ACHIEVE
“Helping us make the bridge between today and the future….”

Randy Fiser
V.P. for Management,
Finance and Operations

Addressing a U.S. education pipeline that has been described as “leaking students at an alarming rate” and high schools that Bill Gates has called “obsolete,” Achieve was created by the nation’s governors and corporate leaders in 1996 to close the “expectations gap” between what high schools expect and what graduates need to succeed in college and careers.

Based in Washington, DC, the independent, bipartisan nonprofit organization is helping 35 states to raise academic standards and graduation requirements, to restore value to a high school diploma, and to ensure that America’s high school graduates are college- and career-ready. Achieve’s staff, called “overachievers,” work in the American Diploma Project with member states that are responsible for educating 85% of all U.S public school students. Together, these efforts are raising academic standards, improving assessments, and strengthening accountability in our nation’s schools.

Despite the complexity of the education projects, Achieve had an accounting system that operated with what Randy Fiser, Vice President for Management, Finance and Operations, calls “an element of simplicity.” Funding came primarily from only a few grants. But with the receipt of a very large federal grant that was going to require significant increases in staff size and complexity of bookkeeping, Achieve recognized that they would need assistance to prepare for what promises to be dramatic organizational growth and accounting sophistication.

“We were about to experience exponential staff growth and new federal grant recordkeeping requirements,” says Fiser, who met Eric Fraint at an information technology expo and was immediately impressed with what Your Part-Time Controller had to offer.

“We asked YPTC to evaluate our current systems and determine what we would need for our next layer of growth. “A team came in, did a mini-assessment, and we engaged them. It was a pretty quick turnaround,” he says.

Today, three YPTC staff associates – Lisa Rispler and Linda Sankanung in Washington, and Jill Neumann telecommuting from Philadelphia – are helping Achieve prepare for this expansion. “Lisa, Linda and Jill are absolutely fantastic,” says Fiser. “They’re all highly professional, knowledgeable, and have a way of engaging with my team to help them develop their skills without coming across as threatening. They do a great job. Overall it’s been fantastic.”

Fiser is impressed with Your Part-Time Controller’s commitment to nonprofits. “There are very few people who want to do accounting in the nonprofit sector, so you normally don’t find that kind of talent in the accounting work pool. When you find someone that can bring the skills that Eric and his staff have, it’s like a blessing that walks in the door.

“Your Part-Time Controller is helping us make the bridge between today and the future,” he says. “I’d be cut off at the knees if they weren’t here. They’re wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to work with.”