6 Outsourced Finance Department Services 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 outsourced finance department services work, not a general example.
Remittances at a 14-person design agency in Windsor, Ontario were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat a bank that refused to renew an operating line without compliant statements.
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, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $123,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 2 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $93,000 Vacated — Boutique Fitness Studio Group, Kelowna
Client: A boutique fitness studio group · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$93,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A boutique fitness studio group in Kelowna, British Columbia was carrying $93,000 of penalties and interest arising from two sets of numbers — one in the accounting file, one the owner actually ran the business on, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
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 framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $93,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 3 · Sale and succession
Share Sale Restructured, $360,000 Less Tax On Closing — Independent Pharmacy, Toronto
An independent pharmacy in Toronto, Ontario was preparing to sell. Due diligence surfaced retained cash well above what the business needed to operate, which would have reduced the price or killed the deal outright.
What we did
We cleaned up the historical file, 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 prepared the due-diligence package the buyer's advisers actually asked for.
The result
The deal closed at the agreed price. $360,000 of tax was saved against the structure originally proposed, with no post-closing adjustment.
Case Study 4 · Scaling without breaking
Growth Handled Without A Missed Filing, $18,500 Freed — Family-Owned Wholesale Distributor, Mississauga
A family-owned wholesale distributor in Mississauga, Ontario was opening in a second province — different filing obligations, a different payroll regime, and inter-company balances between two related corporations that had never been reconciled already in the file.
What we did
We reconciled the inter-company accounts, papered the arrangement with a written agreement, and aligned both corporations’ year-ends 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. $18,500 of cash was released, and the monthly reporting now flags a problem while it is still small.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
26 Months Reconciled And $16,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Commercial Cleaning Contractor, Winnipeg
A commercial cleaning contractor in Winnipeg, Manitoba was carrying year-end statements that arrived four months late and never tied to the bank. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 26 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. 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, then set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
26 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 6 days, and $16,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Case Study 6 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $66,000 Saved Each Year — Specialty Food Importer, Halifax
Client: A specialty food importer · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$66,000
Tax on reorganisationDeferred
Elections filedOn time
The situation
A specialty food importer in Halifax, Nova Scotia had outgrown the structure it started with. A bank that refused to renew an operating line without compliant statements was the immediate problem; the longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step.
What we did
We mapped the current structure, modelled the target, and separated personal and corporate spending, cleared the shareholder loan through a documented salary and dividend mix, and restated the comparative year — with the tax-deferred elections filed on time and the supporting valuations documented.
The result
The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $66,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
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.
