Mapping Financial Data to Resource Cost Pools

Mapping financial data to TBM Cost Pools and Sub-Pools is a foundational step in building or expanding a TBM model. It enables accurate reporting, cost allocation, service costing, and prepares your model for showback or chargeback. Without well-documented mappings, the model cannot support business decisions or investment planning.

This page offers a step-by-step guide to map your organization’s Chart of Accounts (CoA) and General Ledger (GL) data to the TBM Cost Pool layer. It includes practical examples, public sector guidance, and can be executed using either TBM tools or spreadsheets. Visit the Use Cases page to explore what this mapping unlocks.

Key Concepts

Before initiating the mapping process, it’s important to understand the foundational elements involved in TBM cost modeling.

This is a structured list of all accounts used by an organization to classify financial transactions. Each account typically includes a unique identifier (account code), a name, and a description. The CoA categorizes expenses by type and is the primary reference point for identifying IT-relevant spend. For access and interpretation, contact your Corporate Finance or Accounting team or your ERP system administrator (e.g., Oracle, SAP).

The GL is the complete record of all financial transactions of an organization, and it uses the CoA to assign transactions to the appropriate accounts. Mapping to TBM begins with extracting and reviewing this data. This data is typically stored in your financial management system and managed by your Corporate Finance or Accounting team.

The TBM Taxonomy standardizes the way technology costs are classified and reported. The taxonomy includes several layers, including Cost Pools, Towers, and Solutions. This page focuses specifically on the Cost Pool layer. To access the taxonomy, refer to the official TBM Taxonomy v5.0 documentation.

Cost Pools are broad functional categories of IT spend (e.g., Staffing, Hardware, Software, Outside Services). Each Cost Pool contains multiple Sub-Pools that provide more granular classification. For example, the Staffing Cost Pool includes Sub-Pools such as Internal Labor, Internal Labor Capital, Staff Augmentation, Staff Augmentation Capital, and Other Operating. Mapping is done at the Sub-Pool level to ensure precision. Reference the Taxonomy definitions to understand the scope of each Sub-Pool.

In the U.S. federal government, a common Chart of Accounts is not used. Instead, agencies use Object Classes to categorize expenditures. These standardized codes define how spending is tracked and reported across agencies. Definitions for Object Classes are provided in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11. Federal TBM practitioners should consult their budget or finance teams to obtain the Object Class coding structures used within their agency.

Mapping is the process of aligning financial data (from GL and CoA) to the appropriate TBM Sub-Pools. This requires interpretation of account codes and descriptions, knowledge of how costs are used within the organization, and review of supporting documentation such as capitalization policies. Collaborate with IT Finance, Accounting, and your TBM Administrator for input.

Who Should Be Involved in Mapping

Your TBM team should lead the Cost Pool mapping process, as they own the model’s accuracy, execution, and stakeholder alignment. Key roles include the TBM Administrator, who handles the technical work of applying and refining mappings, and the TBM Manager, who ensures strategic alignment. See the Roles and Responsibilities page for details.

Supporting contributors may include:

  • IT Finance Analysts – Offer insights into IT financial structures and allocation logic.
  • Corporate Finance or Accounting – Provide CoA expertise, capitalization policies, and expense treatment history.
  • System Owners or BI Developers – Help with data access and automation.

In some organizations, these roles may reside outside the TBM team. Their input ensures mappings reflect both financial logic and operational reality.

Preparing for Mapping

Before assigning any mappings, gather the following resources:

  • A complete list of your Chart of Accounts or General Ledger entries
  • Account descriptions, usage patterns, and categorizations (e.g., CapEx/OpEx)
  • The latest TBM Taxonomy with Sub-Pool definitions
  • Any internal documentation on financial policies or accounting codes
  • A list of known IT cost centers, departments, or functions

Review all TBM Sub-Pools to understand the scope of each category, then familiarize yourself with the Account descriptions. This will allow you to match GL entries to the most appropriate sub-pool based on intent and financial treatment.

Quick Tip: When modeling labor, for instance, do not default all payroll entries to the “Staffing – Internal Labor” sub-pool. If labor is related to centralized services, the costs may belong in “Staffing – Other Operating.” If capitalizable labor is involved, such as for project-based work, it may be mapped to “Staffing – Internal Labor Capital” or “Staffing – Staff Augmentation Capital,” depending on the sourcing. Use HR and time tracking data to support the right classification.

Step-by-Step Mapping Process

Mapping the Chart of Accounts and General Ledger to TBM Cost Pools requires structured analysis, collaboration, and iteration. At its core, the process involves reviewing your Chart of Accounts, assigning each account to a TBM Sub-Pool, and applying that mapping to your General Ledger. The steps below provide a detailed framework to guide you through this work.

Step 1: Inventory and Clean the Data

Start the mapping process by acquiring your organization’s Chart of Accounts (CoA). The CoA provides a comprehensive, structured list of all account codes and descriptions used for financial reporting and is the preferred source for Cost Pool mapping. If a CoA extract is not available, you may substitute a high-level General Ledger (GL) extract that includes a complete list of unique accounts used in recent periods.

1.1 Extract the Chart of Accounts (Preferred)

What to Include:

  • All active financial accounts relevant to IT spending
  • Account codes, names, and descriptions
  • Any available categorization (e.g., account type, CapEx/OpEx classification)

Data Sources:
Request this file from your Corporate Finance or Accounting team or download from your financial system (e.g., Oracle, SAP, Workday).

