Accounting, audit and advisory in Ottawa
An accounting and audit firm serving Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, from audit and review engagements through to fractional finance support.
Let's talkAbout
From Ottawa we deliver audit and review engagements under Canadian standards for owner-managed businesses, private companies and Canadian subsidiaries across Eastern Ontario, where partner attention and a predictable fee matter more than a large firm logo.
Our Ottawa practice serves Cornwall and the wider SDG region (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry), along with the communities down the Highway 401 corridor between Ottawa, Cornwall and the Quebec border. Organisations in this corridor are too often asked to choose between a sole practitioner and a firm headquartered five hours away. We work in between: senior people, on the ground in Eastern Ontario, who understand review engagements and Canadian reporting requirements.
Our services
How we help in Ottawa
Review Engagements
Review engagements under CSRE 2400 for Ontario businesses. The right level of assurance when your bank or board needs credible financial statements but a full audit is more than the situation calls for. Partner-reviewed, fixed fee, and turned around without the back-and-forth.
Learn more →Audit & Assurance
Statutory and lender-required audits under Canadian Auditing Standards for private companies and Canadian subsidiaries. Partner-led from planning to sign-off, with no junior-only fieldwork.
Learn more →Fractional Finance
Embedded CFO, controllership and bookkeeping support sized to where you are, from first hire to scale-up, without the full-time overhead.
Learn more →Sustainability Reporting
ESG and sustainability assurance aligned with relevant local and international frameworks. We help you tell your sustainability story with credibility and compliance.
Learn more →Audit, review engagement or neither?
Most Canadian conversations start here. The right level of assurance depends on who reads your financial statements and what they decide on the strength of them, not on the size of your organisation alone.
| Criterion | Audit (CAS) | Review engagement (CSRE 2400) | Neither |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level of assurance | Reasonable. A positive opinion that the statements present fairly. | Limited. A negative conclusion: nothing has come to our attention. | None. Statements are prepared but not independently examined. |
| What we do | Substantive testing, confirmations, an understanding of internal control, and evidence gathered across the whole balance sheet. | Inquiry and analytical procedures, with specific work on estimates, related parties, going concern and fraud risk. | Preparation and compilation only. |
| Typically required by | Statute, securities regulators, lenders on larger facilities, government funders, and buyers in a transaction. | Boards, smaller lending facilities, and members who have stepped down from an audit by resolution. | Nobody external. A management and tax filing exercise. |
| Relative cost | Highest | Materially lower | Lowest |
| Best when | You are a reporting issuer, transacting, raising money, or have real estimation risk. | You want independent eyes and a proportionate fee, and nothing in law or contract demands more. | You are small, unregulated, and no third party relies on the numbers. |
In practice the binding constraint for most Ontario private companies is not the statute but a lending covenant or a shareholders agreement. Credit agreements normally specify the level of assurance required, so read the clause before assuming a review will satisfy it.
Insights
Reading for Ottawa
Latest Sustainability Limited or Reasonable Assurance on Sustainability Disclosures? Read article → 
Sustainability Scope 3 for Companies That Have Never Measured It Read article → 
Sustainability Getting Your ESG Data Audit Ready Read article → 
Fractional CFO Building Your First Board Pack Read article → 
Fractional CFO Bookkeeper, Controller or CFO: Who You Actually Need Read article → Work with us
Ready to get started?
Connect with our team to discuss how Black Maple can support your business.
Get in touch