One Accountant’s Journey from Lincoln Center to Withum

Carolina Carvalho, a tax staff level II at Withum and an NJCPA CPA Candidate member, has been playing the cello and classically singing since she was about 10 years old — and playing the piano since three. Since then, she has put in almost as many hours poring over tax returns for clients and studying for the CPA Exam. This musically inclined accountant still favors both music and accounting — and, thankfully, she doesn’t have to choose between them.

So, how did a tax accountant come to sing operetta at the NJCPA 2019 Annual Convention & Expo? Or, one could ask, how did a classically trained singer end up at an accounting convention in Atlantic City? For starts, Carolina always had a penchant for music, beginning with piano, cello and singing lessons as a child. She quickly went from St. Michael’s church choir in West End, New Jersey, to youth carol and regional music groups, and eventually on to Avery Fisher Hall and Lincoln Center. From 10 years of age through high school, Carolina performed in various countries — a new one every other year.

“One night we would be singing in the choir and another night we would be playing in the orchestra,” she recalls, noting that each event was more exciting than the next. She particularly favored performing at Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. “One of the most memorable events was singing in front of Pope Benedict XVI in Rome in 2005,” she said. “Every two years, we would travel to a different country,” she explains. While she likes the cello, she found that she “extended her love for music with singing.”

Music, whether singing or playing an instrument, has always been an outlet for her creativity and a way to express herself, she notes. Her two paths did combine in college when she attended Monmouth University’s five-year program for accounting and graduated with a BS in accounting and finance and an MBA. “Even though I was doing completely the opposite of music, I still participated in the music program and the chamber choir and orchestra on campus.” She even was able to sing at Monmouth University’s presidential inauguration which, according to Carolina, was “an unbelievable experience.”

Family Traditions

So, how does she maintain both her musical side and her accounting prowess? It helps that Carolina’s sister, Maria, who is older by 17 months, is also an accountant studying for her CPA and just as trained in music as Carolina. Her dad is an accountant and so was her grandfather.

Before going to college, she passed multiple rounds of Royal Schools of Music exam levels; but, even before high school she decided to follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather in accounting.“ With accounting, you can learn something new every day and something different every day, especially with the new tax laws.”

She also favors working with clients and helping to assist businesses with their taxes. "I love working with people. In order to learn, you have to be on different teams and have exposure to many things.” She explains, “I never really thought about pursuing music as a professional career. Accounting was the best career path within business.”

Though she has a practical day job in accounting, music will always be in Carolina’s life. “I trained knowing whatever I did in life, I would always have music with me,” she says. “In music, you have to perform, you have to be open-minded. In accounting, you have to keep an open mind, especially in a changing world,” she says. She still sings with her sister every Saturday at St. Mary’s Church in Deal and also sings at weddings.

Down the road, she’s open to pursuing more accomplishments — the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) credential. “You learn throughout your entire life,” she says.