TURNING POINT OF LEHIGH VALLEY, INC.

"The Best Option"

Turning Point of Lehigh Valley, Inc. is an agency dedicated to offering services for domestic and intimate partner abuse survivors in the Lehigh and Northampton Counties of Pennsylvania. Through survivor empowerment and community education and engagement, Turning Point, founded in 1978, aims to eliminate domestic and intimate partner abuse.

Lori Sywensky, Executive Director of Turning Point explained that YPTC had completed occasional projects for the organization over the years. When the agency needed support for additional projects, such as converting their financial management system and resolving an audit issue, Lori reached out to YPTC for assistance based on the success of previous projects and engaged YPTC to provide regular accounting assistance.

The year 2020 was a “turning point” for the organization, as the pandemic environment, along with more complicated federal funding, stretched their financial management capacity. That year, Turning Point chose to transition from a traditional CFO to engaging YPTC as Virtual CFO. “With four years of experience with this model, we have no regrets. The actual cost is comparable to one dedicated finance director position, but our systems have become largely automated (meaning much less of my time) and we are now considered a model agency for our financial management practices by our funding agencies” Lori says.

As a mid-sized nonprofit, Turning Point constantly struggled with having the capacity to stay on top of and manage the ever-evolving state & federal funding requirements. “YPTC ensures our team is aware of these changes and helps us update our systems to ensure compliance. As an executive, I still have a lot of things that keep me up at night, but our internal controls and capabilities are no longer one of those things” Lori explains.

She also appreciates that YPTC “not only understands accounting principles, but they make an effort to understand our agency and help translate GAAP into our budgets, reports, and policies that further our agency’s goals while ensuring the highest level of transparency and compliance.”

“I have suggested YPTC to numerous non-profits who are struggling to fill financial positions with qualified candidates. From payroll to reconciliation, budget and audit prep to board reports, every one of our financial processes is now much more streamlined and accurate. While contractors cannot replace much of the work our employees do, this is one area where it really was the best option.”