Analysts say those are just some of the things that can lead to greatly exaggerated ROI claims. Other pitfalls include leaving out a wide range of costs, from the costs of training and implementation to those of maintaining old systems. "Many vendor claims assume that the new system replaces the old," says Tom Mangan, leader of Andersen's CIO Advisory Services. "But often parts of the old system have to be kept, or the new system has to be modified to do everything the old system did. That can add up."

Meta Group's Van Decker says CFOs should "dig into these claims and assume worst-case scenarios. For example, a vendor may claim that better customer service will increase sales by X percent, boosting the top line. Cut that in half, and if you still like the way the numbers come out, maybe you're on to something."

Other analysts say that prospective customers should be careful about claims of spectacular ROI on the part of a vendor company's reference clients. Often those clients have paid little or nothing for the technology, or have achieved the results in a low-cost pilot, but will see the return drop off as soon as they roll the technology out to a broad base of employees.

Many Happy Returns
Companies that don't want to go it alone can tap ROI analysis services from the Big Five accounting firms and a spate of smaller firms. IT consulting groups have rushed in as well, providing third-party verification to vendor clients or simply consulting with corporate clients to see whether investments will pay off.

While analysts say that a careful ROI analysis can delay technology purchases by two weeks to two months, they also say that the effort pays off in several ways. Not only can companies buy with more confidence, but the discipline that ROI requires also forces companies to specify exactly what they need and determine how to roll it out most effectively.

Mangan believes that this renewed focus on ROI will bolster the CFO-CIO relationship. Frappaolo goes one step further, and says that a tighter rein on IT spending has triggered more communication between CFOs and CEOs. But will it last? "Right now, everything is getting cost-justified," says Frappaolo. "But when the economy improves, I think we'll see some return to the 'old days,' in which certain technologies are viewed as the price of doing business, so you spend the money and don't ask too many questions."

Right now, CFOs are asking plenty.

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