دانلود رایگان مقاله طراحی نتیجه گیری درست در تعیین معیار هزینه IT

Abstract

The use of managerial control ratios for benchmarking IT costs is widely accepted. This installment of Accounting Matters informs CIOs about IT managerial control ratios and the assumptions underlying the use of these ratios in IT cost benchmarking. Incorrect use of these ratios and violation of the assumptions can lead to faulty inferences and costly mistakes. This article proposes a technique for benchmarking IT costs to draw the right conclusions from the data.

7. Concluding remarks

Because of their simplicity, IT managerial control ratios are used extensively by practitioners to measure and compare organizational IT spending. Despite their popularity, there is often an insuffi- cient understanding ofthe ratios’ properties and the assumptions about them that are relied on in benchmarking IT costs. Our research shows frequent violations of all three assumptions. We do not suggest abandoning these ratios in totality; executives often do not have the time or necessary data for a more rigorous analysis of IT spending. Even recognizing the limitations identified here, these ratios, while imperfect, may be useful instruments; having some data to base an inference on may be better than having no data at all. However, users of these ratios are advised to: Use the median rather than the mean as a measure of the industry norm. Take into account the underlying probability distribution of IT managerial control ratios. Use regression as an alternative to estimating the industry norm and position of a company relative to the industry norm. Recognize there may be very valid reasons for even reliably measured deviations from industry or intra-company IT cost norms, and be prepared to defend them. Finally, obtaining a reliable estimate of a company’s ITcosts relative to the industry norm should only be viewed as a first step toward answering a more important question: Are these costs justified? As articulated by BlueCross BlueShield CIO Scott McGlaun (CIO Network, 2015): Most benchmarks lean toward cost analysis. This is necessary and productive for any business function executive to have his/her arms around an appropriate cost structure. However, this is only half the analysis. CIOs need to pivot from cost-only discussions to value-creation discussions. Re