That future depends on alignment today.

Stop Asking for Better Data and Start Designing Better Systems

“Better data” is a natural instinct, but it’s the wrong starting point.

The right approach is one that ensures the following:

Definitions are consistent
Ownership is clear
Governance is embedded
Data is transparently traceable

Better systems turn data from a bottleneck into an asset.

That change is urgently needed. Three-quarters of CFOs believe data will become their organization’s best asset by 2035, but many are already overwhelmed by data volume and complexity.

The Bottom Line: Partnership Is the Control Point

Finance doesn’t need to become IT.

IT doesn’t need to think like finance.

Both do, however, need a shared operating model with key features:

Data is the foundation
Governance is the control layer
Partnership is the multiplier

When finance and IT align on how data is defined, governed, and delivered, everything else accelerates: faster decisions, stronger confidence, and measurable returns.

Or said more simply:

Stop asking for better data.

Start building a system where “better” is already defined.

Read more about Forward Finance.