How Vincent and Ilana Met

In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, Paul Barnhurst is joined by Vincent Messina and Ilana Esterrich to discuss how organizations should approach ROI and transformation. They dive into why traditional ROI methods often fail, the concept of Return on Change, and how financial leaders can better manage software implementations and drive business outcomes.

Vincent is a seasoned enterprise software sales leader with over 25 years of experience. Vincent is currently the Northeast Director of business development at UHY, a CPA firm, and works on advising CFOs through his partnership with UHY. Ilana is the Chief Financial Officer at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, where she oversees a comprehensive portfolio, including accounting, treasury, compliance, and financial planning.

Expect to Learn:

1. Why ROI calculations often fail and how Return on Change provides a more effective approach.
2. How to align financial decisions with business outcomes.
3. The evolving role of FP&A professionals in driving decisions beyond traditional reporting.
4. Key strategies for managing change during financial transformations.

Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:

1. “The real value comes when technology enables people to do different, more impactful work.” - Vincent Messina
2. “As CFOs, our job is to help guide the organization by providing the right insights for informed decision-making.” - Ilana Esterrich

Vincent Messina and Ilana Esterrich emphasize the importance of shifting from traditional ROI to Return on Change in financial transformations. They highlight the crucial role of FP&A professionals in driving strategic decisions and managing change effectively.

Campfire: AI-First ERP:

Campfire is the AI-first ERP that powers next-gen finance and accounting teams. With integrated solutions for the general ledger, revenue automation,

close management, and more, all in one unified platform.

Explore Campfire today: https://campfire.ai/?utm_source=fpaguy_podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=100225_fpaguy

Follow Vincent:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vmessina/

Company: https://uhy-us.com/

Follow Ilana :

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Ilanaesterrich/

Website: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/

Earn Your CPE Credit

For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.

In Today’s Episode

[02:30] – Introducing Vincent Messina

[02:55] – Introducing Ilana Esterrich

[05:00] – What Great FP&A Looks Like

[08:00] – Why ROI Fails in Transformations

[13:00] – Shifting from ROI to Return on Change

[19:00] – The Importance of Consensus in Transformation

[25:00] – Business Outcomes vs. Software Decisions

[30:00] – How to Make Change Work

[35:00] – Mindset Shifts in CFOs and FP&A

[40:00] – Final Thoughts