FP&A Today More than 12 ERP implementations later…Cindy Vindasius
Apr 1, 2026
Cindy Vindasius, founder and CEO of Vindasius Advisory with 30+ years building scalable finance systems, shares lessons from more than a dozen ERP implementations. She discusses why FP&A must be involved early, the tradeoffs between fast AI-forward systems and full ERPs, and how data and process readiness shape successful ERP and AI projects.
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Don't Choose ERP Based On Speed Alone
- Avoid choosing an ERP only because it promises a faster implementation timeline.
- Cindy notes speed often skips process redesign, master data work, and scalability discussions that are essential for long-term success.
Make Timeliness Part Of Data Readiness
- Do treat timeliness as part of data readiness: ensure key metrics are available frequently enough for forecasting and decision making.
- Cindy warns accurate but stale monthly data (e.g., revenue 20 days late) isn't reliable for AI or FP&A use.
Create A Reporting Workstream Early
- Do create a dedicated reporting workstream in ERP projects so FP&A requirements aren't an afterthought.
- Cindy sees reports commonly left to the final validation step, causing go-live without needed KPIs in nine out of ten cases.