Fallback Option – GL Extract:
If the CoA is unavailable, request a recent period GL extract with unique account entries. Ensure this extract contains account codes and descriptions used for IT spending.

1.2 Review Prior Mapping Files (if available)

What to Look For:

  • Historical mappings from earlier TBM or budgeting efforts
  • Internal categorizations used in reports, dashboards, or allocation models

Note: Use these only as reference points. Always validate against the current TBM Taxonomy and account usage.

1.3 Clean and Prepare the Dataset

Actions to Perform:

  • Remove irrelevant accounts (e.g., revenue, transfers, pass-throughs)
  • Eliminate duplicates if merging data from multiple sources
  • Standardize or clarify vague or truncated account descriptions

Goal:
Ensure the dataset is structured and complete enough to support keyword matching, metadata tagging, and peer review in subsequent steps.

Shadow IT refers to technology-related spending that occurs outside the formal IT department, often initiated by business units or functions purchasing software, hardware, or services independently. These costs are frequently embedded in non-IT cost centers and may be mislabeled in the GL (e.g., marketing software licenses appearing in the Marketing budget).

It may be prudent to begin mapping with the IT-owned portion of the GL, as it is typically better understood and easier to validate. Once this foundation is established, you can revisit Shadow IT entries with clearer reference points for accurate categorization.

To identify Shadow IT:

  • Look for keywords such as “SaaS,” “cloud,” “tech,” “subscription,” or vendor names associated with IT purchases (e.g., Salesforce, AWS, Microsoft, etc.)
  • Review non-IT departmental accounts for recurring technology expenses
  • Collaborate with Finance or Procurement to identify accounts where technology vendors are paid
  • Search for tech-related vendors in non-IT cost centers
  • Analyze PCard or T&E accounts for technology spend

Shadow IT costs should not be excluded. Keep them in your dataset and tag them separately for special review during the mapping process. These costs represent valid IT expenditures that should be tracked for transparency, cost control, and future showback or chargeback strategies.

Step 2. Tag Accounts with Key Classifications (Optional)

While optional, tagging your GL accounts with key classifications early in the mapping process adds significant long-term value. These tags clarify vague account titles, support downstream modeling (e.g., Tower mapping, allocation, showback), reduce rework, and enable smoother stakeholder validation.

Add metadata columns for the classifications below:

Review your organization’s capitalization policies, typically maintained by the Accounting or Corporate Finance team. Some GL systems include a CapEx/OpEx flag at the transaction level, allowing you to determine how each individual cost entry is treated. However, this flag is not always consistently available or populated. If such a flag is missing, you will need to assess how the account is generally used—many accounts consistently carry capital or operating expenses based on their purpose. Use account descriptions, past financial reporting, and consultation with your finance team to determine the dominant classification for each account.

Cross-reference the GL account or cost center with your organization’s cost center hierarchy or budget reports. The Finance team or your financial planning system (e.g., Oracle, Workday, SAP) can usually provide this mapping. This information helps distinguish centrally managed IT costs from those incurred by business units or Shadow IT.

Tag whether the spending is owned by IT or a non-IT department. This helps identify potential Shadow IT and clarify which costs are in scope for TBM. You can infer this using cost center mappings, budget ownership, or conversations with finance leads. For example, cloud subscriptions appearing under Marketing or HR may indicate Shadow IT.

Work with your Finance team or service costing lead to identify accounts linked to cross-charging, shared services, or internal billing. These are often associated with intercompany transfers, re-billable services, or cost centers flagged for internal recovery. Check for internal billing journals or reimbursement mechanisms within your ERP or billing platform.

Flag accounts that represent depreciation or amortization expenses. These are typically mapped to the Depreciation Sub-Pool and may follow consistent naming patterns (e.g., “depr,” “amort”). Consult accounting policies or your Finance team to confirm account treatment.

Classify cost behavior based on whether expenses remain stable over time (fixed) or fluctuate with usage or volume (variable). This distinction can support forecasting, planning, and unit cost analysis. Use historical spend trends, contractual terms, or cost driver analysis to inform classification.

Identify accounts related to AI tools, services, or infrastructure. This metadata tag can help surface AI-specific investments for cost analysis, especially as AI initiatives expand. Cross-reference account descriptions, vendor names, or project tags for identification.

These enrichments improve mapping accuracy, increase efficiency, and lay the groundwork for scalable TBM modeling.

Step 3: Generate Initial Mapping Suggestions Using Keywords

Use keyword-based pattern matching to accelerate the process of assigning Cost Pool and Sub-Pool values to the accounts documented in your Chart of Accounts. This step creates a suggested mapping layer that requires manual review but significantly reduces effort by pre-classifying obvious or repetitive entries.

3.1 Build a Keyword-to-Sub-Pool Lookup Table

  • Create a reference table that includes keywords or phrases found in account names or descriptions and their corresponding Cost Pool and Sub-Pool assignments.
  • Use past mappings, TBM documentation, and common terms (e.g., “contractor,” “license,” “colocation”) as the basis for this list.
  • Reference the TBM Taxonomy for accurate Cost Pool and Sub-Pool names and definitions.
Quick Tip: The TBM Council offers several keyword lookup tables to serve as starting points in your cost pool mapping journey. Download this file for mapping cost pools to your Chart of Accounts, and download this file for mapping OMB Object Classes to cost pools.

