The Relationship Between the Finance and Security Departments

Within a corporation there are many facets to interdepartmental communication.  The most interesting dynamic is the relationship between the finance and security departments.   Security departments don’t typically generate income, and as a result is looked upon differently when compared to other departments.  It's difficult to place a specific dollar value on what the security department is worth, when in reality the security department protects the entire company and the money invested in this department allows them to have the resources to achieve this goal.  In fact, some might say that security is not meant to generate income at all, it's meant to reduce losses.  Security is not simply an expense, there are ways that it can generate income, such as contracting their services to external clients.

Finance Benefits From Security

In its most generic form, the benefit that finance receives from security is protection.  When speaking in terms of network attacks, finance represents a significant target because most adversaries that attack a company are ultimately looking for a monetary gain.  They are all indirectly attacking the finance department in some way, shape or form.  In addition, finance has a strong influence on the business’ security culture.  Security compliance is a duty of all employees and they should exercise some level of caution in their daily activities.  The fact of the matter is that annual reviews and the employee's standing in a company are heavily based on their compliance with corporate guidelines. 

Security Benefits From Finance

Every department is given a budget for each fiscal year; however, that budget is not like a line of credit.  The use of the budget and requests that go outside of the typical requests need to have approval from the finance department.  These requests can be large in nature and the CFO (or approving body) has an entire company to consider when allocating funds to one group rather than another.  In cases with groups such as security, the finance department must look at it with an intangible asset point of view and consider their other benefits to the company as a whole when reviewing purchase requests and other financial needs.

Both of these entities need each other and it is important not just to them but to the C-Level management staff, to consider what their roles really are.  Security is an investment in the safety of the company overall and finance is meant to review and fund each group based on needs and other measurable metrics.  The key to remember is that security can't and shouldn't be measured like other groups and its benefits are measured differently than other groups.