Career Opportunity: Staff Accountant (September 2024)

Avisar’s trusted team of Chartered Professional Accountants provides a ‘beyond the numbers’ approach to problems and questions, working in-detail without losing perspective on the big picture as it relates to our clients’ needs, business and industry.

As with our clients, we offer our employees a better option. Our respectful, family-like team is passionate about making a difference within our community by building positive relationships and improving the lives of our team.

We are proud to have built a positive environment where people can grow, support each other, and be supported, where the challenges are within the work itself, not the work environment. And as a result, we have had the pleasure of working with the majority of our employees for many years.

We enjoy working together, learning from each other, developing our skills, and supporting each other through the challenges that come with being in public practice. Avisar is built on a culture of constant improvement where we are continually refining our processes for efficiency and to ensure we are providing excellent client service.

Our employees are the heart of our business, and we are committed to a healthy work-life balance. We encourage our team to rest and recharge after particularly busy seasons of work while supporting them with the tools and resources they need to thrive.

THE ROLE:

Your day-to-day duties as an accountant will include:

  • Preparation of personal, corporate and trust income tax returns
  • Preparation of Compilation financial statements
  • Preparation of information reporting returns
  • General bookkeeping duties

Although you would find benefit from previous exposure to Caseware and Profile, your ability to learn and grasp new technologies will be a leading factor in your success at Avisar.

Like all Avisar’s team members, you are focused on personal and professional growth and take personal responsibility for tasks that you have been assigned or new opportunities that you see. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Commerce or Business Administration degree (accounting major), or other degree with Chartered Professional Accountant preparatory courses (CPA PREP)
  • Excellent communication skills, written and oral
  • Ability to enter data quickly and accurately
  • Established time management skills as required by the seasonal workflow of a general accounting practice
  • Entrepreneurial spirit, keen interest in making things better, a willingness to challenge the status quo and enthusiasm to grow both professionally and personally

WHY WORK HERE? 

These are just a few of the many reasons there are to join us:

  • We know that all of you is coming to work, and are whole-person-focused, and offer a work/life balance in which you take the lead
  • Our respect for your time is reflected in our time management policies including acknowledgement and tracking of overtime, which can be taken as additional time off during our off-peak seasons. 
  • We offer a competitive salary, health benefits, 3 weeks vacation to start, workplace flexibility, plus bonuses
  • Work with a seasoned team within a rewarding workplace culture that breeds long tenure, with opportunities to mentor and be mentored
  • We value open communication, peer mentorship, individual responsibility, and autonomy over hierarchies and strict org charts, and we focus on your strengths and your individual development, including regular performance feedback
  • We leverage technology and innovation to support your work and our clients

CPA STUDENT FOCUSED BENEFITS

  • Preapproved training office for Assurance, Compilation, Tax (ACT) Pathway
  • Dedicated CPA student mentors
  • Established peer mentorship program
  • Upfront payment of CPA dues, course module fees and Densmore CFE preparation course fees
  • One paid study day available for each CPA module
  • Customary CFE preparation leave for all first-time writers.

INTERESTED? 

We would love to hear from you! Send us an email with your cover letter indicating why you are the right fit for this role, resume, and your unofficial transcripts to clientservices@avisar.ca. If you are good at following instructions, you will know to put “Ready to learn” in the subject line and address your cover letter to “Tanya Lind, Office Manager”.

Career Opportunity: Senior Accountant

Avisar Chartered Professional Accountants is looking for recently designated CPAs with a passion for leadership to join their team as Senior Accountants.

Senior Accountants provide public accounting, assurance, tax, and advisory services to Avisar’s clients with a keen focus on building trusting, long-term relationships. Avisar’s Senior Accountants are responsible for complex file preparation, performing financial and system analyses and as required, basic bookkeeping to complete files. Senior Accountants intimately understand each client’s business and share information and insights to uncover hidden opportunities to improve client efficiency and performance. Avisar’s Senior Accountants are encouraged to take on more responsibility, including planning, organizing, and managing client engagements and developing junior accountants to achieve excellence in service delivery.

If you are a CPA with a passion for excellence and the capacity to take on new challenges, we would love to hear from you.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Senior Accountants’ responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Planning and executing of client deliverables

  • Plan and prepare year-end files for Review Engagements, including financial statements and related note disclosures.
  • Delegate portions of Review Engagement client work to junior accounting staff and perform overall review of those work segments.
  • Plan and prepare larger and more complex Compilation Engagements.
  • Prepare complex corporate and personal tax returns.
  • Evaluate the data integrity provided by clients.
  • Bookkeeping assistance, if required, to complete the file.
  • Reconcile and analyze complex general ledger accounts.

