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March 29, 2024

Accounting Career Opportunities & Salaries - 2024 Job Market in Canada

For Canadian the demand for skilled talent within the finance and accounting profession remains high in 2024.

The field of accounting is diverse, and the role you can play in the industry is dynamic. There are a variety of paths that provide competitive pay and enable candidates to build a successful career in this field. From working with a corporate accounting department as a tax associate to pursuing a career as a tax partner, the possibilities are endless. But you need more than academic knowledge if you want to stand out among the competition and get an accounting job—soft skills like communication and organization are critical as well. By investing in your skill development, you invest in your future. Developing skills can help you maximize your potential and achieve your career goals in record time.

Escalating Career Growth with Multiplying Salary in Canada

The Canadian job market employment gains continue to lag behind strong population growth in the country. Compared to the previous year, a higher percentage had lost jobs, reflecting the challenging labor market conditions.

Even in this job market crisis accounting and tax specialists are among the most sought-after professionals in Canada.  Investing in skill development and proving greater competency is the only way to advance in career growth and make your salaries climb at their quickest pace. With accounting skills, several different career paths open up, giving you the ability to change your life for the better. This skill development has the potential to give you a career boom from a tax associate to senior tax manager or senior audit manager in a five-year time period and earn a salary hike from $ 70K to $ 180K.

Accounting and Tax RoleSalary
Tax Associate$70-$75K
Senior Tax Associate$85-$95K
Senior Aduit Associate$85-$95K
Tax Manager$140-$160K
Audit Manager$140-$160K
Senior Tax Manager$165-$180K
Associate Tax Partner$185-$190K
Tax PartnerOpen to discussion

Invest in skill development to create a spot for yourself in the cut-throat Canadian job market for accountants. The accounting and Tax career path offers a high level of job security as well as an opportunity for growth and progression with lucrative earnings in Canada.

What Are the Career Paths in Accounting and How Much You Can Earn in Canada?

Canada's diverse and thriving economy offers a wide array of accounting job opportunities. Whether you are a recent graduate or an experienced professional, the Canadian job market has something to offer for everyone interested in the field of accounting.

Accounting professionals may specialize in different financial topics, including taxes, investment, budgets, and credit. In addition, like many fields, accounting jobs can be at different levels, such as supportive and assistant roles and managerial roles and all roles can payback you a handsome salary in Canada.

In Canada, accounting job salaries can vary significantly, contingent upon several factors, including your specific role and the city of residence. Nonetheless, it's worth noting that these roles offer substantial earning potential and often provide opportunities for career progression.

1. Tax Associate

Tax associates (1-2 years of experience) assist individuals and businesses with federal and state income tax compliance and preparation. These professionals, who may also be known as tax preparers or tax specialists, are often employed by financial services companies and accounting firms, although some are self-employed. At this initial stage of your accounting career path in the Canadian job market, you can earn a salary range of $70-$75K.

2. Senior Tax Associate

The tax accountant career path allows people to explore multiple job opportunities. Generally, it takes 2-3 years of experience to become a senior tax accountant in Canada. The most common roles before becoming a senior tax accountant include tax associate, staff accountant team lead, and accountant.

Numerous factors determine an individual’s earning potential, including work history and educational qualifications, as well as regional market conditions, and the type and size of the employer. The average Senior Tax Accountant salary in Canada ranges (from $85-$95K), you can always enhance your earning potential with additional professional experience and advanced educational credentials. 

3. Senior Audit Associate

Senior audit associate with 3-5 years of experience oversees auditing projects, ensuring that tasks are assigned to and completed by auditors in their team. They lead and assist in the auditing process and make sure that audits are done in accordance with company standards. They also perform staff checks, advise management on decisions, and take part in auditing activities when needed. Senior audit associate salaries are in the range from $85-$95k.

4. Tax Manager

A tax manager is responsible for assisting the accounting and finance department in processing tax requirements and analyzing documents for accurate completion of tax filings.

Tax managers apply their knowledge and experience (5-6 years) to oversee these responsibilities to maintain a company's net income for success and longevity.

The advantage of holding this position is that there are many growth opportunities, provided you keep up with the latest changes since taxation is a constantly evolving field. As such, tax managers can access management positions and move to other positions such as senior tax managers, associate tax partners, or tax partners.

The average salary for a tax manager in Canada is $140-$160K. Education and experience can also affect a tax manager's salary since you can earn a higher income as you advance your career with additional certifications and more years of experience.

5. Audit Manager

An audit manager with experience of 5-6 years is expected to manage and deliver audit engagements from planning through to completion. In addition to being well paid, auditors also have a high level of job security. The current salary range of audit managers in Canada is $140-$160k.

6. Senior Tax Manager

Business operations involve complex tax requirements and regulations that require proper monitoring and management. As a Senior Tax Manager with 5-8 years of experience, your core focus will be on managing a diverse portfolio of clients, bringing together a multi-disciplinary internal team to provide the best possible service.

This role gives me the opportunity to be a core member of the tax department. Meeting with high-profile clients to understand and help shape their agenda enhances skills to be promoted to higher ranks. In this role, you can earn a salary range of $165-$180k in Canada according to the latest salary trends.

7. Associate Tax Partner

Associate Tax Partner (7+ years of experience) directs and reviews Senior Tax Staff and Tax managers, approves corporate tax returns prepared by Audit Staff, and is available to Audit Staff for consultation. Also performs tax planning and preparation for individuals, estates, trusts, and small businesses and researches unusual tax matters. You'll manage relationships with key clients and provide high-level strategic tax advice and guidance. You will work with the leadership team, both in tax and across other service lines, to help form and drive strategic initiatives.

The average salary of an Associate Tax Partner in Canada ranges (from $185-$190K) according to the latest salary trends in 2024. The tax has a clear career progression, and your salary should rise steadily.

8. Tax Partner

The next role above associate tax partner – also the final and highest position in a tax department – is Tax Partner (10+ years of experience). Here's the main difference between a partner and all the other roles:

  • Up to now, you were an employee of the tax firm, making a fixed salary.
  • Now, you own a part of the firm and make a share of its profits. This means how much you make depends on the firm's financial performance – and how much you contributed to it (i.e. how much business you brought in).

Besides bringing in business, a tax partner also sets the overall strategy and direction of the firm as one of the firm's top executives. The pinnacle of the tax profession is making it to tax partner, mainly because of the allure of the salary; a lavish compensation package designed to make years of grinding for the firm worthwhile.

Reach out to Get Trained Get Hired to book a free 30-minute career counseling meeting. At Get Trained Get Hired we provide you with the necessary training to learn practical skills to become an accountant. Our training is based on practical real-life cases. After the training, we work on your resume and try to place you in accounting firms through our network. You will also get access to like-minded individuals who are looking for jobs through our WhatsApp group. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Or call us at 647-276-7150.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is intended to provide general information. The information does not consider your situation and is not intended to be used without consultation from professionals. Salman Rundhawa and Gettrainedgethired.com will not be held liable for any problems that arise from the usage of the information provided on this page

Author

Salman Rundhawa

Salman has a strong desire to help others succeed and believe in passing on the knowledge. He likes to mentor others and wish to play part in other people success.
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