Companies engage in IT-projects in order to gain some benefits; however they complain that those bene- fits are difficult to achieve. On the basis of a survey in the Swiss financial industry this paper comes to the conclusion that due to a fundamental misconception companies reproduce the lack of success in reaping IT benefits: Many companies regard benefit management as an instrument to support project proposals rather than as an instrument to gain optimal benefits. Conse- quently, benefits management activities focus on the early project phases. The paper presents data based on interviews with senior maangers/executives represent- ing 31 large companies of the Swiss financial indus- try. It covers benefits in project proposals, the identifi- cation and structuring of benefits, the planning of benefits realization, the execution of the benefits plan, review and evaluation results, an overall process evaluation and some contextual questions.