Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
To evaluate an accounting firm in Canada, check three things before you talk price: who signs the work and what credential they hold, whether they’ll deal with the CRA for you, and whether they can answer a question about your own numbers without waffling. The rest is fit.
Do it in that order. A firm that fails the first test doesn’t need the second one.
What credential should the person have?
That comes down to the job. A tax return for a small business, a corporate year-end and a set of financial statements a bank will read are different jobs, and they don’t all need the same person.
The CPA designation is the one most people mean. According to British Columbia’s CPA body, getting it takes the Professional Education Program, a three-day Common Final Examination and 30 months of paid accounting or finance experience. That’s a real filter. But a firm can be run by a bookkeeper with no designation and still do good work on day-to-day books. So ask what the person doing your file holds, as well as who owns the firm. Then check the name with the provincial CPA body if a designation matters for your job.
For personal returns, the CRA keeps a directory of preparers who are certified to file through EFILE. That covers filing, not quality, so it’s a starting point and nothing more. Our guide to choosing a tax preparer goes through the personal-return side in more detail.
Will they represent you if the CRA writes?
Ask this one directly. A business can authorize a representative in My Business Account, and a representative who uses Represent a Client sends a request that you confirm online. The paper form AUT-01 gives offline access only. If a firm says it will handle CRA letters but wants your login details instead of using these routes, that tells you something about how they work.
The CRA also lets you pick how much access to give: view only, view and update, or delegated authority, as its page on levels and scope of authorization describes. Start with the lowest level that lets the firm do the job.
Also find out who signs. When your return is filed electronically by a preparer, the CRA form T183 carries your declaration and authorization, and you sign part F of it. The CRA’s page on using a professional tax preparer says the T183 must match your electronic return, and to keep it, with your slips and receipts, for at least six years. Never sign a blank one.
What should you ask about the work itself?
| Question | What a good answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| Who prepares, and who reviews? | Two named people, or one and a clear reason why |
| What do you need from me, and by when? | A list with dates, not “whatever you have” |
| What happens if I’m late with the data? | They tell you about late penalties before you ask |
| What isn’t included? | Named items, such as payroll or GST/HST returns |
| Who keeps my records? | You get a full copy, every year |
Nobody can give you a fair fee in the abstract, and any number printed here would be a guess. Get at least two written quotes and make sure each says what’s included.
How do you evaluate an accounting firm with your own numbers?
Bring one number you already know and see if they get the same one. It takes two minutes and shows more than a brochure does.
Try a sale. In Ontario, $1,500 of consulting carries $195 in HST, so the client pays $1,695, as the GST/HST calculator shows. A firm that hesitates on that is the wrong firm for a business that sells things. Try payroll: the payroll deductions calculator shows what comes off an employee’s pay, and a decent bookkeeper can explain each line.
If you own a corporation, ask for a rough tax estimate on a given profit. Our corporate tax calculator gives $35,088 on $300,000 of active business income in Ontario for 2026, at an average of 11.7%. Treat that as a ballpark, because Ontario’s small business rate changed during 2026 and the tool blends the two periods. A firm’s number will differ a little. If it differs a lot, ask why.
What are the warning signs?
A firm that won’t put the scope in writing. A preparer who refuses to give you a copy of what was filed. Someone who’ll take your return but won’t sign it, and someone who pushes you to use their own login for your CRA account instead of the authorization steps above. These come from common sense, not from a CRA checklist, so weigh them as judgement.
Fit matters too. A bakery with three staff and a firm that mostly does large audits will frustrate each other. Ask how many clients like you they have, and ask how they’d stay in touch through the year, from January to December.
Should you phone a reference?
Yes, and it’s the cheapest test there is. Ask the firm for two clients in your situation, such as a sole proprietor with GST/HST or a small corporation with staff, and ask those clients three plain questions. Did the work arrive on time? When something went wrong, who fixed it? Would you hire them again?
A firm that has been around for years will have these people. A firm that can’t produce one, even with the client’s name removed, is telling you something.
Our sources
The CPA route comes from the British Columbia CPA body’s program page. The CRA pages on tax preparers and on authorizing a representative cover EFILE, form T183 and the online steps. Tax figures come from our calculators, using 2026 federal and provincial data. This site is not part of the CRA, any government or any firm.
Frequently asked questions
Does the person preparing my taxes need to be a CPA?
Not always. A CPA designation takes a set program and 30 months of experience, but plenty of bookkeeping work is done by people without it. Ask what the person on your file holds.
How do I let a firm deal with the CRA for me?
Authorize them in My Business Account, or confirm their Represent a Client request there. Don't hand over your login.
Should I sign a return before it is filed?
You sign the declaration on form T183 when a preparer files electronically, and you should never sign it blank.
What should a quote include?
The tasks covered, the tasks left out, deadlines for your data and what happens if you're late. We couldn't verify typical fee levels.
How can I test a firm quickly?
Give them one figure you can check yourself, such as HST on an invoice, and see if they match it.
All family and benefits calculators
- Self-employed taxes in Canada: income, CPP and GST
How tax works when you are self-employed in Canada: reporting income and expenses, paying both halves of CPP, instalments and when to register for GST