Expert Advisory Forum
Expert Advisory Forum 26 Mar, 10am UK
Presenting the Financial ROI of Marketing
A Practical Model for Accountants & CFOs
Turn marketing conversations into financial investment decisions your clients understand.
Join Gaye Prime (VFD Pro) and guest experts Alison Johnston of Secret Source Marketing and Ros Conkie of rosconkie.com author of The Marketing Machine.
Ross Conkie | Author, The Marketing Machine
Alison Johnstone | Secret Source
Why this matters
Most business owners invest in marketing… But very few can clearly answer:
What return are we actually getting?
When will we see results?
Is this a cost or a true investment?
As an accountant, CFO, or advisor, this creates a major opportunity.
This session shows you how to bridge the gap between marketing activity and financial outcomes, positioning you at the centre of better business decision-making.
Ros Conkie is an engineer-turned-Fractional Chief Marketing Officer, chartered marketer and author of The Marketing Machine. She specialises in helping CEOs and leadership teams of technical, engineering, and high-complexity services firms design measurable, systems-based marketing that drives revenue and reduces waste.
Ros’s work challenges the myth that marketing is creative guesswork, arguing instead that it can – and should – be engineered with logic, data and process. Ros applies robust engineering principles to marketing, translating complex propositions into clear, compelling messages that attract profitable, loyal customers.
Alison Johnstone has 20 years of marketing experience, beginning in large corporate environments before moving into startups and scaling businesses, where she has spent the past 13 years working as a fractional marketing director.
Alison has worked across B2B SaaS and professional services businesses at various stages of growth, including companies she has helped raise investment, and others that have reached exits worth over £200 million. Her focus is on building the strategy and infrastructure that connects marketing activity to revenue outcomes, with a track record of measurable results across acquisition, conversion, and retention.
Consider the following question
How confident are you that your clients can clearly demonstrate the financial return on their marketing investment—in pounds, timing, and cash flow impact?
Who is this for?
This session is designed for finance professionals and advisors who want to move beyond assumption-led conversations and bring financial clarity to growth decisions.
Accountants in practice
Fractional CFOs / FD consultants
In-house CFOs and finance leaders
Advisors supporting business growth and investment decisions
(Mastermind Member bonus: those in the VFD Mastermind will be invited to stay on after the session for a deeper roundtable to apply key ideas to their own practices.)
Session Outcomes
By the end of the session, attendees will:
Understand how marketing activity connects directly to financial performance through the key business growth and cash flow drivers.
Be able to translate marketing spend into clear financial outcomes, including ROI, payback period, and cash impact.
Gain a practical, reusable framework to evaluate marketing (and other B2B services) as an investment rather than a cost.
Leave with a structured approach to improve client conversations, strengthen decision-making, and identify new advisory opportunities.
Develop greater confidence in presenting financial models that link growth activity to measurable results.