3.2 Scan Account Descriptions for Keyword Matches

  • Apply keyword logic to the account descriptions in your Chart of Accounts or GL extract.
  • Use Excel formulas, SQL scripts, or data transformation tools to identify rows where descriptions contain keywords from your lookup table.
  • Flag matched rows for suggested mapping.

3.3 Generate and Store Suggested Mappings

  • For each matched account, populate two new columns: Suggested Cost Pool and Suggested Sub-Pool, based on the keyword lookup table.
  • Leave unmatched rows blank or flag them for further manual review.
  • For each accepted mapping, document how the mapping was created (user review, keyword match, etc.) and your confidence in the mapping.
  • Optional: Add a Matched Keyword column for traceability.

3.4 Review and Adjust Keyword Sensitivity

  • Manually sample results to assess accuracy.
  • Adjust keyword specificity to avoid false positives (e.g., “consult” might match too broadly; consider using “consulting fees” instead).
  • Update your lookup table iteratively as new patterns emerge.

This keyword matching layer serves as a first pass—not a final decision. It enables rapid filtering and sets the stage for the more nuanced review and assignment process that follows.

Step 4: Review Suggested Mappings and Finalize Assignments

Once keyword-based suggestions have been generated, each entry must be manually reviewed to ensure accuracy. This review process is where final Cost Pool and Sub-Pool decisions are made and documented for future reference, auditability, and version control.

4.1 Prioritize Suggested Entries

  • Begin with GL accounts that have a Suggested Sub-Pool assignment from Step 3.
  • Use filters to isolate high-frequency accounts, high-dollar accounts, or areas with low confidence.

4.2 Validate Against Sub-Pool Definitions

  • Compare the Suggested Sub-Pool to the official definition in the TBM Taxonomy v5.0.
  • Read the full account description, and if available, review historical spend behavior, usage patterns, or departmental ownership.

4.3 Confirm or Revise Assignment

  • If the suggestion aligns with intent and financial treatment, confirm it as the assigned mapping.
  • If not, revise the assignment based on available data, institutional knowledge, or documentation.

4.4 Document Mapping Details

For each finalized mapping, add the following metadata to your mapping file:

  • Assigned Cost Pool and Assigned Sub-Pool
  • Source of Mapping – e.g., Keyword, Prior Mapping File, SME Input
  • Confidence Level – High / Medium / Low
  • Mapping Notes – Include rationale, caveats, known exceptions, or items requiring future review
  • Additional Field values if selected in step 2

This documentation is critical for building a trustworthy and maintainable TBM model. It also supports future audits, onboarding of new TBM personnel, and tracking model improvements over time.

Step 5: Assign Cost Pools and Sub-Pools to Remaining Accounts

After reviewing keyword-based suggestions, there will still be accounts in your Chart of Accounts that remain unclassified or require manual review. This step ensures full coverage of all IT-relevant CoA entries by assigning TBM classifications through structured analysis. If a CoA is unavailable, this process can also be applied to a cleaned extract of your General Ledger.

5.1 Filter for Unassigned Accounts

  • Use your mapping file to isolate any accounts without a final Sub-Pool assigned.
  • These entries may have been missed during keyword matching or excluded due to ambiguous descriptions.

5.2 Group Similar Accounts

  • Use account descriptions, numerical prefixes, or known departmental ownership to group similar entries.
  • For example, a cluster of accounts beginning with “64xx” may all relate to Facilities costs and can be reviewed together.

Making Sense of Account Code Structures

If you’re new to financial modeling or TBM implementation, the structure of your organization’s Chart of Accounts (CoA) can seem complex and opaque. However, understanding how account codes are structured is essential to accurately mapping General Ledger (GL) entries to TBM Cost Pools and Sub-Pools. This section demystifies the typical elements of account codes and provides examples to guide your analysis.

There is no universal standard for account numbering across organizations, but many follow similar hierarchical patterns. These patterns allow Finance teams to group, filter, and report on financial data efficiently—and they provide useful cues for TBM practitioners trying to interpret and classify IT expenses.

1. Account Categories (First Digit or Digits)

The first digit or group of digits usually indicates the major category of the transaction. These categories reflect high-level financial classifications, such as types of labor, services, or capital investments.

Example:

  • 6000–6099: External Labor
  • 6100–6199: Facilities & Power
  • 6200–6299: Hardware
  • 6300–6399: Internal Labor
  • 6400–6499: Other
  • 6500–6599: Outside Services
  • 6600–6699: Software
  • 6700–6799: Telecom

While your organization’s numbers may differ, understanding the logic behind this grouping will help you determine which major category a transaction falls into—and therefore which TBM Cost Pool it may belong to.

2. Subcategories (Middle Digits)

The next digits in the account number often provide further granularity by identifying subcategories within each major classification. This is where financial data begins to provide more specific guidance on how funds are used.

Example:

  • 601x: External Labor – Capital
  • 602x: External Labor – Expense
  • 610x: Facilities & Power – Capital
  • 611x: Facilities & Power – Depreciation & Amortization
  • 621x: Hardware – Depreciation
  • 661x: Software – SaaS Licenses
  • 662x: Software – On-Premises

These subcategories can indicate whether a cost is capital or operating in nature, or help distinguish between different types of tools and services.

