When your accounting firm merges or retires: what happens to your file

It is unsettling to get the letter — or worse, to find out only when you call. The firm that has handled your corporate taxes for years has merged into a larger practice, been acquired, or the accountant you actually trusted has retired. Your first questions are practical: Where are my files? Who can talk to the CRA for me? Do I have to do anything right now? This guide walks through exactly what happens to your file and the calm, orderly steps to take next.

What happens to your working papers and prior-year files

Your financial records belong to your business. When a firm changes hands, client files are treated as an asset that transfers to the successor practice, and professional standards expect your records to be retained and made available to you. In practice this means your prior-year T2 returns, notices of assessment, general ledgers, working papers and supporting schedules should all still exist — either at the successor firm or with your former accountant.

There is an important distinction, though. The filed returns and your own source documents (bank statements, invoices, receipts, prior financial statements) are yours and you are entitled to copies. The accountant's internal working papers — the notes and calculations built to prepare your file — are generally the firm's property, but a successor firm will normally rely on them and a departing accountant will typically pass them along so the file can be continued. If you do not already keep your own copies of the last few years of returns and financial statements, requesting them should be step one.

Your authorization: who can deal with the CRA for you

Here is the piece most owners miss. Your accountant's ability to see your CRA account and speak to the CRA on your behalf runs through a representative authorization — and that authorization is tied to a specific representative, not to “whoever bought the firm.” When a firm merges or a principal retires, a new person or business number may now be handling your file, and their access is not automatic.

You authorize a representative to the CRA in one of two ways: online through My Business Account (or the representative initiates the request in Represent a Client and you confirm it), or offline using form AUT-01, “Authorize a Representative,” which the CRA introduced to consolidate the older T1013, RC59 and NR95 forms into one. A signed AUT-01 has to reach the CRA within six months of the date you sign it.

Two things are worth doing when your firm changes hands: first, confirm who is now authorized on your account; and second, remember that adding a new representative does not necessarily cancel the old one. If a prior firm's access should end, cancel it explicitly rather than assuming it lapsed. You can review and manage exactly who has access — and at what level — from My Business Account at any time.

Continuity questions to ask the successor firm

If a larger firm has taken over your file, you are not obligated to stay — but it is worth a short conversation before you decide. Straightforward questions tell you quickly whether the fit still works:

• Who, specifically, will prepare and review my file — and can I reach that person directly?
• Will my fee arrangement stay the same, and is it fixed or hourly going forward?
• Do you have my complete history — prior returns, working papers and the CRA correspondence on file?
• Is my CRA representative authorization already updated to your firm, or do I need to sign a new one?
• What is your typical turnaround when I email a question during the year?
• Who handles a CRA review or letter if one comes in — and is that included?

Clear answers are a good sign. Vague ones, or being routed to a general inbox for a business you used to be able to phone, are worth weighing honestly against your alternatives.

How switching works if you would rather choose fresh

Changing accountants is far simpler than most owners expect, and a transition your old firm has already disrupted is often the natural moment to do it. In short: you sign a new representative authorization, your new accountant requests the prior-year files, and the handover happens between professionals with little demand on your time. There is no need for an awkward conversation with a firm that has already changed underneath you.

We walk through the mechanics in detail — records to gather, the authorization steps and what to expect week by week — in our guides on switching accountants and your first 90 days with a new accountant. If you are a Mission or Fraser Valley business specifically, our page for an accountant in Mission lays out how we work with owners in your area, fully online.

Timing: why year-end matters

The tidiest handoff happens after a fiscal year-end has been filed. When a return is complete, the file is at a natural stopping point: the numbers are closed, the assessment is in, and a new accountant picks up cleanly at the start of the next year rather than mid-stream. If your year-end is approaching and your firm's status is uncertain, it is better to sort out who is filing it sooner rather than later — the weeks right before a T2 deadline are the hardest time to move a file, and a return that slips because “everyone assumed someone else had it” is the outcome to avoid.

If you are mid-year, you can still switch at any point; you simply give your new accountant access to the year-to-date records so nothing is lost. The main thing is not to leave your file in limbo while a merger settles.

The bottom line

A firm merging or an accountant retiring is genuinely inconvenient, but it does not put your records or your CRA standing at risk if you handle it in order: get copies of your recent returns and statements, confirm and control who is authorized with the CRA, ask the successor firm the continuity questions, and — if the fit no longer works — switch cleanly, ideally after a year-end. Take it one step at a time and your file stays exactly where it should: under your control.

This article is general information for Canadian business owners and is current as of July 2026. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it does not create a client relationship. Tax rules change and your situation is unique — please speak with a CPA before acting on anything here.

About the author

Sunny Dhillon, CPA

Founder of EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm, and a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC). Sunny works with incorporated contractors and small business owners across Canada on tax, bookkeeping and advisory. More about Sunny →  ·  Book a free consult →