Chief marketing officers and chief financial officers agree that they should be on same page with each other: 77% of CMOs and 76% of CFOs say such alignment is highly important, according to a recent report from Active International.

However, the CMOs and CFOs surveyed are less sure about how that coordination affects the bottom line, with only 45% of each group saying misalignment has a moderate or higher negative impact on the financial results of their company.

Below, key findings from the report, which was based on data from a survey of 100 CMOs and 100 CFOs based in the United States.

Alignment and Misalignment 

• 13% of CMOs and 21% of CFOs report always agreeing with their counterpart on major business decisions.
• Only 12% of CFOs say their CMO is excellent at connecting marketing projects to ROI.
• CMOs and CFOs are on the same page when selecting vendors, with each group ranking quality of work, industry expertise, and cost as their top three criteria.
• CMOs and CFOs rank overall strategic direction of the business as the area where they are most aligned.
• However, CFOs say financial priorities is the second area on which they are most aligned, whereas CMOs put it at fifth.
• The two groups agree that they are misaligned on marketing priorities, with both ranking it last.