Choosing an Accountant

How to choose the right accountancy firm

Most people choose an accountant on price and regret it on timing. Here is what actually separates a firm you keep for a decade from one you replace after two filing seasons.

a2z

Anil Vasaya, a2z Financial Solutions

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Updated August 2026

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9 min read

the first call tells you almost everything.

the short version

Match the firm to your stage – a sole proprietor and a 30-person company need different things.
Ask what is in the fee, not just what the fee is.
Response time and plain-language explanation matter more than office location.
Walk away from guaranteed refunds, vague scope, and anyone who will not put it in writing.

First, decide what you actually need

“I need an accountant” covers at least four different jobs. Naming yours before the first call saves everyone a wasted meeting and stops you paying for scope you will never use.

Compliance – returns filed correctly and on time, personal or corporate.
Bookkeeping and payroll – the monthly work that makes the annual work cheap.
Advisory – incorporation timing, salary versus dividends, cash-flow forecasts, lender reports.
Assurance – a review or audit engagement, which only a CPA firm can sign.

Credentials: what they mean, and when they matter

In Canada, anyone may prepare a tax return for a fee. The CPA designation carries a licensing body, a code of conduct and mandatory professional development – and it is the only route to signing assurance work.

If your bank or an investor needs reviewed or audited statements, a CPA firm is not optional. For day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll and tax compliance, the practical questions are how many businesses like yours the firm handles and who will actually do your work.

Also worth confirming: EFILE registration with the CRA, professional liability insurance, and whether the firm can act as your representative through Represent a Client – the mechanism explained in our CRA account guide.

take this to the first call

Ten questions worth asking out loud

Who will do my work day to day, and who reviews it? The partner who sells is often not the person who files.

How many clients like me do you have? Sector and size shape the advice more than software does.

Exactly what is included in the fee? Ask whether questions during the year are billable.

What is your normal response time? A firm that answers in two days in June will not answer in one hour in April.

Which software do you work in, and do I own the file? You should be able to leave with your data.

How do you handle a CRA review or audit letter? Ask whether representation is included or extra.

How do I send documents securely? Email attachments containing SINs are a warning sign in themselves.

What do you need from me, and by when? A firm with a clear calendar has a working process.

Can you explain one thing about my situation in plain English? Listen to how they answer, not just what they answer.

What happens if I want to leave? A confident answer here is the strongest signal on the list.

Pricing models, and what each one costs you

Hourly

Honest for unpredictable work, awkward for everything else. The hidden cost is that you stop asking questions, and unasked questions are where the expensive mistakes live.

Fixed fee per engagement

Good for a defined job – a T1, a T2, an incorporation. Confirm in writing what counts as out of scope, because that is where the second invoice comes from.

Monthly retainer

Bookkeeping, filings and advice in one predictable amount. Best fit for an active business, because the year is maintained rather than reconstructed each spring.

The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest year. A return prepared from unreconciled books costs more to fix than it did to file.

Remote or local: the honest trade-off

Filing is electronic, authorisation is electronic and documents move through secure portals. For most owner-managed businesses, distance stopped mattering some years ago – what matters is whether the firm knows the provincial rules that apply to you.

A local firm still earns its place when you want someone to physically hold paperwork, when you value being able to walk in, or when your business involves in-person inventory and asset counts.

Ask about April, not January.

Every firm is responsive in the quiet season. Ask how many days a reply takes at the peak, and ask a current client the same question.

walk away politely

Red flags worth taking seriously

A guaranteed refund before seeing your documents. Nobody can promise an outcome they have not looked at.
Fees quoted as a share of your refund. It puts the incentive in the wrong place.
No engagement letter. Scope, fee and responsibilities should be written down before work starts.
Reluctance to explain. If you cannot follow the reasoning, you cannot check it – and it is your return.
Asking you to sign a blank or unfinished return. Read it first, every time.
Deadlines missed once already. Interest and penalties compound; patterns rarely improve.

Switching is less dramatic than it feels

Your records belong to you. The incoming firm normally contacts the previous one for prior-year files and working papers, you update the CRA authorisation, and the handover happens between professionals. It is routine, and it does not need to be awkward.

The quietest time to move is right after a filing, not three weeks before one. If you are mid-year, ask both firms to confirm in writing who is filing what.

Useful references

General guidance, not advice for a specific situation. We confirm what applies to you during the consultation.

bring the list

Ask us all ten questions.

A first consultation costs you nothing but the half hour. Come with the awkward questions – those are the useful ones.

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CRA & Accounts