About Books & People

Built from running the work. Not observing it.

Books & People brings together two leaders with complementary experience across finance, accounting, human capital, community and club operations, technology, and organizational change.

Founder-ledFlorida CPACAM & SHRM leadershipEnglish & Spanish
Why we built it

Organizations experience one business. The back office should work that way.

Finance, HR, compliance, operations, and technology are often treated as separate departments, separate vendors, and separate problems. Inside a real organization, they are inseparable.

A system decision changes a workflow. A staffing decision changes a budget. Weak reporting changes the quality of leadership decisions. Books & People was built to connect those pieces—and to provide practical leadership that understands how the work actually gets done.

The firm is grounded in established operating experience. Our credibility comes from the functions our founders have led, the complexity they have managed, and the discipline they bring to every engagement.

Meet the founders

Marco Lora

Co-Founder · Florida CPA · Finance & Operational Leadership

Marco is a licensed Florida CPA with more than fifteen years of experience across accounting, treasury, FP&A, financial reporting, technology, and operational improvement.

His career has included finance leadership with responsibility for technology at a large self-managed community association, regional controller roles in golf-course management and senior living, and finance leadership supporting approximately ninety business units within a publicly traded organization.

Marco’s work centers on building stronger finance functions: faster and more disciplined closes, clearer management and board reporting, practical controls, long-range planning, connected systems, and teams that understand both the numbers and the business behind them.

Finance LeadershipAccountingTreasuryFP&ASystems StrategyEnglish / Spanish

Leslie Ann Velazquez

Co-Founder · CAM, SHRM · People & Operations Leadership

Leslie is a strategic operations and human-capital executive with more than twenty years of leadership experience in private clubs and community associations.

Her background includes leading complex day-to-day operations, building and developing teams, overseeing major capital initiatives, strengthening HR structure, and serving in interim executive leadership.

Leslie brings the judgment of an operator who understands that policies, staffing, service, projects, and organizational culture must work together—not simply look complete on paper. She provides leadership and workforce support in both English and Spanish.

OperationsHuman CapitalPrivate ClubsCommunity AssociationsCapital ProjectsExecutive LeadershipEnglish / Spanish
Why together

The books and the people are never separate for long.

Marco sees the organization through finance, controls, data, systems, and decision support. Leslie sees it through people, operations, leadership, projects, and service delivery.

Together, that creates a more complete view of the problem—and a more practical path to solving it.

01Financial discipline connected to operating reality
02Human-capital decisions connected to strategy and budget
03Systems selected around people, process, and control
04Advice translated into work that can actually be implemented
How we show up

Simple principles. Serious standards.

Our reputation is built one conversation, one decision, and one engagement at a time.

01

Tell the Truth

Straight answers—even when the answer is uncomfortable or the work is not a fit for us.

02

Make It Clear

Financials, policies, plans, and responsibilities people can understand and use.

03

Own the Work

Defined accountability, disciplined follow-through, and communication without ambiguity.

04

Build to Last

Processes and capabilities that strengthen the organization beyond the immediate engagement.

Experience behind the firm

Complementary expertise. Seasoned operators.

FL·CPA

Finance and accounting leadership from a licensed Florida CPA.

CAM·SHRM

Community, human-capital, and operational leadership.

35+

Combined years across finance, people, and operations.

EN·ES

Bilingual English and Spanish support.

Start a conversation

Bring us the real problem. We will bring an operator’s perspective.

Tell us about the organization, what has changed, and where leadership needs greater clarity or capacity.

Request a consultation