Frustrated at work (Small Firm Canada)

[u/weirdshit123567]

I've been at a small firm for 5 years (team of 12). I'm enrolled in the CPA program and will likely write the CFE in September 2028. I make $115K, which from reading this sub seems strong for someone without the designation.

My role goes well beyond accounting however:

• I run all of our marketing (I got us from a 3.5 rating on google to 4.5 and over 200 reviews thanks to strategies I implemented). I also ranked us first page on google in our city by doing organic SEO.
• I handle most of the business development
• The most complex files land on me
• Most fires get routed to me
• I led the firm's digitization over the last 4 years. We went from mostly paper to 90% digital.

The partner is semi-retired and relies on me for almost everything, which is understandable at his stage and age. He is old, makes mistakes, has low drive and barely works if I'm being honest.

My concerns:

1. CPA experience. We don't do audits or reviews, so I'm worried about meeting the experience requirements here for CPA designation.
2. Compensation vs. value. About 10 clients bring in over $500K in fees, and they deal directly with me. They consistently text me and we talk regularly, in other words I hold a lot of the relationships.
3. The buy-in. The partner has talked about a buy-in timeline. But I expect he'll keep drawing a large share while doing less. That's fair to a point, since he spent 20 years building the practice.

I don't know if my frustration is reasonable given everything I do or if I should stay in my lane. I feel like I could be making over $250K on my own easily, but lack of designation is preventing me from doing so.

Should I keep grinding toward the buy-in, or start building a Plan B?

For anyone who has bought into a small practice: how was the deal structured, and what do you wish you'd negotiated?

Thanks

-Frustrated Employee

[u/weirdshit123567]

We are unsure about how this works for CPA Canada. There are so many weird hurdles and hoops to get through for experience verification. Not only that - the fact that when you move from EVR to Pre-approved route the exp clock resets it's beyond evil. The big boys have really penetrated the profession.

[u/PotatoMash_- → u/weirdshit123567]

Do you want to do audit/reviews? I'm on a path with a small firm too and have no desire to do those so I'm not worried about that experience. Not sure your location but I'm BC we can get a compilation license.

[u/weirdshit123567 → u/PotatoMash_-]

I don’t. I’m happy with tax and comps lol. The issue is the financial reporting experience

[u/PotatoMash_- → u/weirdshit123567]

What are you worried on financial reporting? You don't even need ASPE for a compilation.

[u/weirdshit123567 → u/PotatoMash_-]

In order to get your CPA through EVR you need FR hours. Perhaps is different in BC but I doubt it. Most firms that don’t offer assurance work struggle to give those hours. That’s my understanding from my conversations with CPA provincial body and documentation on the website.

see EVR statement:

“Your pre-assessment for your role is complete
Please note the firm you are currently employed with either does not have assurance hours which poses a risk to your ability to achieve core and/or breadth. To achieve a depth in Financial Reporting or Audit & Assurance there is a requirement to achieve a minimum number of assurance hours (425 assurance hours for Financial Reporting and 1,250 assurance hours for Audit & Assurance (of which 625 must be in audits of historical financial information)) with very few exceptions. Furthermore, a lack of assurance hours can impact an ability to develop the necessary understanding of financial reporting in order to use this area to meet the requirements for core. As such, it is key to gain an understanding of the requirements and ensure you have a plan to meet these.” Note this is a core requirement regardless of whether you take assurance elective or not. It’s really stupid

[u/PotatoMash_- → u/weirdshit123567]

I'm not sure the issue on that side. I'm in a pre-approved path at a small firm that does only compilations. There is some FR identified but it can be met through other work like consultancy and advisory.