The answer depends on specific job responsibilities, corporate culture, definition of value, strategic mission, and business and personal ethics.

All ADMs struggle with balancing customer requirements and tight budgets--and most fail at it to some degree. For example, have you ever let a project continue because the sponsor carried political weight within the organization? Or, have you ever completed tasks to get the requester off your back? If you answer "yes" to either of these scenarios, then financial responsibility suffered.

ADMs who wish to gain authorization for medium or large projects must be able to show how the organization will benefit from the monetary investment. This is often a very difficult task. Mechanical financial projections such as capitol and operational cash flows, net present value, and other financial models require hard evidence to legitimize the numbers.

Some organizations rely upon the ADM for sole adherence to financial policies, while larger organizations may rely on the ADM for small or medium projects. In fact, it's rare when the ADM doesn't act as a checkpoint on financial spending; it's simply part of the job description.

Be strategic in spending
In order for you to do your job properly, you must review projects in light of their organizations' policies for financial governance.

For instance, consider whether the organization should pursue a project proposal with well defined and proven financial projects and return on investment. Be sure to remember that if the project doesn't align with corporate strategy, then its value diminishes. Should an automotive company develop a new line of SUVs if the corporate strategy is to focus on compact cars? No, because even though the SUVs could make money for the organization, the idea isn't in line with the company's long-term strategic goals.

Corporate culture greatly impacts financial governance. For instance, an organization that values investing in innovative research may be willing to give its IT department freedom to spend funds on leading-edge technology.

On the other hand, there are organizations in which one manager wields political control without regard for financial returns or strategic alignment. What is your responsibility in this environment? Politically astute ADMs will execute based on the squeakiest wheel principal. Unfortunately, this is risky when the finger pointing starts and the executives demand the decision makers' account for poor project performers. To keep from feeling like the scapegoat, ADMs often work on the frustrating CYA principal, documenting every interaction with management.

A question of ethics
Finally, deciding how to respond to project requests that are clearly poor financial performers or misaligned with the enterprise's strategic goals is an ethical issue. Do you: confront the sponsors, cancel the project, go to executive management? Though any course of action has its risks, if you do your homework (and the culture and mission of the organization supports the process), the requestor will feel the pressure to support their project.

Scott Withrow has more than 20 years of IT experience, including IT management, Web development management, and internal consulting application analysis.