Accounting services, 2018

Released: 2019-11-28

The operating revenue of the accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services industry, fuelled by national economic growth, rose by 4.6% to $20.3 billion in 2018. Operating expenses rose at a similar pace, up 4.7% to $14.8 billion. As a result, the profit margin held steady at 27.0%. The accounting industry is relatively concentrated, with the top 10 companies comprising 46% of all the industry's operating revenue in Canada.

Sales in this industry from management consulting services have been steadily rising since 2013 and posted their strongest growth in 2018. These services now account for 14.1% of total industry sales, up from 9.5% in 2013. In 2018, for the first time, taxation preparation and representation services generated more sales for the industry than auditing and other assurance services. Despite this, taxation services' share of overall sales fell slightly from 28.2% in 2017 to 27.8% in 2018. Auditing and other assurance services, the second largest source of sales, generated 26.9% of all sales in 2018, down from a high of 32.1% in 2014. Close behind were bookkeeping, financial statement compilation and payroll services, contributing 26.3% of total sales in 2018.

Overall the provincial distribution of operating revenue for accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services has remained largely the same as in previous years, with Ontario (43.5%) accounting for the largest share of revenue in 2018, followed by Quebec (19.4%), British Columbia (14.7%) and Alberta (13.0%).

The business sector was the primary client of the accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services industry, generating 70.2% of the total sales. The remaining sales were to individuals and households (15.5%), to governments, not-for-profit organizations and public institutions (8.3%), and to clients outside of Canada (5.9%).

Contact information

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