3. Detailed Accounts (Final Digits)

The final digits typically pinpoint the exact account or purpose of the transaction. These are the most granular level of account classification and are where you can often find the detail necessary to assign the transaction to the correct TBM Sub-Pool.

Example:

  • 6010: External Labor – Capital
  • 6011: External Labor – Capital – Contractors
  • 6100: Facilities & Power – Capital
  • 6101: Facilities & Power – Capital – Leasehold Improvements
  • 6623: Software – On-Premises – Maintenance
  • 6502: Outside Services – Technical Consulting

When reviewing your CoA, use the structure of these codes to inform your decisions. Start with broad category recognition, then narrow down through subcategory and detail levels until you can confidently assign a TBM Sub-Pool.

Tip: Your Finance team may have a reference document or mapping logic that describes the hierarchy of account codes. Ask for this documentation—it can save you significant time and improve your mapping accuracy.

By understanding these structural elements, TBM Administrators can more confidently interpret the CoA and perform more accurate and defensible mappings to TBM Cost Pools.

5.3 Reference All Available Inputs

For each unassigned account, draw from the following sources:

  • TBM Taxonomy v5.0 definitions and examples
  • Account descriptions and historical use
  • Capitalization policies for CapEx/OpEx classification
  • Internal financial documentation for category alignment
  • Department or cost center tags for ownership and function
  • Prior mapping files or internal budget frameworks, where available

5.4 Assign Mapping and Complete Metadata

For each account:

  • Assign a Cost Pool and Sub-Pool
  • Document the source of the mapping decision (e.g., SME review, budget doc, logical inference)
  • Record confidence level
  • Note any exceptions, caveats, or assumptions
  • Populate additional metadata fields selected in step 2
Quick Tip: If you encounter accounts that seem to blend categories (e.g., “cloud subscription and services”), flag them for split allocation or further analysis later in the modeling process.

Step 6: Validate Mappings with Stakeholders

Validation ensures that your Cost Pool and Sub-Pool assignments are accurate, well-documented, and agreed upon by the right stakeholders. This step helps catch errors, resolve ambiguities, and improve model credibility before proceeding to implementation.

6.1 Schedule a Review Session with Key Stakeholders

Invite representatives from:

  • TBM Office/Administrator (mapping lead)
  • TBM Program Executive Sponsor
  • Corporate Finance or Accounting
  • IT Finance Analysts
  • System Owners or Data Architects (if technical integration questions arise)

Ensure participants have access to:

  • The mapping file
  • The TBM Taxonomy v5.0
  • Any documented assumptions or rationale

6.2 Present Mapping Logic and Edge Cases

Walk through:

  • Your overall mapping approach
  • Any split mappings or blended accounts
  • High-risk or ambiguous accounts
  • Examples of keyword-matched assignments and manually validated entries

6.3 Incorporate Stakeholder Feedback

  • Adjust mappings as needed based on expert input
  • Revisit confidence levels and rationale fields
  • Clarify or update metadata (e.g., CapEx/OpEx treatment, ownership tags)

6.4 Confirm Mapping Completeness

  • Ensure that all IT-relevant GL accounts are mapped
  • Flag any remaining items for additional research or separate treatment (e.g., Shadow IT)

6.5 Document Sign-Off or Approvals

  • Capture consensus or final review comments
  • Log any open issues that will be addressed post-implementation
Quick Tip: Don’t keep your mapping work siloed—share it with data governance leaders and IT strategy stakeholders. A well-structured TBM model often exposes inconsistencies, gaps, and opportunities in enterprise data. Your work can directly inform—and accelerate—broader data quality, analytics, and strategic planning initiatives.

Step 7: Implement the Mapping Logic in Your Toolset

Once mappings are validated, they must be integrated into your TBM model through systematic, repeatable logic. This step ensures your Sub-Pool assignments are consistently applied during every data load and that the transformation process is traceable, scalable, and adaptable to future changes.

7.1 Select an Implementation Method

Choose the method based on your technical environment:

  • Excel: For early-stage or prototype models; use VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP or INDEX-MATCH to join mapping logic to the GL extract.
  • SQL: Ideal for larger datasets or integrated environments; use JOIN statements between GL tables and your mapping table.
  • Python: Suitable for automation and scalability; use pandas to merge datasets and apply custom transformation logic programmatically.
  • ETL/BI Tools: Tools like Alteryx, Tableau Prep, or Power BI can apply transformation logic as part of data pipelines.
  • TBM Platform Tools: If using a TBM tool (EZTBM, Apptio, Nicus), configure mappings using native transformation rules or mapping tables.

