As the CFO of Wayne County, Carla directs the Department of Management and Budget and is responsible for the administration of finances for all county departments and agencies supported by the county's $2.1 billion budget. An active volunteer in her community and profession, Carla currently serves as a director on the MACPA Board; she also is the current president of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).

1. What made you decide to go into
the accounting profession?

I did not start in the accounting profession. My first career was in education. In fact, I taught elementary and secondary education for twelve years before I entered the world of accounting. I developed my interest in accounting while teaching a course in bookkeeping, a course that I had never taken before. After a couple of years of “on the job training” with teaching bookkeeping, I decided that I liked this subject matter and perhaps I should pursue a career in this field. I interviewed with Touche Ross and joined the firm as a paraprofessional. I worked an 8- to 10-hour day and attended Wayne State University in order to gain the necessary requirements to sit for the CPA exam. The rest is history.

2. What makes your job great?

Like millions of others I am committed to serving the public. Public service is a high calling that is grounded more in personal values than market values. It involves looking out for the collective best interest of all, rather than a narrow interest of a few. As a result, it attracts people who want to maximize their self worth rather than their net worth, people who think more in terms of “we” than “me.” You are hearing this from someone who began public service in mid career for these very reasons.

3. What advice would you have for those considering entering the CPA profession?

I understand that CPAs are a hot commodity right now. My advice for those who might be considering entering the profession is to start your career in public accounting. Public accounting is a great training ground, as you are exposed to a variety of industries that can only add to your knowledge base.

4. Describe how you have made a difference
by being a CPA.

Lately, the question of ethics and character has gotten a lot of play in the press. The recent wave of financial scandals in American businesses and elsewhere has taken a severe toll on public confidence. Through countless news reports, we have all become familiar with the names of various errant key players at companies like Enron,
WorldCom, and yes, even Arthur Andersen. It is easy to forget that an institutional or individual reputation built over many years can be lost in seconds. And once you have lost your good name, it is very hard to get it back. Life is full of difficult decisions, and the right choice isn’t always the easy choice or the popular choice. But in the final analysis, I have to do what I think is right. I would like to think that I have made a difference to the CPA profession by keeping skills or personality traits like morality and ethics as important components of a higher calling and doing what I think was right.

5. Explain any obstacles you had to overcome to get
to where you are today.

It is no secret that the climb to success for women, especially a woman of color, in the finance industry—and the business world in general, for that matter—has been, at times, as challenging as scaling Everest without a rope. Nevertheless, all women are gaining strong footholds. In my former life, I was a teacher – a music teacher at that! As I mentioned earlier, I left the teaching profession and joined Touche as a paraprofessional. At that time, I was in my early 30s and just starting a career in public accounting. Many of my “bosses” were younger than me. Most of them did not have a spouse or children, little or no debt and pretty much had all the time necessary to study for the CPA exam. When I left work, I pulled the second shift at home and then if I was not totally exhausted I studied for the exam. It took me three tries before I passed the exam, but it was well worth it!

6. What are your major professional accomplishments?

I have never written a book, never had a patent or copyright. I have never run for an elected office or been on national television. And although I have held many offices in international, national, regional and state accounting or finance organizations and received many awards, the most important aspect about these accomplishments is that I was able to touch so many people. I have infused the doubtful with a renewed purpose and commitment. I hope that I can continue to inspire those whom I touch.

7. What interests or activities are you involved
in outside of work?

I am the Youth Director at my church and I also teach aerobics three times a week. In my “spare” time, I enjoy reading, music, traveling and entertaining. I volunteer a significant amount of time in assisting other churches with their books. That effort involves anything from preparing financial statements to assisting them with the filing of tax exemption under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. I am a member of several organizations: National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) and Government Finance Officers Association, to name a few. In each one of these organizations I have served in a leadership capacity either as a board member or president.

8. Are there any other interesting things about yourself or your career that you would like to share with other members, potential members and students?

