“I see accounting as the best way to make the biggest impact in your community as a person… because that's the ground level. That's the foundation of any nation is understanding financial management. And then the next step is, how can you use financial management to better give services to members?” says accountant Carter Wilson.

Wilson now lives in Vancouver, BC, but he’s originally from Winnipeg. Born in Peguis First Nation, he lived in nearby Fisher Branch until moving to Winnipeg in eighth grade. He graduated there and went on to the University of Manitoba so he could become an accountant. Grade 11 is when he decided on his career path and he is a CPA. The financial management of his community was a hot topic of discussion when he was growing up and he always loved crunching numbers, so accounting was a natural progression and career path.

“I like just the adding and subtracting and the satisfaction of it. But now what drives me is I work with First Nation communities every day. And my main goal… is to improve the operations of all First Nations so that they can deliver better services to their membership and produce a better living for everyone in each nation,” Wilson explains. While he doesn’t feel there's a gap in knowledge in terms of financial management in Indigenous Indigenous communities, he does see the burden of financial reporting on Indigenous communities and the restrictions imposed on them.

Attending university as a white-passing student, Wilson felt he was always walking in two worlds. Still in contact with his traditional family who raised him, he was also expected to attend many formal events where he felt out of place. He was very involved with student leadership and was a member of the track team. Normally, Wilson threw javelin, but they didn’t have a team for that so he threw shot put instead. His coach had him train 12 times a week and while he worked very hard, he didn’t often win. He learned discipline and was well rounded between his academics, student leadership and track pursuits.

One of the biggest lessons he took from track and field was being comfortable with being uncomfortable and in that discomfort, finding the biggest growth. With each reluctant workout, character and work ethic developed, making the next session easier. Wilson learned more about himself and to be honest with himself. Acknowledging where he’s going wrong so he can move forward was a valuable lesson.

While he’s no longer formally involved with track and field, he is training for a half marathon. Wilson finds joy in pursuing his goals with discipline, developing a training schedule and distance goals with intensity. Running long distances can be physically painful, but he enjoys the practice and working hard outside his job.

A typical work day can really vary for Wilson, whether he’s travelling to help a Nation by understanding how they operate so he can find ways they can improve or hearing about their challenges on video calls. He works with a handful of clients on whatever they need, from budgeting to work plans. Better managed finances can lead to more housing for members, Wilson explains, and while he could just work with his own home community, by working with communities around the country he can help more people. Working for the company he’s with now, he asked to transfer to the Vancouver office where the weather is warmer and they agreed. He gets to do more outdoor activities and he’s much happier.

The last estimate Wilson heard was that there were under 100 First Nations CPAs in Canada. “As soon as you become a CPA, which is a Chartered Professional Accountant, it's the equivalent of a lawyer or a doctor, you're a professional at that point. You become very valued in every organization,” he relays. The knowledge of a CPA is valuable in a nation or in a firm like MNP where Wilson works, he affirms.

“You can go anywhere you want in Canada. You can do anything you want. The sky is really the limit. You can run a million dollar company, or you can be the finance manager if you just want to have a stable life. You can do really anything you want as an accountant,” Wilson shares. Many things he learned in school he doesn’t really use now but they were important foundations for the things he’s just learning on the job now.

Thinking of his hopes for the future, he hopes to be leading and teaching others how to effectively help Indigenous communities. “I think that's an important thing that is sometimes lost, but the community knows what they want best, so I like to just support them in whatever way that is. But I can't help all nations across the country myself. You need a team,” Wilson dreams aloud. Supporting him on his journey is his girlfriend, who is also an accountant, his family and his manager.

In closing, Wilson wants to share that, “Accounting is not boring. Some of the most exciting jobs that I've seen are rooted in accounting… We do more than just count things. We do a lot of things that matter. A lot more things that matter than you might imagine.”

While using accounting to make an impact at the ground level, Wilson is envisioning taking his career to the next step: showing the same leadership he demonstrated in university to help more people in the right way. More than just counting things, he’s making his work count and enjoying the satisfaction of when it all adds up to the life he wanted in grade 11. 

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.