Philadelphia Senior Manager Suzanne D’Angelo was the first full-time staff member hired at Your Part-Time Controller, LLC (YPTC) in January 2000. Because of this—and who she is as an individual and an accountant—Suzanne is an integral part of YPTC’s culture, history, and evolution. To celebrate Suzanne’s 25 years at YPTC, we asked her to reminisce about those earliest days and her career up until this point, as well as share her outlook on the future at YPTC.

Reflecting on Your Journey: You were YPTC’s very first full-time hire in 2000. Can you take us back to those early days? What was it like starting with the company, and what do you remember most about that time?

Suzanne D’Angelo: I remember my interview in a conference room of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s office at The Bellevue. I remember thinking it was a little odd that there was no “office.” But then again, the model was to work at clients’ offices, so I didn’t think about it much. I loved the idea of not being in the same office every day and I was looking forward to new challenges. I must admit it was scary at first. Some of my first client experiences involved soaking it all in and quickly realizing I didn’t have to know everything—I just had to figure it out along the way. 

There are also many “early day” traditions that continue today—the birthday bonus, a focus on mentorship and growth, and annual reviews held over lunch. Back then, annual reviews were with Eric [Fraint], with him eating tuna melts and telling me not to get the French onion soup at a business lunch because it was too messy.

Growth and Evolution: Over the past 25 years, YPTC has grown tremendously. From your perspective, what are some of the most significant changes or milestones you’ve witnessed in the company’s journey?

SD: The first significant change is our office. Back then, we were subletting two small rooms from one of our clients. The next sublet had more space, but it was years before we had an office of our own in Philadelphia. On that note, I was heavily involved in the opening of our other office locations in Washington D.C., New York City, and Houston. All these involved experimentation and adventure (especially New York City, which solidified that I am a Philly girl at heart). 

I think back and am amazed at how far we’ve come overall. When I first started, we all did a little bit of everything. Gradually, we formalized our orientation process, I began to participate in administering annual reviews, we started offering benefits such as health insurance and incentive vacation, and Eric made Jen [Alleva] a partner. They complemented each other—he was the entrepreneur, and she was the executor of the plans and ideas. From there, we developed support roles, and the entire infrastructure began to solidify.

Covid also created a significant shift—we had to adapt to an entirely virtual setting, which made us focus more on technology. Communicating via Zoom and Teams and working with new AI tools has been a gamechanger for how we serve our clients.

Company Culture and Purpose: What has inspired you to stay with YPTC for 25 years? Is there a specific aspect of the company’s culture, mission, or leadership that has motivated you to continue your career here?

SD: The culture of support is a big one for me.  Many years ago, I landed in the hospital with emergency surgery. When Eric found out, he was so worried and personally called me. He was also so supportive in client situations where the work became too much for my schedule to accommodate. He once said to me, “I couldn’t possibly do all that Suzanne, let’s get you another Associate to help.”

That type of support extends to how all managers and leaders interact with staff—I love working with staff members at their clients, coaching them, and lifting them up to success.

Our mission—helping nonprofits—continues to motivate me. Our work helps our clients make the world a better place. Plus, the breadth of nonprofit organizations we serve keeps the work diverse, challenging, and educational. There is always something new to learn. And as lessons accumulate into experience, I’m able to serve more clients in more ways and better support staff.

Finally, the leadership team and its emphasis on mentorship has always inspired me. Both Jen and Eric played a great part in shaping the manager I am today.

Personal Impact: How has your role and your work evolved over the years, and what personal or professional accomplishments are you most proud of during your time at YPTC?

SD: In 2004, I worked full-time at YPTC and enrolled in an MBA program at Penn State. This was a significant accomplishment for me and required a lot of time and hard work; it coincided with great personal life changes, since I got married at the beginning and had a baby at the end. It also influenced my career trajectory at YPTC from Associate to Manager and now Senior Manager.

My role happened to develop in line with YPTC and allowed me to participate in significant firm initiatives such as rebooting our Talent Acquisition processes, the development of our Quality Control department, enhancing time tracking and metric reporting, co-authoring our manager handbook and later turning that into our new manager training program.

Through it all, I’ve evolved into a mentor. I spend a great amount of time teaching staff the tools they need to be successful and stand on their own. I also do a lot of CFO consulting, client assessments, software implementations, and fill various interim CFO roles for large, complex clients.

As I look back to where I was and compare that to where I am today, I think I am most proud of how I’ve consistently been able to help our staff help our clients. I’ve always said, “As a Manager, you get double the satisfaction from your work—not only are you developing client-facing staff to be the best that they can be, but you’re really making a difference for clients in the process.”

Looking Forward: As someone who has been with YPTC for 25 years, what advice or insights would you share with new hires about building a meaningful and lasting career here? What are your hopes for the future of the company?

SD: When I conduct interviews or teach at orientation, I always tell people that there are so many unique opportunities to learn. At YPTC we have a variety of nonprofit business models within our clients, and so many new people to meet that boredom is almost impossible.

We are not just accountants for our clients, we are their trusted advisors who listen and help solve their problems. While it can be stressful at first juggling multiple clients, my favorite response to that is, “You get really good at figuring out how to figure things out.” It takes time, patience, research, and the ability to ask questions.

I am also blown away at how YPTC has maintained the same level of care and support that it did back when I started, even as it’s grown to a firm of this current size. Everyone is still so willing to jump in and help their colleagues through personal or professional struggles. There is genuineness in what we all do for each other and for our clients that I believe is unmatched; it’s what makes this place so special.

My hope for the future is that we continue to stay true to those values that make us a best place to work and lead to lasting careers here. I hope that we continue to stay true to our goal of helping nonprofit organizations. Uplifting them in their missions to better this world is a legacy that I am proud to be part of.

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