Audit Services in Mississauga for Businesses That Need the Right Level of Assurance
Bestax helps businesses in Mississauga work out what their lender, board, funder, regulator or shareholders actually require before any work begins, then gets the books ready and runs the engagement to a clean finish.
Where your requirement calls for an audit or a review report, that report is performed and signed by an independent CPA Ontario licensed auditor. Our team scopes the request, prepares your financial statements and audit file, and coordinates the whole process so the audit is faster and cheaper when it lands.
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Audit and Assurance Services Canada: Start With the Engagement You Actually Need
Our audit and assurance services Canada hub exists to make one confusing choice simple. An audit, a review, a compilation, an internal audit, an agreed-upon procedures engagement and a forensic investigation all do different jobs. The right one depends on who needs the report and how much assurance they require.
Send us the lender letter, shareholder request, funding agreement, regulator notice, board requirement or transaction checklist if you have one. We read that document first and scope from it, instead of assuming you need a full financial statement audit when a lighter engagement would satisfy the requirement.
One thing to know before you read on:
internal audit, forensic accounting, compilations with the standard compilation report, bookkeeping and financial statement preparation are delivered by Bestax directly.
An audit or review report is delivered through an independent CPA Ontario licensed firm we coordinate with, while our team prepares the file behind it.
Which Audit or Assurance Engagement Fits Your Request?
This table is a practical starting point. The final scope depends on the exact stakeholder or legal requirement.
| Engagement | What it provides | Typical reason | Who does the work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial statement audit | Reasonable assurance, a high but not absolute level of assurance | A stakeholder or a statute calls for audited financial statements or an auditor opinion | Bestax prepares the file and coordinates. An independent CPA Ontario licensed auditor performs the audit and signs the report |
| Review engagement | Limited assurance, based mainly on inquiry, analytics and professional judgment | A lender or owner needs assurance but not a full audit | Same model: Bestax prepares, an independent licensed firm performs and signs the review engagement report |
| Compilation engagement | No assurance. Financial information is compiled under the Canadian compilation standard | Users need professionally compiled financial information with no assurance conclusion | Bestax, using the standard compilation engagement report under CSRS 4200 |
| Internal audit | Independent work on governance, risk, processes and controls inside the organization | Management or the board wants stronger controls and risk oversight | Bestax |
| Third-party assurance | Agreed-upon procedures or compliance reporting over a defined subject or requirement | A customer, funder or contract asks for evidence over a specific area | Agreed-upon procedures and compliance reporting by Bestax. Where a formal assurance report is required, an independent licensed firm signs it |
| Forensic accounting | Investigation of suspected fraud, losses, disputes or irregular transactions | There is a specific concern to investigate, not a routine assurance need | Bestax |
A compilation engagement is not an assurance engagement. Agreed-upon procedures also report factual findings without an assurance conclusion. We confirm the report type before the engagement is scoped, so you never pay for more assurance than the requirement calls for.
Assurance Services Canada for Financial Statements, Controls and Specific Requests
Different assurance services Canada solve different trust problems.
Financial statement users often need an audit or a review.
Boards can need internal audit work.
Customers or funders can ask for evidence over a specific control or requirement.
A suspected loss or fraud belongs in a forensic engagement.
Bestax keeps these needs separate. The hub gives you the starting point, and each specialist page explains the scope, records, process and deliverables for that service in detail. Where an audit or review report is the answer, we prepare your file and bring in the independent licensed auditor who signs it.
Independent Audit Services: When an External Audit Is the Right Fit
Independent audit services are for situations where a user needs an auditor to obtain sufficient evidence and express an opinion on your financial statements. An audit provides reasonable assurance, which is high but not a guarantee that every error or fraud will be found.
If your lender, shareholders, governing documents, funding terms or a buyer specifically ask for audited financial statements, our external audit page explains the full scope. If the request only says "CPA financial statements" or "assurance", send us the exact wording first so we can check whether an audit, a review, a compilation or another engagement fits.
Independence is built into the way we work. The licensed auditor who signs the report is a separate firm from the Bestax team that prepared your statements, which is exactly the separation Ontario's public accounting rules exist to protect.
Go to our External Audit Services page for the detailed external audit process.
Who Signs Your Audit Report, and Why We Tell You Upfront
In Ontario, audit and review engagements are public accounting under the Public Accounting Act, 2004. Only a CPA who holds a Public Accounting Licence from CPA Ontario, working at a CPA Ontario registered firm, can sign an audit or review report. CPA Ontario enforces this, and practising public accounting without a licence is prohibited.
Bestax is not a CPA Ontario licensed public accounting firm and does not sign audit or review reports.
What we do is everything around the opinion: scoping the requirement, cleaning up the bookkeeping, preparing the financial statements, building the audit file and schedules, answering the auditor's questions during fieldwork, and handling the fixes that follow the management letter.
The audit or review itself is performed and signed by an independent CPA Ontario licensed firm.
You sign an engagement letter directly with that firm, its engagement partner is named in the letter, and the report is issued on its letterhead.
If you do not already have a licensed auditor, we will help you shortlist firms in the Greater Toronto Area at no charge.
Either way, the report your bank, board, funder or regulator receives is a licensed firm's report, and your file arrives audit ready, which usually shortens the audit and lowers its cost.
We do not arrange audits of public companies. A reporting issuer needs an auditor that participates in CPAB oversight, and our arrangements are for private companies, not-for-profits, charities and condominium corporations.
Do You Even Need an Audit? What Canadian Law Actually Requires
Many businesses order a full audit when the law, or the person asking, would accept something lighter. Here is who is actually required to be audited, verified against the statutes as they stand in August 2026. We confirm your specific position before any engagement is scoped.
