Milestone’s Financial Leadership Accelerates Formulary Insights’ Business Goals.

“Milestone took our finance function to the next level and helped prepare us for a successful exit. My only regret is that we didn’t do it earlier.” Pete Vaccaro, Formulary Insights – Partner

Situation

Formulary Insights was growing rapidly and building a successful company when it unexpectedly found itself at a crossroads. After learning that their existing CFO was leaving the company, the founders needed to decide whether to backfill with another full-time CFO or explore a fractional Accounting and CFO solution.

Solution

After interviewing several fractional service providers, Formulary Insights selected Milestone based on its years of experience, proven track record of success, and the strong recommendation of its outgoing CFO. Milestone provided a comprehensive solution that included bookkeeping, controllership, and CFO support.  

Outcome

Milestone introduced streamlined processes and best-in-class technology solutions to improve operational efficiencies and the overall flow of information.  The changes resulted in a shortened month-end close cycle and more robust and reliable financial reporting and forecasting tools.  Milestone also established credibility and played a key role in the successful sale of the business a little over a year later.  

Founded in 2018, Formulary Insights helps biopharmaceutical manufacturers and investors navigate the complexities of the market access landscape. Based in Indianapolis, the company delivers primary market research backed by years of industry experience and proven solutions.

In 2023, Formulary Insights found itself at a crossroads. Its full-time CFO was leaving, and the founders had to decide on the direction of the finance team. Co-founder Pete Vaccaro was introduced to the concept of fractional financial services and found the idea compelling, but he still had some uncertainty until he met with the Milestone team.

“We explored various large fractional service providers online and had conversations with many of them,” Vaccaro recalls. “Our CFO at the time introduced us to Milestone, and that referral carried significant weight. As we engaged with them further, it became clear that Milestone offered a higher level of service compared to the larger competitors operating nationwide.  In the end, Milestone not only saved us money but also helped us significantly improve the overall effectiveness of our finance function. ”

Milestone replaced the full-time CFO with a fractional team that included a Bookkeeper, a Controller, and a CFO.  The impact was immediate. Milestone introduced streamlined processes and best-in-class technology solutions to improve operational efficiencies and the overall flow of information.  At the same time, the Milestone CFO significantly shortened the monthly close cycle and enhanced the financial reporting package.  The company began having monthly financial review meetings on a regular cadence.  Their robust reporting included monthly financial statements to understand the health of the business, a management dashboard to track key performance indicators, and a revamped forecast to support day-to-day decision-making.  

“Milestone brought a level of rigor to our business that we hadn’t experienced before, even though we had always taken our finances seriously,” says Vaccaro.  “The benefits of having a team of fractional experts quickly became clear.”

Another important benefit of having the Milestone team in place came to light when the leadership team began to get acquisition inquiries from potential suitors.  “Because of the changes we made with the Milestone team, we had our financial house in order when it came time to provide due diligence materials,” Vacarro noted.  “The companies we spoke to were all very impressed with the level of sophistication of our finances.  It helped us establish credibility.  Milestone took our finance function to the next level and helped prepare us for a successful exit.  My only regret is that we didn’t do it earlier.”