Overview
Plug CPA Professional Corporation is a growing boutique accounting firm based in Ottawa, Ontario. We serve a diverse portfolio of approximately 50 corporate clients across a range of industries, providing monthly bookkeeping, corporate and personal tax preparation, HST filing, payroll, and controllership services.
We are a modern, cloud-first firm built around QuickBooks Online, with a team of staff in the Ottawa city. We move fast, use technology intelligently, and hold ourselves to a high standard of client service. We are not a traditional public accounting firm — we are building something different, and we are looking for someone who wants to be part of that.
We believe the best accounting professionals are those who take ownership of their work, invest in their relationships with clients, and want their performance to be recognized and rewarded directly. If that describes you, we want to hear from you.
Start Date is flexible.
The Opportunity
We are looking for a Senior Staff Accountant who can take genuine ownership of a client portfolio, lead engagements from start to finish, and work alongside our Office Manager to ensure the day-to-day operations of the firm run smoothly — without requiring constant direction from the firm's principal.
You will be the senior technical voice in the firm with assistant from the Office Manager, who will handle administrative flow and client coordination. The principal will remain available for complex tax matters, business development, and strategic oversight — but the day-to-day is yours to lead.
If you are a CPA who has spent years doing excellent work at a mid-size firm, feeling overworked and underrecognized, and wondering what it would look like to have real autonomy and a compensation structure that actually reflects your contribution — this role was designed for you.
Responsibilities
Leadership
- Lead a portfolio of corporate client engagements from onboarding through year-end
- Serve as the primary point of contact for your assigned clients — building trusted, long-term relationships
- Review and sign off on work prepared by staff before it reaches the client
- Manage client deadlines proactively — no file sits idle on your watch
- Communicate clearly and professionally with clients via email, phone, and virtual meetings
Technical Accounting & Tax
- Prepare and review corporate tax returns (T2) for a range of industries and entity structures
- Prepare and review personal tax returns (T1) including more complex filings
- Review and finalize year-end working paper files
- Prepare financial statements under ASPE where applicable
- Handle HST reconciliations, CRA correspondence, and filing matters for client files
- Identify tax planning opportunities and flag them proactively to the principal
Team Leadership & Operations
- Collaborate with Office Manager on client workflow, scheduling, and task management
- Maintain files in QBO and working paper standards established by the firm
- Contribute to the development of internal procedures, checklists, and documentation
- Participate in onboarding new clients and transitioning files efficiently
Qualifications
- CPA designation — active and in good standing
- Minimum 5 years of experience in public accounting — mid-size or larger firm
- Strong, hands-on experience preparing and reviewing corporate tax returns (T2) and personal tax returns (T1)
- Proficiency in QuickBooks Online (QBO) — you use it daily, not occasionally
- Experience leading client files with minimal supervision
- Experience at a firm with 10 to 50 staff — you understand how mid-size firms operate and you know what good looks like
- Experience mentoring or reviewing the work of junior staff
The Right Person
Beyond the technical requirements, we are looking for someone who is:
- Ownership-oriented: You treat your client files as your responsibility, not your employer's problem
- Proactive: You identify issues before clients do and you communicate early rather than late
- Efficient: You move files forward. You do not let things sit.
- Hungry: You want your performance to be recognized and you are ready to earn it
Compensation
We believe the best professionals should share in the outcomes they help create — not wait for a discretionary bonus that may or may not reflect their contribution.
Base Salary: $70,000 – $82,000 per year, commensurate with experience
Performance Bonus: Annual bonus tied to firm performance and individual contribution — details discussed at the offer stage
Arrangement: Contract-to-permanent — transition to permanent based on mutual fit and performance
Pay: $70,000.00-$82,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Extended health care
- Flexible schedule
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
- Work from home
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Ottawa, ON
