Frequently Asked Questions

General FAQ's

Business Services FAQ's

GENERAL FAQ's

What services does your firm offer?Links page.

We have two main types of services:

  • Traditional accounting, financial statement preparation, tax preparation, financial statement preparation and tax planning and management consulting
  • Controllership Focus Online (link) provides core accounting services, business assessment, Controllership service, business process management consulting, and regular consistent business advice to all of our Controllership clients. 

What makes your firm different from all the rest?

We have been providing accounting services to the business community since 1991 as J.A. Smith & Associates Inc., CGA, CFP. In 2000, J.A. Smith & Associates became the eighth accounting firm in Canada designated as ISO Certified. We introduced our outsourced accounting and controllership programs in 2002. We offer the best of a small accounting firm-personalized service, honesty and integrity-with the amazing array of services only seen in larger accounting firms.

J.A.Smith & Associates Inc. is a forward-looking company whose people look for the latest in technologies and financial ideas to assist you in your management decisions.

Our Service Providers have a wide range of qualifications and experience in business. We have Certified Financial Planners, Certified General Accountants and other team members with varied backgrounds as part of the team that work with you, your business and your family.

 What is the difference between a CGA and a CA?

Certified General Accountants and Chartered Accountants both have the same legal rights to perform audits and accounting services in most Canadian provinces and territories.

Public accounting firms, whether owned by CGA or CA partners, do similar work. In fact, many accountants with CGA designations work in CA firms and vice versa. One difference is how their designations are obtained.

In order to get a CA designation, a degree is needed before beginning the program. The accounting student then requires thirty-six months of work experience in a public practice firm, where the focus is on performing audits.

The CGA program, on the other hand, is a bit more flexible. A degree is not required to begin the program, but one is needed to finish. This allows the advantage of gaining work experience while obtaining a degree through partnerships set up by CGA-Canada with selected Canadian Universities.

Last but not least, work experience is obtained anywhere in the accounting field, as long as it is senior level work experience. CGA students can be found working in industry, commerce, government and public practice (not just in audit work). The variety of experiences held by our service providers is one example of this flexibility.

 What makes your personal tax services exceptional?

Our senior accountants are constantly training and updating their tax skills and are the only ones permitted to prepare tax returns. We do not simply input your tax information - we ask you questions, listen to your concerns and use a comprehensive checklist to ferret out all of possible tax savings there is when prepare your return.

Then, before we finish, we look for ways we can save you money, not just in the current tax year but on an ongoing basis. You get the benefit of a financial planner and a tax advisor when you use our tax service. Finally, a senior accountant will review your return to ensure you receive all possible tax savings.

But we do not stop there, throughout the year we provided you with an e-newsletter every two weeks to keep you up to date on current accounting, tax and financial news. Ten just before tax season we send you a reminder checklist of items to bring with a large envelope plus the current year’s tax rate chart.

At any time during the year, if your personal life changes or you have questions relating to your return or future events that could affect your taxes, we are available to respond to you with not only our advice but a comprehensive tax memo documenting our recommendation. We are in business year-round-not just during “tax season”.

Where can I get a good set of helpful Internet resource links?

Click here to visit our

Business Services FAQ's

 What kind of financial statements do I need?

I you represent a non-profit organization or business (corporation, proprietorship or partnership) that has to report to unrelated shareholders, bankers, creditors or government you may require an Audit Engagement. The determining factor is the amount of risk associated with the use of those statements.

A Review Engagement will ascertain whether your financial statements are worthy of belief, and will provide limited assurance that your financial information conforms to generally accepted accounting principles.

A Compilation Engagement will ensure that your financial information is compiled into financial statement format. Generally this type of financial statements is prepared when records are reliable, the business is small and the financial statements are primarily used to file with Canada Revenue Agency.

How could I use your service for setting up my business accounting on the computer?

We support most of the popular accounting programs and can help with your selection of the best accounting program for your business. We are also happy to assist you in tailoring it to your specific business needs. Our training is delivered by Certified QuickBooks or Simply Accounting trainers who are also experienced bookkeepers and accountants very skilled in the use of the accounting programs they support.

Why would my business consider outsourced accounting?

When you consider the TRUE cost of maintaining an in-house accounting department such as salaries, benefits, vacation pay, down-time, computer costs, use of office space, stationery, hiring costs, firing costs, keeping a person full-time when they are only needed half time, you may want to consider the alternative. We offer a service that you can use as much as you need to, there is no hiring, no use of your business premises, no human resource or computer hassles. We can give you efficient and consistent quality service provided by qualified professionals. See our Controllership Focus Online (link) division website for more benefits and details.

Why would I need a business coach when I know my business?

80% of North America's small and medium sized businesses fail in the first 3-9 years. Businesses start out with the entrepreneur's idea that they can do the job better than someone else. As their business matures, often the very characteristics that help start the business are the ones that cause the business to falter.

Our business coach helps you, as business owner, to stay focused on the main goals of the company-one of which is to be a business success and achieve the personal goals of the business owner(s). A business coach, who is independent from your company, can be helpful in separating the forest from the trees that make up the everyday activities of business. A business coach can help you, the business owner, gain more personal satisfaction from your business life and consequently from your personal life. Our Associated Partner company RADplus Business Advisers can provide Coaching and Business Advice on the direction of your business and how to achieve smashing success in your business and personal life.

Our business has been thinking about standardizing procedures, but isn't adopting systems and standards bureaucratic and time consuming?

Implementing any system can be costly, however, our systems have been tested and proven by many companies in countries around the world. Our company adopted ISO standards (International Quality Standards recognized throughout the world) to ensured excellence in our business practices. The results are quality and consistency of products and services.

Over the years our firm has developed sample templates, work instructions and forms on Microsoft SharePoint platform that can be adapted to nearly any business—this Product allows your business the advantage of a turnkey business system that allows your entire team to stay connected and maintain all the business intelligence of the company. For more information about our Business Connect Intranet@ Contact our associated IT partner company-Business Performance Solutions (link) and we can help implement a quality control system for your company.

How do accountants charge for their service?

All accountants charge by time spent on a task or project. The longer it takes the higher the cost will be. Accountants bill based on their level of knowledge and the time they spend on a job. The more organized your financial records are when you give them to us, the quicker we can prepare the work you have asked as to do for you and the more cost effective it will be for you.

Can you give me a quote for the job?

At J.A. Smith & Associates Inc. this is an integral part of the engagement. At our first meeting, we will discuss the scope of the work to be performed, timelines and reporting requirements. Just as it is impossible to quote a construction job without first looking at the plans, it is also not possible to know how long any particular accounting/tax work might take without seeing the financial records.

Once we have had an opportunity to review your records and discuss the requirements, we have our service providers calculate a detailed time budget and provide you with a quote. If something in the scope changes which would require a changed to the fee we will advise you of this change ahead of time.

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