Financial statement preparation in Canada

The statements a bank, a shareholder or a buyer asks for

Most private Canadian corporations are not required to be audited, and most never are. What they are asked for is a set of financial statements prepared by a professional accountant: a lender wants them before renewing a facility, a shareholder wants them before signing off on the year, a buyer wants them before making an offer. In Canada that work is a compilation engagement, carried out under CSRS 4200.

HBT prepares compilation engagements from reconciled records and issues the statements with the compilation engagement report that CSRS 4200 requires, including the note describing the basis of accounting used. Where the underlying bookkeeping is not in a state that supports the statements, we say so before starting rather than after.

What a compilation engagement covers

How the work begins

1. 1

   Step 1: Tell us who is asking

   A lender, a shareholder, a buyer or the CRA each expect a slightly different package. Knowing the reader shapes the scope.

2. 2

   Step 2: We review the records first

   We check the file is in a state that supports statements and quote the work before anything paid begins.

3. 3

   Step 3: Statements and report issued

   You receive the statements with the compilation engagement report, ready to hand to whoever requested them.

What does a compilation engagement cost?

A compilation engagement with financial statements starts at $1,750. Where the year end and T2 corporate return are prepared in the same engagement, a corporate year end and T2 starts at $2,500 and the compilation is scoped alongside it. A nil return starts at $750. Amounts are starting prices plus GST or HST where it applies and depend on the number of entities, the volume of transactions and the condition of the records. The fee is confirmed before any paid work begins.