7.2 Join Mapping Logic to GL Data

  • Ensure that GL records can be uniquely matched to mapping entries via account ID or other keys
  • Apply the assigned Cost Pool and Sub-Pool values
  • Preserve other metadata fields (CapEx/OpEx, ownership, confidence level, rationale) if needed for transparency or auditability

7.3 Test the Implementation

  • Run a test load or simulation of the model
  • Check for missing mappings, errors, or logic mismatches. If errors result in fallout (uncategorized spend) identify the issue and return to step 5 to resolve it.
  • Compare output categories against expectations or prior reports

7.4 Automate Where Possible

  • Convert manual joins to scripts or repeatable workflows
  • Version-control logic in Git, SharePoint, or within your ETL/BI tooling
  • Build in data quality checks (e.g., unmapped account flags)

7.5 Log and Retain Mapping Logic

  • Save the final mapping file in a controlled repository
  • Retain documentation on assumptions and stakeholder sign-off
  • Record the implementation method for future reference and onboarding

7.6 Establish Repeatable Mapping for Monthly Loads

  • Configure the join logic to be re-executed each month (or other financial reporting interval)
  • Ensure the mapping process accounts for any new or modified GL accounts
  • Generate historical trend data across months by consistently applying the same mapping logic over time
  • Maintain a changelog to document when mappings are adjusted and why, preserving historical comparability

A reliable implementation process turns your mapping logic into a durable, traceable part of the TBM system—eliminating manual rework and ensuring your model evolves efficiently over time. Applying this logic on a recurring basis enables accurate trending, variance analysis, and insight into cost patterns over time.

Step 8: Document, Version, and Maintain the Mapping Logic

Precise documentation and ongoing maintenance of your Cost Pool mapping logic are essential for transparency, auditability, and model evolution. As your organization’s financial structure, taxonomy standards, and TBM maturity evolve, this mapping must remain current and traceable.

8.1 Save the Mapping File as a Managed Asset

Store the final mapping file in a controlled, accessible location with version control capabilities (e.g., SharePoint, Git, document management system). Ensure it contains:

  • GL Account ID
  • GL Account Name
  • GL Account Description
  • CapEx/OpEx Classification
  • Department or Cost Center
  • Suggested Cost Pool
  • Suggested Sub-Pool
  • Mapping Rationale or Source of Truth
  • Confidence Level or Flag (e.g., “Reviewed,” “Auto-Mapped”)
  • Mapping Owner or Approver (if applicable)
  • Last Updated Date

8.2 Version the Logic

Assign a version number and effective date to each mapping file release. Maintain a detailed changelog capturing:

  • What changed (e.g., reclassifications, new accounts, taxonomy updates)
  • Why it changed (e.g., policy revisions, stakeholder feedback)
  • Who approved the change
  • When it takes effect

Archive previous versions of the mapping logic to support reconciliation, audits, and impact assessments.

8.3 Monitor for Breakage or Anomalies

Leverage your TBM tool’s QA views or custom reports to flag:

  • Unmapped accounts
  • Duplicated or misassigned mappings
  • Unexplained shifts in cost allocation

Investigate anomalies promptly and update logic to preserve accuracy.

8.4 Establish a Refresh Cadence

Update mappings in alignment with:

  • Fiscal year planning cycles or budgeting milestones
  • The introduction of new GL accounts or major structural changes
  • Updates to the TBM Taxonomy (e.g., adoption of v5.0 or newer)
  • Changes to capitalization policies or internal financial reporting standards

Treat mapping maintenance as an operational discipline to ensure consistent transparency and alignment with strategic objectives.

8.5 Align with Governance and Communicate Updates

If your organization maintains a data governance framework, assign data stewards or owners to oversee mapping quality and continuity. When changes occur:

  • Notify downstream reporting teams and impacted stakeholders
  • Re-validate mapping logic with Finance or TBM leadership if foundational categories shift
  • Document decisions and rationale to preserve institutional knowledge

Conclusion: What You’ve Accomplished and What Comes Next

By completing the process of mapping your Chart of Accounts to TBM Cost Pools and Sub-Pools, you’ve established the foundational layer of your TBM model. This enables core cost transparency use cases, including detailed IT spend reporting and cost categorization aligned with the TBM Taxonomy. With your General Ledger mapped, you can now track and communicate key IT financial KPIs such as:

  • Total IT spend by category (e.g., labor, hardware, cloud)
  • CapEx vs. OpEx distribution
  • Cost trends across departments or business units
  • Unit cost analysis and early-stage showback

Next Steps:
To build on this work, consider mapping your budget to Cost Pools to enable variance tracking, or visit our Reporting and KPIs pages to begin creating dashboards and metrics that leverage your newly categorized data. Or review our Use Cases page for inspiration on how to further develop your model.

Join the TBM community: where innovators and leaders converge

The TBM Council is your gateway to a treasure trove of knowledge: think cutting-edge research papers, insightful case studies, and vibrant community forums where you can exchange ideas, tackle challenges, and celebrate successes with fellow practitioners.

We’re calling on organizations and forward-thinking individuals to dive into the TBM community. Participate in our events, engage in our discussions, and tap into a vast reservoir of knowledge. This isn’t just about networking; it’s about contributing to and benefiting from the collective wisdom in navigating the dynamic world of cloud computing.

Red Hat built the world’s largest enterprise open-source software company, growing into a multi-billion-dollar firm before being acquired by IBM Corp. This open-source heritage often placed the value of technology in the product and engineering realm rather than with IT. Thus, not surprisingly, Red Hat’s TBM journey started with a new CFO wanting to know why IT costs were so high. Through the TBM framework and discipline, Red Hat IT successfully delivered cost transparency of all IT spend and then became a model for technology spend planning and forecasting. The IT team added the FinOps discipline to its capabilities and is now managing a broad hybrid cloud portfolio. However, TBM and FinOps have remained in the realm of IT only, until now. Red Hat’s current CIO, Jim Palermo, is driving TBM, FinOps, and Enterprise Agile Management across the company based on IT’s success and through the lens of value stream management. in this session, Jim will walk through Red Hat’s TBM journey and its current transformation to an operational business architecture framework built on value streams aligned to business outcomes.


