CPA Survival Stories - Nancy DiSalvo, CPA

Our first post comes from our Vice President, Nancy DiSalvo, CPA. With over 20 years of experience in the accounting industry, she has learned the key to survival is surrounding yourself with successful people and developing those relationships.

I clearly remember my first accounting class. I was a senior in high school, and the year was 1986. Early in the year, we were given what would be one of our “projects” for the year. We were to maintain the books for a business named “Cycle Center,” everything from making bank deposits, writing checks to paying bills, and coding transactions to the general ledger all the way to reconciling our bank accounts and producing financial statements for our thriving business at the end of each month. Call me crazy, but I absolutely LOVED it! The debits and credits made perfect sense to me, and I liked to believe I was pretty good at it. After all, I loved math but only tolerated science, so accounting seemed like the best choice for me when it came to deciding on a major for college and, ultimately, choosing the career path I wanted to follow.

What I didn’t realize was my chosen path would not be easy, but I have never backed away from a challenge. 

When I started college, I knew from the beginning it would take me at least 5 years to make it through the program at UCF, as Florida was one of the first states to implement the 5th year requirement for CPA’s. I also knew the CPA exam had a reputation for being tough to pass, especially the first time. Being prepared for this was the biggest challenge in the beginning - at least until the next challenge came along. 

That is what makes this profession so intriguing to me….there is always something new around the corner, and you have to constantly prepare yourself for what is coming up next. This keeps me continuously moving and keeps my mind sharp, which also helps to keep me healthy in mind, body, and spirit.



Time has only solidified the wisdom of my career decision. Over the last 20 years, I have had the privilege of working with some of the best non-profit organizations, charter schools, and numerous small businesses from across the country. These are organizations making an unbelievable difference in the communities they serve, in the lives of the young children they educate, and in providing critical goods and services to the marketplace. My 20 years have been spent with the same accounting firm, which probably makes me an anomaly among 40-something professionals. I believe it also makes me better at what I do. I have served some of the same clients for many of these years and have come to specialize in their unique industries, which allows me to focus on their particular needs and provide the best possible client service. 

If you want to be successful in whatever career you choose, then surround yourself with people who are successful at what they do and develop meaningful relationships with them over time. It is these relationships that will serve you best in your career.

 Have you ever had that exhilarating feeling when you know you are in the right place at the right time doing what you were meant to do? I have been blessed enough to have that feeling for the last 20 years in the CPA profession, and I hope it lasts another 20.

Do you have a CPA survival story you would like to share with the association? Please contact Marie Nelson at aswacf@gmail.com.

Welcome - From Chapter President Sheridan Smith

Your Central Florida chapter of the ASWA is moving forward.  We are excited to share with everyone our new blog site and a new way to communicate and connect with each other.  This new blog site will replace our quarterly newsletters and will be a more current and better way to communicate what's happening with our chapter.  We will be posting everything from event updates, technical information, recipes, and more.  We would love to have your input and contribution to the blog and most important, spread the word and let everyone in your network know it's there.  We are working this year on building our membership base and having more opportunities to meet new people, gain resources, and build on our foundation.

We look forward to your feedback and getting connected.  Thank you! 

-Sheridan Smith - President, ASWA of Central Florida

Open For Business

Welcome to We've Got Assets!  The new blog of the Central Florida Chapter of the American Society for Women Accountants (ASWA) is open for business.  We've Got Assets is a blog for women (not to worry fellas - you're welcome here too!) who work in the accounting and finance fields.  We invite you to check in with us as we'll be updating the blog twice a week with new posts on everything from CPA survival stories to our members' favorite recipes.  The vision for We've Got Assets is to create a community for Central Florida's accounting and finance professionals to connect and build relationships that will empower us in all facets of our lives.

A few of you may be wondering how we came up with the name "We've Got Assets."  As the board of  directors discussed the blog, it became clear - our lives: the often frantic and overextended, but rich with families, friends, relationships, careers, and hobbies are our greatest assets.  It's through these roles we build a priceless portfolio that pays numerous dividends.    

One final note, we are accounting and finance ladies putting on our technical hats so if you notice anything that needs attention send us an email at aswacf@gmail.com. Please bear with us because we'll be working hard to provide interesting and relevant content.  

Thanks,
The Central Florida ASWA Board of Directors

From The Board

Coming Soon - From The Board

This section of the blog will provide updates from the latest board meetings.  Feel free to use this area to communicate your ideas for our chapter to our directors.