Why CFOs Should Care
The average mid-market company loses $2.4M/year to technical debt. It's a capital allocation problem that belongs on your dashboard next to CAC, LTV, and burn rate.
The Dollar Translation
Innovation Tax: 10 engineers × 40 hrs × 60% maintenance × $125/hr = $30K/week = $1.56M/year in maintenance costs.
Cost of Delay: Average feature impact: $50K/month. Average delay: 3 months. Cost: $150K per feature.
Attrition Cost: Engineers leave high-debt environments 2.3x faster. Each departure: $200-400K total cost.
The Board Slide
"Our engineering debt exposure is $4.2M, accruing interest at 18% annually. Current remediation reduces exposure by $1.8M over 6 months with 340% ROI."