Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
To select an external auditor in Canada, check three things before you talk about anything else: the person is licensed to do audits in your province, they’re independent of your business, and they’ve done work for organizations like yours. Price comes after those.
Do you need an auditor at all?
Maybe not. A private for-profit company may only need one if its shareholders, its lender or its governing law asks for it. We haven’t confirmed the rules for every incorporation, so start with your articles and any loan agreements.
For federal not-for-profits, Corporations Canada publishes clear lines on its financial statements and review page. A soliciting corporation with revenue over $250,000 needs an audit. A non-soliciting one needs an audit over $1 million. Below those lines it may be able to choose a review engagement, which gives less assurance and usually involves less work.
That difference matters when you choose. An audit and a review are different products, so get quotes for the same thing.
What should you check about the person?
Start with the licence. Audits and reviews are regulated by the provincial accounting bodies, and Corporations Canada says a public accountant for a federal non-profit must be a member in good standing and meet provincial qualifications. Ask for the licence details, then check them with the body that issued it. Don’t take a website’s word for it.
Independence comes next. The accountant must be independent of the corporation, its affiliates, its directors and its officers. If your bookkeeper’s partner is a candidate, or a director’s cousin runs the firm, that’s a problem to raise early, not a detail to fix later.
Which questions separate good candidates?
Ask things a sales pitch can’t answer with a slogan.
| Ask about | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Licence and standing | Confirm with the provincial accounting body |
| Independence | No ties to you, your directors or your officers |
| Who does the fieldwork | The partner signs, but who is actually in your office? |
| Timeline | Start date, draft date and final date in writing |
| Scope | Audit or review, and what is excluded |
| Similar clients | Experience with your size and type of organization |
Fees are missing from that table on purpose. We couldn’t confirm typical audit fees for Canadian firms, so we won’t give a range. Ask at least three firms for a written quote for the same scope, and ask what makes the fee go up mid-way.
How should you run the selection?
Keep it simple and keep it on paper. Write a one-page brief: who you are, your year end, the type of statements, who reads them and the date you need them. Send the same brief to three or four firms. Then compare answers side by side instead of from memory.
A small board in Kelowna, say, might ask each firm to come to a 30-minute call with the treasurer and one other director. Score each firm on the table above, then talk about price last. The cheapest answer isn’t always the best fit, and the dearest isn’t always the safest.
How do you prepare so the quote holds?
A firm prices the job based on what it thinks it will find. Clean, reconciled books make that guess more accurate. So get your bank reconciliations and payroll records in order first. The payroll remittance calculator gives a quick reasonableness check: one employee paid $2,500 every two weeks means $753.34 to remit per pay run.
A business that also collects sales tax can test its invoices with the GST/HST calculator. On a $2,000 sale it shows $260 of HST in Ontario. And if you need a figure for what the year’s profit does to your tax, the corporate tax calculator shows 11.7% combined on the first $500,000 of active business income for a small Canadian-controlled private corporation in Ontario. That Ontario rate is a prorated blend for 2026, so treat it as an estimate.
What goes wrong when you choose an auditor?
Choosing on price alone is the one everyone warns about, and it still happens. A low quote can mean a narrower scope. Put the scope in writing and compare like for like.
Another is hiring the firm that also keeps your books. Some accountants do both, but it’s one of the spots where independence gets hard to show. Ask how they handle it.
And don’t skip references. Call two clients and ask how the firm handled disagreements. You’ll learn more from that call than from any brochure.
This page doesn’t rank or recommend any firm. We haven’t verified any firm’s claims, and we make no claim about what they charge.
Where this information comes from
The audit thresholds and accountant qualifications come from Corporations Canada, for federal not-for-profit corporations, linked above. The payroll, sales tax and corporate tax examples come from this site’s calculators, which use 2026 rates.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check first?
Whether the accountant is licensed for audits in your province and independent of your business, directors and officers.
What is the difference between an audit and a review?
An audit gives more assurance and involves more testing. A review gives less and usually costs less effort. Get quotes for the same one.
How many quotes should I get?
At least three, in writing, for the same scope and timeline.
Can my bookkeeper's firm audit me?
It can be hard to show independence in that case. Ask the firm how it handles the conflict.
How much does an audit cost?
We couldn't confirm typical fees, so we don't give a figure. Ask for written quotes.
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