The Voice of our Experts
IT Controlling: from support function
to strategic partner role

Interview with Richard Leclere, Senior Manager in IT Controlling at Primexis

IT Controlling has taken a decisive spot within organizations. As a true bridge between the Finance department and the Information Systems department, it brings the visibility that is necessary to manage budgets, secure technological investments, and assist with digital transformations. With the increase of IT projects and increased cost pressure, this expertise has become essential to ensure transparency and inform decision-making.

In this interview, Richard Leclere, Senior Manager in IT Controlling at Primexis, talks about the developments in the profession, the challenges IT departments are facing, and the concrete solutions implemented in the field.

What are your main assignments?

I am a Senior Manager in the Controlling team at Primexis. For the past 10 years, I have been assisting CFOs and CIOs in very different environments: organizational transformations, mergers, cloud migrations, digital project management, and structuring run-build models.

My role primarily consists of providing them with a reliable and shared view of their IT costs. This involves implementing methods and tools that make data readable and usable, allowing them to manage their budgets smoothly and make decisions that are aligned with the company’s strategy.

IT Controlling now plays a central role in companies. Why?

For a long time, IT Controlling was seen as a purely administrative function, focused on tracking IT spending. Today, the role has changed greatly.

The IT department now has significant budgets and is at the center of digital transformation. This involves much more demanding governance. Controlling is no longer just about recording costs; it translates data into understandable indicators, anticipates the financial impact of technological choices, and brings a clear vision of IT investments.

This is why we are no longer simply executing tasks. We have become true partners to IT departments and Finance departments, capable of helping them with decision-making and securing their budget trajectories.

What are the main challenges facing IT departments?

The challenges are often the same regardless of the size or sector of the company.

The first is lack of visibility. Senior management wants to know exactly where IT budgets are going, what falls under operations, what falls under projects, and how all of this creates value or not. Without the adapted management tools, the vision remains unclear.

The second difficulty lies in cost control. Every IT project automatically generates recurring expenses: licenses, maintenance, infrastructure, etc. If we don’t anticipate and monitor these items correctly, the budgets quickly get out of hand, and the company learns too late that the trajectory is unsustainable.

Finally, there is a real issue around accountability. Many IT teams do not necessarily have a clear view of their own costs. Giving them a simple, understandable, and shared overview truly changes the dynamic. They understand their budgetary challenges better and can manage their activity much more effectively.

Could you share an example of an assignment?

A recent case shows our approach well. At a post-merger client, the two entities were working on ERP systems that didn’t communicate with each other. The financial closing took about 20 days, involving numerous manual operations and a high risk of errors.

We took over IT management from the ground up. The first step was to review certain key indicators, specifically the distinction between run and build so that both teams could finally rely on the same definitions. This alignment simplified communication significantly.

We then built a unified Power BI reporting system, capable of consolidating data from both systems. Very quickly, this tool became their common standard. The IT department, finance, and management could finally share the same information at the same time.

The results were immediate:

• Closing reduced from 20 days to 5 days
• Reliable and automated data
• An IT department capable of presenting consolidated, factual, and readable information

This truly transformed the way the IT department was perceived within the organization.

How would you describe your approach with the client?

I can summarize my approach in two words: rigor and pedagogy.

Rigor because we work with sensitive data and our analyses must be flawless. An inaccuracy could have major consequences, so we must guarantee that our figures are reliable and our methods sound.

Pedagogy because it is essential to adapt your speech to your audience. IT teams don’t always have a finance background, and it’s not their job. Our role is to make the figures accessible, give meaning to the indicators, and help everyone understand the impact of their choices. When finance and IT share the same language, everything becomes smoother.

What is the Primexis team’s strength?

Our strength lies in combining business expertise and diverse profiles. There are 50 controllers at Primexis, including 10 experts in IT challenges. This gives us a real ability to adapt, whether we are assisting a large international group or a mid-cap company with highly operational difficulties or more strategic ones. We work in a wide variety of environments, such as reorganization, cloud migrations, or large-scale digital transformation projects.

Today, we are recognized as a trusted partner for IT and Finance departments, helping them manage their IT budgets with greater visibility, reliability, and efficiency.

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Would you like to control your IT costs better and strengthen collaboration between finance and information systems? Our IT Controlling experts can assist you with your transformation projects.

To learn more, check out our page dedicated to IT Controlling or contact us: contact@primexis.fr