Speaker:

  • Jim Palermo, VP, CIO, Red Hat

When the team at Tenet Healthcare made the decision to move towards a model that provided more accurate financial transparency, they looked to TBM practices and solutions. Join Paola Arbour, EVP and CIO at Tenet healthcare as she answers the question “why TBM?”, including what Tenet was trying to solve with the TBM Taxonomy, the effectiveness of their KPIs, and how building support and momentum across the entire company was critical to their successful TBM adoption. In this session, Paola will also share how Tenet continues to evolve their use of TBM, including for mergers, acquisitions, and divestiture activity, as well as segmenting cost structures.


Speaker:

  • Paola Arbour, EVP & CIO, Tenet Healthcare

Data driven decision making has been a key to longevity and delivering best in class service to State Farm’s customers over the past 100 years. Recently, State Farm decided to use a managed services company for the day-to-day support of their Infrastructure Services. Today’s technology leaders need to be able to make real-time, informed decisions to help ensure technology investments are meeting their customer’s needs, while continuing to support company long-term goals. Ashley Pettit, SVP & CIO at State Farm, will be joined by Randy McBeath, Enterprise Technology Executive, and Andy Moore, Technology Director, and together they will share how TBM aided in State Farm’s analysis and decision to move to a managed service provider.


Speakers:

  • Ashley Pettit, SVP & CIO, State Farm Insurance
  • Andy Moore, Technology Director, State Farm Insurance
  • Randy McBeath, Enterprise Technology Executive, State Farm Insurance

There is fast evolution occurring in the overall technology spend and value management market, with the advancements of cloud, Kubernetes, AI/ML, and other innovations. At the same time, we are seeing vast changes in the roles of the CIO, CFO, and business/digital leadership. In addition, TBM is intersecting with other disciplines and frameworks, such as Cloud FinOps, Agile engineering, and portfolio resource management. How is this affecting the TBM discipline, the TBM Council, and Apptio? For one, TBM is moving down market, becoming more accessible to all sizes and maturity of organizations, with easier ways to get started and a faster time to value. Cloud FinOps, meanwhile, is advancing and adding capabilities previously in TBM to the cloud cost management space. Join Apptio CEO Sunny Gupta as he explores the evolving TBM landscape and how he believes it will bring even greater opportunity and value to organizations worldwide.


Speaker:

  • Sunny Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO, Apptio

In today’s challenging economic times it is critical that CFOs, CIOs, and CTOs speak the same language when it comes to the value of technology spend. Having a single source of truth that everyone can feel confident in, track progress continuously throughout the year with shared insights, and analyzing options for resourcing and funding in order to reduce waste is where TBM deepens their partnership. In this discussion, join members of the TBM Council Board of Directors as they discuss the pivotal conversations and steps taken to collectively adopt TBM practices across the organization, including responding to naysayers and gaining allies.


Panelists:

  • George Maddaloni, EVP, CTO, Operations, Mastercard
  • Laura Walsh, CIO, Smithfield Foods
  • RJ Hazra, SVP & CFO, Technology & Security, Equifax
  • Moderated by Chad Doiran, Managing Director, Tech. Strategy & Advisory, Accenture

Fumbi Chima has led technology teams across multiple organizations throughout her esteemed career, including retail, manufacturing, media, and financial services. As a turnaround and high growth leader, Fumbi has leveraged TBM as a foundational practice to bring repeatable processes, purchasing guidelines, and cost/resource savings. Now at Boeing Employe Credit Union (BECU) serving more than 1.2 million members, Fumbi is driving their digital transformation with a clear vision and strategy to optimize their public-cloud with TBM and Cloud-FinOps, adopt a product model, and set the groundwork for future innovation and growth. Join Fumbi and Larry Blasko, President, Field Operations at Apptio, as they discuss the lessons Fumbi has learned along her TBM journey, and where this transformation leader sees the evolution of TBM taking the Technology industry.


Speakers:

  • Fumbi Chima, Chief Technology & Transformation Officer, BECU
  • Larry Blasko, President, Field Operations, Apptio

Technology leaders have a unique opportunity to transform their organizations into environmental champions with sustainable business practices. In this session, Neal Ramasamy, CIO at Cognizant and Phil Alfano, Field CTO at Apptio will share how TBM can be leveraged to achieve comprehensive visibility into real-time data-driven tracking to ensure company goals and actions are being met to achieve a sustainable future.


Speakers:

  • Neal Ramasamy, CIO, Cognizant
  • Phil Alfano, Field CTO, Apptio

For McGraw Hill, having a transparent framework that drives smart investment strategies and a common language across this 135-year-old company is critical. Known as one of the “big three” education publishers, McGraw Hill must stay ahead of their competitors with innovation and value delivery. Join Yuliya Oberman, Finance Director for McGraw Hill Education and Eileen Wade, General Manager of the TBM Council as they discuss how TBM is essential to McGraw Hill’s enterprise resource strategies and digital transformation journey.


