The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

"Access to a depth of knowledge...."

Celebrating its centennial in 2009, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to research and analysis of the region’s resources and challenges with the goal of promoting sound public policy and making Greater Philadelphia a better place in which to live, work and play. Working with a small staff and a large board and a $1.3 million budget, the League serves as a civic catalyst to bring together in-depth analysis and committed regional leaders to forge meaningful partnerships that increase the region’s prosperity.

“As a relatively small organization, we identified a need to have some oversight of our financial activities,” says Executive Director Steve Wray. “But we weren’t in a position to have a full-time controller on staff. The services offered by Your Part-Time Controller give us access to a depth of resources and knowledge that we otherwise couldn’t afford. This provides me, as CEO, with confidence in having a professional accountant assist us with both the mundane and the complicated financial issues we have to deal with.”

YPTC Associate Helen Fox has been serving as a part-time member of the League’s team for several years. Coming in to the Center City office one day a week, Fox provides oversight of the League’s bookkeeping and accounting processes, helps close out the books on a monthly basis, and prepares financial documents and other information for tax filings and the annual audit.

“It’s important for us to have that consistency,” says Wray. “She’s been invaluable to us. We’ve been able to leverage the breadth of YPTC’s experience with a range of different situations, some of which we might see only once every ten years but which they see often. This allows us to avoid mistakes that might likely happen.”

And the bottom line about outsourcing for an economic development organization? “It’s cost-effective,” says Wray.