Black History Month Spotlight: Charles Wilhoite

Black History Month

To center diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, we invited OSCPA members to share their experiences on culture and identity while navigating the personal and professional world. 

The invitation to participate in the Member Spotlight series engendered an immediate, visceral reflection of “You don’t want to talk about yourself!” But as I have aged, I have come to realize that, as a Black male, I have a responsibility to talk about myself when I believe it can serve the valuable purpose of advancing both the lives of members of my race and a deeper understanding of my race.

I am the fourth of six children, born and raised in the middle of the Navajo Reservation in Arizona by two of the best parents that ever walked the planet. Both of my parents were educators. My father, a Black man, was a principal at a boarding school and my mother, a Black woman, was a teacher at a neighboring boarding school.  Needless to say, education was a focal point in our family.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, my developmental years—growing up as a minority among minorities and in an education-first environment—set the stage for a lifelong journey of continuous learning, both personal and professional. When I earned my degree from Arizona State University in 1987, I could count the number of Black accounting graduates on one hand.  When I started my career at KPMG in Phoenix that same year, a period when the accounting world was often identified as “The Big 8,” I could count the number of Black auditors among all eight firms on two fingers.

Both friends and co-workers sometimes asked me if I felt pressure due to the fact that I was almost single-handedly “representing” the Black race in the Big 8 accounting world in Phoenix, and my answer was always the same. No individual has the power or authority to represent any entire race, ethnicity, or group, and more important, no individual should ever be made to feel that they are carrying such a heavy burden.

But it was my follow-up remark that often surprised people. “All I ever see is opportunity, because the right room full of people with no one like me in it is begging for me to occupy that void!” I was blessed in life to have support surrounding me at every turn. Family, friends, educators, and professionals constantly told me what I could do, rather than what I could not. Such a uniquely positive circumstance, and the resulting benefits, leave me with a sense of obligation to support others in their worthwhile pursuits.

In my 34th year with Willamette Management Associates as a business valuation, forensic analysis and testifying expert, I currently maintain 10 professional certifications, including my CPA designation. I serve on the AICPA’s ABV Credentialing Committee and ABV DEI Task Force. I have served on over 30 boards and commissions, including the privilege of currently chairing the board of Legacy Health and serving on the public company boards of NW Natural and the Jensen Quality Growth Fund. These certifications, positions and board roles don’t make me special, but they do provide me the superpower of visibility. If young Black students, adults, and professionals can see me, I guarantee that some of them will believe they can be me—not special, but visible—a superpower that is wonderfully contagious.

As we see Black History Month come to a close, I will state the obvious. Black people have achieved a number of notable accomplishments, including being credited with the invention of ice cream, the refrigerator, the spark plug, the clothes dryer, the automatic traffic signal, and something near and dear to all CPAs (at one point)—the pencil sharpener. These accomplishments made them visible.

I have a wonderful, white wife, and three exceptional, mixed-race children, one of whom just celebrated his first work anniversary—as an auditor with KPMG. He could see me, and he believed he could be me. Each of us can take steps to help others ultimately be seen, and the results can change the face of our profession and the world.

Read more on DEI 

Organizations
NSBCPA - National Society of Black Certified Public Accountants
www.nsbcpa.org

NABA - National Association of Black Accountants 
www.nabainc.org

Alliance of Black Women Accountants
www.allianceofbwa.org

Articles
The cost of inequality: Why Accounting Firms must do more to support Black Women
www.forbes.com

Why aren’t there more Black accountants?
www.accounting.com