Title: Linking IT Investment Benefits to the Profit & Loss Statement at Allianz SE
Abstract:
This thesis investigates the current benefit governance practices at Allianz SE and how profit and loss statements (P/L) can be used in the steering of IT investments. It also analyses how a structured linkage framework can address gaps which hinder the aforementioned relationship. The thesis builds on the IT productivity paradox, as well as Benefit Realization Management literature, and therefore positions financial traceability at the intersection of both; arguing that it is the missing link between IT spend and IT value capture. To illustrate this, an explanatory case study design was applied to Allianz SE internal IT portfolio, for projects between 2018 and 2024, drawing on the firm’s internal IT portfolio management systems, financial planning platform, and IT economics reporting infrastructure. For this, the thesis combines descriptive portfolio diagnostics, with KPI delta computations with data hygiene conditions, structured mapping of KPIs to their intended P/L line landing zones, and a case study analysis using an Allianz internal project to test the proposed framework. The results of this paper show that the traceability gap is a structural gap rather than a data quality issue. The main contribution of this thesis is conceptualisation of a framework that deploys a five-layered benefits to P/L model, which specifies category hygiene standards, an automated 5 year benefit window, an approach to treat outliers, a mandatory P/L flagging rule, and a list of the 10 monetary KPIs which are mapped to “Growth”, “Productivity”, and “Losses”. This is followed by 9 recommendations for a successful implementation, within an 18-month time frame, which allows data model enhancements, as well as adjustments to the internal portfolio steering processes. This approach provides a preliminary framework for IT portfolio steering, and the basis for further empirical research, which is needed to validate the applicability in large corporate environments.
Keywords: IT investment governance, Benefit Realization Management, IT Business Value, Economic Benefit Factor, KPI to P/L linkage, Value Based Portfolio Steering, Insurance IT Transformation, IFRS 17, Measurement Hygiene, Benefit Concentration