Speakers:

  • Yuliya Oberman, Finance Director, McGraw Hill Education
  • Eileen Wade, General Manager, TBM Council

In this fireside chat, Matt Yanchyshyn, GM, AWS Marketplace & Partner Engineer at AWS will join incoming General Manager of the TBM Council, Jack Bischof, for a discussion on best practices for building successful TBM practices focused on cloud financial management. Including a deep dive into the nuances, learnings, and milestones that the world’s 9th largest insurance company is achieving on their Cloud FinOps journey.


Speakers:

  • Matt Yanchyshyn, GM, AWS Marketplace & Partner Engineering, AWS
  • Jack Bischof, Incoming General Manager, TBM Council

Hear from Ajay Patel, COO at Apptio and Zubin Irani, CEO at Cprime as they discuss how the intersection of TBM and enterprise agile planning is a critical strategy for organizations to adopt if they want to drive business growth more efficiently, in real-time, and keep up with the speed of change that today’s organizations face.


Speakers:

  • Ajay Patel, COO, Apptio
  • Zubin Irani, CEO, Cprime

Join Origin Energy’s Adrian Thivy, GM, Enterprise Technology Services, as he shares how TBM is creating complete confidence in their spend-to-value ratios across IT and the broader company, allowing a rapid response to the market forces driving significant pressure on the “cost to serve” customers. A finalist for the 2022 TBM Council Award for TBM Pacesetter, hear how their TBM practice was built in record time, including lessons learned as they developed business capabilities and managed a significant cloud migration and transformation.  

Session topics will include:  

  • Establishing a clear purpose and common goals that drive cross-functional understanding
  • Utilizing an adaptative governance framework to ensure accountability across all stakeholders 
  • Leveraging TBM and ServiceNow CSDM to deliver a transparent, flexible, and sustainable model in a shorter time frame
  • How bespoke logic has dramatically improved transparency of cost more than 90%


Presented by:

  • Adrian Thivy, GM, Enterprise Technology Services, Origin Energy 

Many organizations aspire for a cloud-native posture, however few have the time, resources and budget to transform into 100% public cloud operations. Equifax has broken through those barriers to modernize its infrastructure globally — driving faster innovation for customers, more business agility, and stronger cybersecurity. Hear from Manav Doshi, GM, Technology Solutions on how the Equifax team is rebuilding a century-old company, with a real-time approach to optimizing cost and revenue growth in the cloud.

 

Presented by:

  • Manav Doshi, GM, Technology Solutions, Equifax 

Transport for NSW is the winner of the 2022 TBM Council Award for TBM Pacesetter, which recognizes significant progress and value with TBM in a relatively short period of time. In this session, hear how the merger of Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and Transport for New South Wales resulted in the fastest consolidation of TBM data, models, and reports into a single TBM practice. Hear from Poonam Kataria, Sr. Manager of TBM, as she shares how TBM is driving Transport’s three key strategic outcomes: connecting a customer’s whole life; successful places for communities; and enabling economic activity.

Session topics will include: 

  • Utilizing the TBM Taxonomy to align M&A practices and drive behavioural change 
  • How the right level of support sets the right culture and TBM processes
  • Driving change in the organization based on data-driven facts

Presented by: 

  • Poonam Kataria, Sr. Manager, TBM, Transport for NSW 

Discuss how TBM supports visibility of investments across the enterprise to support setting best practices and standards for managing the impact of environmental, societal, and governance strategies by IT departments and organizations.

The TBM Council Standards Committee has built out TBM integration models with other IT disciplines, including Enterprise Agile and Product Thinking, as well as ServiceNow CSDM. Current findings will be shared to drive group discussion, experience, and feedback. 

Public cloud strategies are often embraced for the promise of rapid scalability, on-demand agility, and best-in-class security, resiliency, and features. However, public cloud adoption presents significant financial challenges that, when not addressed, inhibit any firm’s ability to exploit the promises of public cloud.  

To address these challenges, customers need to simultaneously resolve current inefficiencies and build capability to ensure avoidance of waste in the long term.  

In this session we discuss a detailed framework combining TBM-Cloud with FinOps, allowing customers to understand how to implement a program to overcome these challenges and financially succeed in the cloud. 

Session discussion topics include: 

  • A detailed view of the activities required to implement a TBM-Cloud with FinOps Journey 
  • Detail the flow of information required for each task 
  • Provide guidance on which activities should be performed when

 

Presented by:

  • Nathan Besh, TBM-Cloud Evangelist, TBM Council 

Project to Product Transition

Outcome-focused development via agile transformation

For organizations looking to transition from projects to products, TBM can help organize resources and outcomes into value streams – the specific sets of activities that align to business outcomes.

Accelerating Cloud Adoption

Drive measurable outcomes with your cloud strategy

For organizations trying to accelerate their cloud journey, TBM provides a way to map a plan and measure the outcomes from cloud migration to cloud cost management to cloud optimization.

Morning Sessions

A look back at 10 years of TBM leadership and community building.


Speaker:

  • Ashley Pettit, SVP & CIO, State Farm Insurance

Introduced more than 10 years ago, Technology Business Management (TBM) was born out of the need for CIOs to have a management system to drive their technology operating strategy. At its core, the TBM discipline gives visibility into technology spend to provide common ground and enable a collaborative partnership across teams for prioritizing resources and achieving business outcomes. In this session, the TBM Council Standards Committee Chair, Atticus Tyson will share how over the past few years TBM has evolved to ensure leaders are able to accelerate digital initiatives, embrace the cloud, and communicate today’s complex technology landscape. TBM enables organizations to frequently and quickly evaluate projects, platforms, and investments to address the needs of the modern enterprise.


