For executive management: CEO and CFO
Why you should care about IT as CEO or CFO.
Because from around ten employees, IT helps decide how fast your company can grow, what it is worth and what it costs.
01 CEO
What does IT have to do with growth and company value?
IT helps decide whether a growth plan can be implemented on time and whether a review by investors or buyers ends without discounts.
- Pacenew locations, markets and products
- Valuedue diligence without discounts
- Customerssecurity evidence before signature
02 CFO
How does a CFO gain control over IT costs?
With an overview that assigns every IT item to a business purpose, an owner and a form of financing.
- Overviewall contracts in one place
- Controlapprovals in the decision log
- CAPEX and OPEXby exit horizon, not by habit
03 Financing logic
CAPEX or OPEX: what fits our financing?
There is no fixed rule. The choice depends on exit horizon, valuation logic, liquidity and type of investor.
In detail Four constellations, and what they depend on
In a valuation based on EBITDA multiples, running expense (OPEX) lowers EBITDA and thus tends to lower the multiple value, while capitalised investments (CAPEX) do not burden EBITDA directly. CAPEX, however, ties up liquidity, burdens free cash flow and creates assets with their own useful life, which a buyer shortly before an exit often does not pay for in full or writes down in the due diligence. IT must nevertheless meet the requirements of the business and remain robust, regardless of how it is financed.
Short exit horizon, exit-oriented investor
Tendency OPEX. Depends on: whether a buyer pays for the investment, the effect on EBITDA in the multiple, the lock-in an investment creates.
Short exit horizon, long-term oriented investor (e.g. family office without exit pressure)
Weigh up. Depends on: whether the platform carries beyond the exit date and who remains owner afterwards.
Long investment horizon, exit only planned in several years
Weigh up. Depends on: the valuation method at the actual exit date (multiple, free cash flow or asset value) and the condition of the assets at the sale.
Long investment horizon, long-term oriented investor
CAPEX negotiable. Depends on: liquidity, useful life of the platform, effect on free cash flow.
This assessment does not replace a conversation with your fiduciary or your finance director. It shows which questions need to be clarified before the decision.
04 Services
Which support fits your situation?
05 Formats
Watch, listen, take away.
The full version of this page: Full text as Markdown
FAQ Answers
Questions from executive management.
Why should a CEO care about IT?
Because beyond a certain size, IT helps decide how fast the company can grow and what it is worth. Whether new locations, markets or products launch on time, whether customer data is secure and whether a due diligence goes through without discounts depends on decisions that are otherwise taken without executive management.
Why should a CFO care about IT?
Because IT ties up money, generates running costs and carries risks that appear on no balance sheet until they materialise. The question of whether a solution is financed as an investment (CAPEX) or as running expense (OPEX) belongs to the financial strategy, not only to the purchasing department.
What does a situation picture give executive management?
One page on which goals, core processes, finances, stakeholders, obligations and today’s IT stand together. Executive management sees which IT supports which goal, where risks lie and which decision is due next.
Do we need a full-time CIO or CTO for this?
Not necessarily. Many growing companies need the leadership for a defined period: clarify the situation, set the direction, put the team and partners in place and then hand over. That is the core of an engagement as fractional CTO.
How does Ivo Schönberner report to executive management and the board of directors?
With decision papers instead of technical reports: occasion, options, costs, risks and recommendation, recorded in the decision log. The decision stays with executive management.
Should we plan IT as CAPEX or OPEX before an exit?
That depends on the exit horizon, the valuation logic and the type of investor, not on a fixed rule. With a short exit horizon, you avoid investments that a buyer often does not pay for and deliberately manage the effect on EBITDA, because a valuation based on multiples treats running expense differently from capitalised investments. With a long-term investor, CAPEX for a platform that carries over years is negotiable. The framework for this is set by the financial strategy, not by IT alone.
What is the difference between conformant and certified?
Conformant means that processes and evidence meet the requirements of a standard such as ISO 27001 or ISO 9001 in substance. Certified means that an external auditor has formally confirmed this. For internal steering, conformity can be enough, but in customers’ supplier assessments and security questionnaires a certificate often makes the difference as to whether a tender proceeds at all.
What is the situation in your executive team?
Thirty minutes, no presentation.
