6 Job Costing Accounting tax and accounting engagements in full — what the client came to us with, what we did, and what it was worth. Each one is specific to job costing accounting work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · CRA review defended
$33,500 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — Boutique Fitness Studio Group, London
Client: A boutique fitness studio group · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Adjustment withdrawn$33,500
File closed in10 weeks
Penalties assessedNone
The situation
A boutique fitness studio group in London, Ontario received a proposal letter opening a review of job costing accounting. The CRA had identified a shareholder loan account that had drifted for three years with no supporting entries and proposed an adjustment of $33,500, with 30 days to respond.
What we did
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. We separated personal and corporate spending, cleared the shareholder loan through a documented salary and dividend mix, and restated the comparative year, then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
The result
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $33,500 of it. The file closed in 10 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Case Study 2 · Scaling without breaking
Growth Handled Without A Missed Filing, $148,000 Freed — 14-Person Design Agency, Guelph
A 14-person design agency in Guelph, Ontario was opening in a second province — different filing obligations, a different payroll regime, and year-end statements that arrived four months late and never tied to the bank already in the file.
What we did
We rebuilt the trial balance from source documents, reconciled every bank and credit-card account, and issued a CSRS 4200 compilation with a proper basis-of-accounting note and put monthly reporting in place so the owner could see the cash effect of growth while there was still time to act on it.
The result
Growth was absorbed without a compliance failure. $148,000 of cash was released, and the monthly reporting now flags a problem while it is still small.
Case Study 3 · Planning that cut the bill
$21,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Growing Landscaping Company, Halifax
Client: A growing landscaping company · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Saving identified$21,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
The situation
A growing landscaping company in Halifax, Nova Scotia asked for a second opinion on job costing accounting after three years of rising tax. The review found two sets of numbers — one in the accounting file, one the owner actually ran the business on.
What we did
We built the comparison first — current structure against two alternatives — and then reconciled the inter-company accounts, papered the arrangement with a written agreement, and aligned both corporations’ year-ends.
The result
First-year saving of $21,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 4 · Cash and remittance control
$137,000 Of Working Capital Freed From The Tax Cycle — Regional Courier Operator, Barrie
A regional courier operator in Barrie, Ontario was profitable on paper and short of cash every month. Inter-company balances between two related corporations that had never been reconciled explained most of the gap.
What we did
We set a monthly close calendar with a fixed cut-off, so the year-end became a review of work already done rather than a twelve-month rebuild and built a thirteen-week cash view so tax payments stopped competing with payroll for the same dollars.
The result
$137,000 was released back into working capital. Remittances have been on time every period since, and the forecast shows the tax outflow before it lands.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 8 Weeks To 5 Days — Machine-Shop Owner-Operator, Hamilton
The accounting file at a machine-shop owner-operator in Hamilton, Ontario was built on a bank that refused to renew an operating line without compliant statements. The year-end had taken 8 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did
We separated personal and corporate spending, cleared the shareholder loan through a documented salary and dividend mix, and restated the comparative year and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 5 days instead of 8 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
A two-partner engineering firm in Windsor, Ontario had already missed one deadline and was about to miss a second. Behind it sat a shareholder loan account that had drifted for three years with no supporting entries, and a penalty of $82,000 was accruing.
What we did
We split the work into what had to happen before the deadline and what could follow it, then rebuilt the trial balance from source documents, reconciled every bank and credit-card account, and issued a CSRS 4200 compilation with a proper basis-of-accounting note.
The result
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $82,000 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier year.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Certified Tax Accountant. Figures describe representative engagements of this type; outcomes depend on your own facts. Client names and identifying details are omitted for confidentiality.