Working with Others

  • Actively contribute to a positive and respectful work environment that promotes team and corporate success and overall positive morale. Work cooperatively with others to achieve shared objectives, respond promptly to others’ needs, and demonstrate leadership when appropriate.
  • Liaise and interact with all Avisar team members.
  • Keep management staff informed on progress of client engagements, as appropriate.
  • Supervise and mentor junior accounting staff and CPA students.
  • Collaborate with other Senior Accountants, as required.
  • Acknowledge the success of teammates at all levels of the firm.

Continuous Learning

  • Actively participate in external and internal educational seminars and maintain current knowledge of Avisar’s policies and procedures as they relate to this position.
  • Maintain appropriate professional designations and up-to-date knowledge of current information technology techniques.
  • In conjunction with Avisar’s Core Competencies, identify personal training needs and communicate/coordinate all such needs.
  • Actively pursue the goals set in their Professional Development Plan.

Developing the Business

  • Within job scope, identify ways to improve efficiency and results by exploring new possibilities.
  • Play an integral role in establishing and implementing new processes and systems for the betterment of the firm.
  • Participate in and contribute to attaining firm goals.
  • Promote the firm’s expertise and services to generate new business opportunities.
  • Engage in local business community networking and share business development opportunities with the Leadership Team.

QUALIFICATIONS

Senior Accountants’ knowledge, skills, and personal qualities include, but are not limited to:

  • Recently designated Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).
  • Minimum 2 years full cycle accounting with a public accounting firm, preferably working with small to medium-size owner-managed, profit-oriented clients.
  • Knowledge and experience working with Canadian Accounting Standards for Private
  • Enterprises (ASPE) and Canadian Accounting Standards for Not-For-Profit Organizations (ASNPO) and related technical literature.
  • Experienced in preparing compilation and assurance engagements.
  • Demonstrated technical accounting skills and research capabilities.
  • Aptitude to clearly communicate accounting knowledge and utilize his/her critical thinking skills in asking and responding to client queries.
  • Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to prioritize multiple responsibilities.
  • Shows initiative and good judgment, a positive work ethic, and a desire to explore new learning opportunities.
  • Ability to think a project through to completion, and work independently and as part of a team.
  • Enjoys working in a fast-paced environment and embraces change.
  • Strong oral and written communication skills and people skills.
  • Flexible with a strong ability to prioritize workload in order to meet competing deadlines.
  • Demonstrates problem-solving ability, and the ability to design and improve processes.
  • Contributes to meetings and group efforts. Shares skills and knowledge with others, seeks to learn from others, and recognizes and supports the successes of other team members.
  • Improves the organization by sharing ideas and opinions and enhancing communication in all directions and across all levels.
  • Respects the importance of attendance, punctuality and accurate timekeeping, and the impact it has on the rest of the team.

Every employee is expected to meet the standards of Avisar and the accounting profession. These standards ensure all employees provide high quality work that embodies the leadership, values, and ethics required to service Avisar clients. Senior Management supports initiatives that contribute to best practices and understands that success depends on the support of our employees in all areas of operations. Our employees are recognized for their support and contribution toward maintaining the high standards that Avisar values.

OUR STORY

Avisar’s trusted team of Chartered Professional Accountants provides a ‘beyond the numbers’ approach to problems and questions, working in-detail without losing perspective on the big picture as it relates to our clients’ needs, business, and industry.

As with our clients, we offer our employees a better option. Our respectful, family-like team is passionate about making a difference within our community by building positive relationships and improving the lives of our team. We are proud to have built a positive environment where people can grow, support each other, and be supported, where the challenges are within the work itself, not the work environment.

As a result, we have had the pleasure of working with the majority of our employees for many years. We enjoy working together, learning from each other, developing our skills, and supporting each other through the challenges that come with being in public practice. Avisar is built on a culture of constant improvement where we are continually refining our processes for efficiency and to ensure we are providing excellent client service.

Our employees are the heart of our business and we are committed to a healthy work-life balance. We encourage our team to rest and recharge after particularly busy seasons of work while supporting them with the tools and resources they need to thrive.

CORE VALUES

Meaningful Relationships

We are passionate about developing meaningful relationships in the workplace and in our community.

Mutual Respect

We operate with integrity and conduct business ethically, and work with clients who do the same.

Collaboration

We foster a culture of genuine care among our staff and work together to achieve our goals and those of our clients.

Empowering Leadership

We create an environment where team members are encouraged to be their best selves and realize their professional aspirations.

Continuous Improvement

We are always improving our skills and expertise so that we can bring better solutions to our clients.

HOW TO APPLY

If this position sounds like the perfect fit for you, we can’t wait to hear all about it! Send us an email with your resume, cover letter and a brief summary of why you are right for the role to clientservices@avisar.ca. If you’re good at following instructions, you’ll know to put “Ready for the responsibility” in the subject line and address your cover letter to “Tanya Lind, Office Manager”.