Choosing a small business accountant in the Fraser Valley: 10 questions to ask before you sign

Handing your books and tax filings to someone new is a real act of trust — and the accounting market makes it hard to compare fairly. Everyone says they are “experienced” and “responsive,” fee structures are rarely posted, and you often cannot tell who will actually do the work until you are already a client. This guide gives you ten plain questions that cut through the sales pitch, whether you are hiring for the first time or thinking about a change. Ask them of any firm you are considering — and hold each answer to the same standard.

The 10 questions to ask

1. Are you a CPA — and who regulates you?

Anyone can call themselves an “accountant,” but a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) is licensed and accountable to a provincial regulator, held to professional standards, and carries the training to handle corporate tax and financial statements. Ask directly, and confirm the firm is in good standing. It is the single fastest filter.

2. How do you charge — fixed fees or hourly?

Fixed fees let you budget and, just as importantly, let you email a question mid-year without fear of a surprise bill. Hourly billing can make sense for unpredictable projects, but for recurring work it puts you and your accountant on opposite sides of the clock. Whatever the model, insist it is written down before you commit.

3. Who will actually do my work?

At many firms the person who sells you is not the person who prepares your return. That is not automatically bad — but you should know whether a CPA reviews your file or whether it is passed entirely to a junior, and who you will actually reach when you have a question.

4. How quickly do you reply during the year?

A late CRA letter or a financing deadline does not wait for tax season. Ask what a normal response time looks like — same day, one business day, a week? — and whether that holds in March as well as August.

5. Are you available year-round, or only at tax time?

Some practices effectively close between filing seasons. If you want planning conversations, mid-year check-ins, or help when something unexpected lands, confirm the firm is reachable all twelve months, not just in the run-up to a deadline.

6. Do you have experience in my industry?

A contractor with T5018 obligations, a farm with quota, a trucking business with per-kilometre records and an e-commerce seller with multi-province sales tax each have quirks a generalist can miss. You do not need a specialist, but you do want someone who has seen your situation before.

7. What software and systems do you use?

Cloud bookkeeping, secure document portals and e-signature make a remote relationship smooth; shoeboxes of receipts and emailed spreadsheets do not. Ask how documents move between you, how your books are kept, and whether you will have visibility into your own numbers.

8. What exactly is included — and what costs extra?

“Year-end and taxes” can mean very different things. Does the fee include the corporate return, the personal return, GST/PST filings, payroll, and answering CRA correspondence — or are those add-ons? Get the scope in writing so a “cheaper” quote is not simply a smaller one.

9. How does switching work if I come from another firm?

A good accountant makes this painless: they request your prior-year files and working papers and handle the CRA authorization, with little demand on your time. If a firm is vague about the handover, that tells you something. (Our guide to switching accountants walks through the steps.)

10. What are the red flags?

Be cautious of anyone who guarantees a specific refund before seeing your numbers, is evasive about fees, will not tell you who does the work, promises aggressive deductions that sound too good, or is unreachable outside tax season. Confidence is fine; pressure and vagueness are not.

How to compare quotes fairly

Once you have answers, line the firms up on the same terms. Put each quote next to exactly what it includes — a $1,000 quote that covers the corporate return only is not cheaper than a slightly higher one that also includes GST filings, payroll and year-round questions. Weigh the fee against availability and who does the work, not in isolation. And trust the small signals: a firm that answers these ten questions clearly and in writing is showing you how it will communicate once you are a client.

If comparing fixed-fee quotes is where you are stuck, our pricing page lays out what our own fixed fees include, which you can use as a yardstick even if you are talking to several firms.

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 →