Would your CFO approve misrepresenting corporate assets?

TL;DR

Ignoring technical debt is like misrepresenting the value of your software assets, which can lead to future losses and operational risks. Most businesses fail to track this risk, even though technical debt reduces asset value and increases costs. Development managers should ensure technical debt is monitored and addressed to protect the true value of software investments.

21 April 2025
Written by Martin Hinshelwood
1 minute read
Engineering Excellence
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Would your CFO sign off on misrepresenting corporate assets? Of course not. But that’s exactly what happens when technical debt is ignored.

Product delivery is capital expenditure. The software your business builds is an asset, just like buildings and equipment. If that asset is full of technical debt, its value is compromised. And yet, most businesses don’t track this risk.

There’s a word for misrepresenting assets on a balance sheet: fraud.

Technical debt is a risk, not a choice. If you’re building without addressing it, you’re setting up future losses, whether through slower delivery, higher maintenance costs, or outright failure to adapt.

Is your organisation treating software as the asset it truly is?

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