I would like to put in a plug for CPAs who might be considering a career change. The simple but powerful truth is that government needs top talent at all levels to help tackle the serious problems that currently face our nation and those that loom on the horizon. It needs people who are creative and forward-looking, people who can think beyond current realities to see future possibilities. This need will become even stronger given the large number of baby boomers that will begin to retire in the coming years. As a result, the opportunities to make a real and lasting difference for your country and your fellow citizens have never been greater.

9. What is your most meaningful volunteer experience?

I believe that volunteerism is one of the most valuable character-building, career-enhancing investments made by professionals. I also believe that it is key for people who not only desire successful lifework, but hunger to reap the rewards of living purposefully.

Volunteerism is a career investment that enables a person to gain new skills and add a passionate cadre of focused, caring, committed people into his or her professional circle. That being said, perhaps the most rewarding volunteer experience for me is when I have the opportunity to work with students. Whether it is a mentor relationship, providing some tutoring, or affording them with lasting leadership skills, this is an opportunity for me to give back.

10. How do you balance your personal
and professional life?

Now that is a big question. A few months ago I tried to break down my life into 3 categories: business, personal, health/spirit. I rated each area on a scale of 1-10. After this scaling, it became obvious where I need to focus. I have worked on balancing these three numbers to achieve my own sense of life balance. My business and health/spirit areas flourish while my personal life is currently taking a back seat and that is OK.

11. What have you learned from your mentors?

I owe my accomplished career to the support of mentors – often men – during the ‘80s, a time when clients and colleagues were not always welcoming to the gentler sex. I suggest that you find and adopt a mentor early. It is a way to develop your career quickly. I have learned that the importance of developing your own career plan cannot be stressed enough, but your plan does not need to be so rigid as to not allow for the possibility of change and the ability to take advantage of unforeseeable opportunities. You should never be locked into a single vision of your future. Work on making yourself more flexible and responsive to opportunities. Be prepared with the necessary skills that would allow you to take advantage of alternative career paths.

Secondly, many of us, women in particular, believe that talent and hard work bring success. These are definitely necessary ingredients, but they are not the only ones. If you don’t blow your horn, nobody else will. Many women feel that bragging or making others aware of their personal achievements and contributions is offensive and they should keep quiet. In fact, the opposite is true. You cannot wait for people to notice your contributions or brag on you, you need to do it for yourself.

The number one lesson I learned from my mentors was the power of networking. The importance of networking, making connections at your office, in your industry and in the community, in order to increase your ability to take advantage of opportunities for career advancement.

12. What do CPAs need now to be successful
in the future?

Once upon a time, not too long ago, Certified Public Accountants had a little trouble being recognized for the exciting, vital role they played in the lives of people and their businesses. They were viewed as the guys (and back then almost all of them were guys) over in the corner with the calculators and the green eyeshades and the pocket protectors. They were the ones with the ink-stained hands. The guys who knew everything about credits and debits, but never got any of the office jokes. Times Have Changed! Today, the accounting profession is evolving in dramatic ways. Women are becoming CPAs in record numbers. And the profile of the profession has risen dramatically. CPAs are running major corporations, starting exciting entrepreneurial endeavors, developing private practices that handle much more than tax returns. They are helping people to create the financial plans that will lead to secure futures. They are entering the field of education. Or they are moving into areas of accounting that did not even exist a decade ago, such as Assurance Services, but that can have a powerful impact on tomorrow's business environment. The accounting profession today is high profile, exciting, stimulating, and offers boundless opportunities for building the sort of career you want to build. CPAs today are viewed as leaders, as people on the cutting edge of business and industry, as people with private practices that matter, as people who are close to the heart of the action. When opportunities for CPAs are expanding as rapidly as they are now, it becomes crucial to have proactive approach. Get into the loop as early as possible to keep abreast of new opportunities and to make the connections that matter in terms of career growth.

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