NATIONAL CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION

"The bench strength is there..."

Dr. Karen Ristau
President

Headquartered outside Washington, DC, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is the largest private professional education organization in the world, representing 200,000 Catholic educators serving 7.6 million students in Catholic elementary and secondary schools, religious education programs, seminaries, and colleges and universities. Founded in 1903, the nonprofit professional association of educators and institutions provides leadership, direction and service to fulfill the evangelizing, catechizing and teaching mission of the church.

Facing some serious accounting issues, a financial condition that needed turning around, highly variable seasonal workloads, and a limited staff to serve its huge membership base, NCEA decided to try outsourcing its accounting functions to avoid incurring unnecessary human resources expenses.

“When I first heard ‘outsourcing,’ my first thought was that it was going to be like the firm that comes in to clean the office every night, or some company in Mumbai,” explains Karen Ristau, Ed.D., President. “But what we got was personalized service with Vivian, and we couldn’t be happier!”

YPTC Associate Vivian Fitzgerald comes in several days a week and even has her own nameplate outside her office in the Association’s headquarters in Arlington, VA. “Vivian pays attention to us: she’s client-focused, she knows what we do, and she watches the details for us. She really cares about our operation and our mission,” says Dr. Ristau.

“All of our directors, each of whom has a department and accounting system, are very comfortable with her. I can’t tell you how often I hear them say, ‘Vivian helped me.’”

David Dudik
Vice President of Operations

“It’s not just Vivian,” adds David Dudik, Vice President of Operations. “We’ve been very impressed with the entire YPTC team. When we started our relationship, we had some serious accounting issues. Several people came in from Your Part-Time Controller and it was immediately a positive take-away.”

Dudik also likes the business model of outsourcing controller services because of the depth of support. He knows that if technical or specialized issues arise, Vivian can call on her colleagues for assistance.

“I feel confident that if Vivian were to leave, YPTC would find someone else of the same quality. They wouldn’t send in the ‘B’ or ‘C’ team. This gives us an extra sense of security: the bench strength is there.”

NCEA also appreciates the stability of the arrangement. “The fact that there hasn’t been any change in personnel is a plus. Inconsistency would be a killer for us. She’s so reliable and that gives us confidence,” says Dr. Ristau.

Another feature that Dudik liked when choosing Your Part-Time Controller was that NCEA had the opportunity to select the associate with whom they preferred to work. “YPTC didn’t just send someone over: we had a say.”

It’s this individualized approach that sold NCEA on Your Part-Time Controller. “YPTC gives us the personalized touch,” says Dr. Ristau. “This isn’t Mumbai! I’ve become a true believer in outsourcing.”