2015 Dynamic Dozen Top Local Financial Officer: Leah Ann Iaguessa
Geoff Pickle
Posted online
Leah Ann Iaguessa has a head for numbers.
It’s permeated her entire career and given her a top role in Penmac Staffing Services Inc.
The firm was founded by Patti Penny in 1988 and transformed in 2010 by an initiative Iaguessa spearheaded to create an employee stock ownership plan.
At Penmac Staffing – which she joined in 1997 – Iaguessa touches virtually all aspects of finance.
She serves as chief financial officer and also performs the duties of director of finance and controller.
“My personality is suited to the accounting profession. That’s just my nature, to be looking at the level of expenditures,” she says, pointing to her 14-year auditing background with Deloitte & Touche in Memphis, Tenn., and over two years as corporate accounting controller for Springfield-based Mid-America Dairymen Inc.
“I’m just used to scrutinizing the numbers and trying to think of ways that we could save money.”
With a staff of nine under her wing, Iaguessa is responsible for sending out an average of 4,500 paychecks a week for in-house employees and temporary workers at companies served by Penmac’s 32 branches in nine states.
Given the amount of workers the company serves – Penmac issued over 20,000 W-2s last year – it’s fitting Iaguessa calls the company’s ESOP her baby.
“I was very instrumental in forming the ESOP, and then after the ESOP, I’m watching over it and nurturing it and trying to encourage it to grow.
“It’s not really a live person, but I view it like I need to take care of this because I got so involved in the formation,” she says. “We still have the board of directors approving all the major decisions, but in the back of my mind, whenever I’m faced with a financial decision, I think to myself, ‘OK, will this action increase the share value of Penmac?’
“That’s what I try to use as my guiding light.”
Increasing the share value, she says, benefits all vested employees in the ESOP – including in-house and long-term temp workers – which can help form a strong retirement package.
“It’s a long-term goal, but it’s a good goal. It’s something that has meaning,” Iaguessa says.
“It’s a significant benefit.”
Iaguessa’s supervision of Penmac’s budget had a direct impact on the company’s 2014 revenue of $110.6 million – up 15 percent from 2013.
“Whenever we are going to go into a new market, I will run projections (of) our profits and related expenses so we can make sure that it’s a good idea to go into that area,” Iaguessa says.
“Basically, I just work with the branch managers whenever they have a major quote.”
She also has delved deeply into the rules of the Affordable Care Act, a necessity given that noncompliance could have resulted in penalties of several million dollars. The review allowed Penmac to develop a benefits package for those who qualify at an affordable cost to the company.
“On a daily basis, I am monitoring the cash and keeping a real close eye on expenditures,” she says.