Speaker:

  • Atticus Tysen, SVP Product Development, Chief Information Security & Fraud Prevention Officer, Intuit

Atticus Tyson and Phil Alfano will guide the group through an executive discussion to capture “What is digital success to you?”. Is it how your organization creates new business capabilities? The elimination of legacy processes and systems? Funding innovation? Or all of the above as long as it drives an improved customer experience? Discuss with your table mates, as an overall group, and capture learnings and takeaways to bring back to your own team.


Speakers:

  • Atticus Tyson, SVP Product Development, Chief Information Security & Fraud Prevention Officer, Intuit
  • Phil Alfano, Field CTO, Apptio

How does a 170-year-old financial institution deliver a new, fully modernized technology strategy while supporting 24×7 service to their customers across a multitude of platforms, including point-of-sale, mobile, and web services? Mike Brady, Nicole Holmes, and Chad Schmidt will share how at Wells Fargo, they are creating a Technology Infrastructure team founded in the TBM discipline and responsible for aligning with internal partners to adopt an automation first approach for accelerating the delivery of services and deploying enhancements at speed. All while remaining compliant, secure, and agile.


Speakers:

  • Mike Brady, EVP, Technology Infrastructure, Wells Fargo
  • Nicole Holmes, EVP, CFO for Technology, Wells Fargo
  • Chad Schmidt, SVP, Technology Finance Modernization, Wells Fargo

It’s been two years since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic. To re-imagine employee and customer experiences, every company was forced to speed up their shift to digital from multi-year project plans to instead creating, executing, and delivering new business models in a matter of weeks. As we emerge from this crisis, we recognize this shift is not slowing down but exponentially increasing as businesses continue to respond to societal expectations of anytime, anywhere. In this session, Sunny Gupta will share how the companies best positioned to quickly respond to changing market conditions and hyper competition have a holistic view of their technology spend so they can be agile in their investment decisions, use the cloud as a competitive advantage, and align their resources to product delivery models and continuously measure value.


Speaker:

  • Sunny Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO, Apptio

Afternoon Sessions

Spinning up a cloud-native posture is a desired strategy for many organizations, however few have the time, resources, and budget to achieve 100% public cloud operations. In 2018, Equifax set a 5-year goal to achieve this, striving to provide their customers with faster innovation, more flexible business agility, and stronger cybersecurity. Hear from RJ Hazra, SVP & CFO, Technology on the lessons and successes the Equifax team has found along their journey, and what remains as they cross into their final year of their company-wide digital transformation.


Speaker:

  • RJ Hazra, SVP & CFO, Technology & Security, Equifax

The cloud is a significant shift in computing and companies need to get maximum value from it. FinOps is the evolving cloud financial management practice that empowers organizations to track and maximize cloud spend and enable tech, finance, and business teams to collaborate on data-driven spending decisions. In this talk, J.R. Storment, Executive Director of the FinOps Foundation will explore the intersection between TBM and the FinOps practice and the benefits achieved. Session discussion topics include: 

  • Creating a culture of ownership over cloud usage and spend
  • The most important challenges to tackle for delivering products faster while gaining financial control and predictability
  • FinOps organization structures in large and small organizations from the State of FinOps 2022 report

 


Speaker:

    • J.R. Storment, Executive Director, FinOps Foundation

In this engaging conversation, executive leaders will share both the challenges and best practices realized on their journey to embrace product-based innovation.

Session discussion topics include:

  • Achieving results as you shift from a projects-to-products innovation model
  • Maximizing CIO/CFO partnerships in this new paradigm
  • Building your innovation strategy around value streams, stable teams, and a high degree of customer centricity

Speakers:

  • John Wilson, VP, IT Costing & Performance Management, MetLife
  • Kaarina Bourquin, Director, Strategy & Portfolio Operations & Technology, The Standard
  • Moderated by Toyan Espeut, Chief Customer Officer, Apptio

Session abstract coming soon


Speakers:

    • Brendan Kinkade, VP, Build ISV, Technology & Hybrid Cloud, IBM
    • Moderated by Phil Alfano, Field CTO, Apptio Foundation

TBM empowers hundreds of decision makers with the facts they need to execute a digital strategy faster, without bias, and in alignment across business units. This includes technology consumers, service and application owners, LOB CIOs, enterprise PMOs, compliance leaders, budget coordinators, and many more. What are the fundamentals of developing and executing a successful TBM practice? In this session, experienced practitioners will share the lessons and foundations they’ve learned delivering business value for their organizations with TBM.

Session discussion topics include:

  • Fundamentals of proper support and sponsorship across key stakeholders
  • Demonstrating how and why TBM is core to strategy and a digital operating model
  • Developing, educating, and enabling your core team
  • Implementing or enhancing the necessary TBM processes

Speakers:

    • Jeri Koester, CIO, Marshfield Clinic Health System
    • Latrise Brissett, Managing Director, Global IT, Accenture
    • Leslie Scott, VP & CIO, IT Enterprise Services, Stanley Black & Decker
    • Moderated by Jason Byrd, Managing Director, Technology Strategy & Advisory, Accenture