Counting on CostFlex

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Posted on July 28, 2026 by Teri Greene

Teri Greene

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A track and field athlete who earned both his finance degree and his MBA at South, Ryan learned the discipline and persistence that would eventually carry him into the specialized world of healthcare finance.

Ryan’s late father, Jim, founded CostFlex Systems in 1989. The Mobile-based software company sits where three spheres overlap: healthcare, finance and technology. It specializes in cost accounting and decision support, helping leaders see where they’re making and losing money in the minute-by-minute reality of a nursing unit or an operating room.

Ryan didn’t always plan on a career in healthcare, but a job running a cost accounting department for a local hospital opened his eyes to the value of software like CostFlex’s. He met his wife, Lisa, while they were both students at the Mitchell College. Lisa now serves as CostFlex’s vice president of finance.

At the company’s office, in West Mobile, more than half of the team members are South alumni. “We love tapping into South’s talent pipeline,” Ryan says. “We know their skills are strong, and it keeps us connected to the community that built us.”

Ryan and his wife raised five children in Mobile and remain deeply involved in that community. For 25 years, Ryan has been a leader of First Light Community of Mobile (formerly L’Arche Mobile), which raises awareness for people with intellectual disabilities and coordinates the annual Mobile Marathon.

When Ryan joined CostFlex in the early ’90s, technology looked very different. “We installed floppy disks and went on-site. Remote connections weren’t a thing,” he recalls. Having once waited weeks for vendor support during his time as a hospital end user taught him the value of responsiveness. “When a client calls, we aim to resolve the issue the same day. Support keeps relationships.”

That outlook is why many of CostFlex’s features originate from client requests. It’s also why clients stick, Ryan says. The first CostFlex customers who came aboard in 1989 remain with the company.

For Ryan, the value CostFlex provides is clarity. While standard financial statements show overall profit or loss, cost accounting reveals the “why” by breaking data down by payer, service line or physician.

He gives a vivid example from a surgical specialty hospital, where one top-volume surgeon was actually the least profitable. The data revealed he was using expensive allergy-free hip implants for nearly all patients, despite true metal allergies being rare.

“We made it visible, and leadership could have a conversation,” Ryan says. “We provide accurate information, and the hospital makes the business call. Our job is to light up the dashboard.”

During installation, the team consults with department heads in labs, pharmacies and radiology to understand the specific time and supplies consumed for every procedure.

They then train the hospital’s finance team to understand the system from the ground up. The data lives in a Microsoft-backed product, which means it’s accessible inside the hospital’s environment, which also helps maintain data safety.

This article appeared in the 2025-2026 issue of the Mitchell Magazine, an annual publication of the Mitchell College of Business. READ THE FULL ISSUE >>>

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