- What the law says
- Private company incorporated in Ontario (OBCA). An audit is required unless the company is not an offering corporation and all shareholders, including non-voting shareholders, consent in writing to skip it, each financial year
- The lighter option, if available
- Unanimous written consent removes the audit requirement for that year
- What the law says
- Private company incorporated federally (CBCA). A non-distributing corporation may resolve not to appoint an auditor, but only if all shareholders, including those not otherwise entitled to vote, consent. The resolution lasts until the next annual meeting
- The lighter option, if available
- Unanimous consent, renewed every year
- What the law says
- Ontario not-for-profit (ONCA). Public benefit corporation: revenue over $500,000 must have an audit; $100,000 to $500,000 may substitute a review; under $100,000 may waive both. Other NFPs: over $500,000 may substitute a review; $500,000 or less may waive
- The lighter option, if available
- Waiver or review needs an extraordinary resolution, which is 80 percent of votes cast
- What the law says
- Federal not-for-profit (CNCA). Soliciting corporation: over $250,000 must be audited; $50,000 to $250,000 audit by default with a review option by special resolution; $50,000 or less review by default. Non-soliciting: $1 million or more must be audited
- The lighter option, if available
- Downgrades need the resolution the Act specifies for your revenue band
- What the law says
- Ontario condominium corporation. Every condo corporation must appoint an auditor, unless it has fewer than 25 units, has held its turnover meeting, and all owners consent in writing to dispense with the audit for the year
- The lighter option, if available
- Written consent of all owners, small corporations only
- What the law says
- Registered charity. The CRA does not require your financial statements to be audited. It recommends an audit once income passes $250,000. Provincial law, incorporation type or a funder may still require one
- The lighter option, if available
- Depends on your corporate statute and funders, not the CRA
- What the law says
- Reporting issuer (public company). Annual financial statements must be audited, by a firm that participates in CPAB oversight
- The lighter option, if available
- No lighter option
Lenders, grant agencies, franchisors, bonding companies and buyers often ask for an audit or review by contract even when no statute requires it. In those cases the wording of their request decides what you actually need, which is why we ask to read it first.
Audit, Review and Compilation: The Plain-Language Difference
The three engagements sit on a ladder of assurance, and the price follows the assurance. Most owners are told to get an audit when a review or compilation would satisfy the person asking.
| Audit | Review | Compilation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level of assurance | Reasonable assurance, the highest a practitioner gives | Limited assurance | None |
| What the practitioner does | Tests, confirms, inspects and gathers evidence | Mainly inquiry, analysis and discussion | Assembles your information into financial statements |
| What you receive | An auditor's opinion | A review engagement conclusion | A compilation report with no conclusion |
| Who typically asks for it | Statutes, regulators, large lenders, investors, grant funders | Smaller lenders, some shareholders and franchisors | Owners, banks for smaller facilities, the CRA context |
| The standard | Canadian Auditing Standards | CSRE 2400 | CSRS 4200 |
| Who can sign it | A CPA Ontario licensed auditor | A CPA Ontario licensed practitioner | Bestax can prepare and issue this directly |
If your requirement lands on the audit or review rungs, Bestax prepares the file and an independent licensed firm signs. If a compilation is what the situation actually needs, we handle it end to end. Send us the request and we will tell you which rung you are really on.
Accounting and Assurance Support That Starts With Clean, Supportable Records
An audit or review moves faster, and costs less, when the records behind it hold up. Missing reconciliations, unsupported balances, old receivables, incomplete inventory records or unclear related-party transactions slow an engagement and create repeated questions for your team.
Before fieldwork, Bestax can organize the bookkeeping, reconciliations, schedules and financial reporting through our accounting services. Because we do the preparation and a separate licensed firm does the audit, the independence the rules require is built in rather than managed after the fact.
If your records need cleanup first, see our Accounting and Bookkeeping Services or our Monthly and Quarterly Financial Reporting service.
What We Review Before Recommending an Engagement
You do not need to know the accounting standard or the engagement name before you contact us. Bring the request you received and a few basic facts, and we will identify the next step. It helps to have:
If a third party gave you a checklist, reporting template, covenant or engagement requirement, send that document before the scope is set. It often changes the type of report you actually need.
Who is asking for the report: lender, shareholder, board, investor, buyer, funder, regulator, customer or another party
The exact wording of the requirement, agreement, covenant, grant or governing document
Your legal structure and province of operation
Your financial year end and the date the report is needed
Your latest financial statements, trial balance and general ledger
Bank, loan, receivable, payable, inventory, payroll, tax and fixed-asset records relevant to the file
Any prior audit, review, compilation or internal audit reports
Any known accounting issues, control gaps, disputes or deadline pressure
Our Audit and Assurance Service Paths
Use the path that matches the problem you need to solve. Each specialist page owns its own detail.
External Audit. For financial statement audits and other external audit requirements where an independent auditor report is needed. Bestax prepares the audit-ready file and coordinates the engagement with an independent licensed auditor who issues the opinion.
Internal Audit. For governance, internal controls, risk management, operational processes, compliance, and internal audit outsourcing or co-sourcing. Delivered by Bestax directly.
Third-Party Assurance. For agreed-upon procedures, compliance reporting and defined requests from customers, funders or contracting parties. Where a formal assurance report is required, an independent licensed firm signs it.
Forensic Accounting and Auditing. For suspected fraud, irregular transactions, financial disputes, quantifying losses and evidence-focused investigation. Delivered by Bestax directly.
Why Businesses Use Bestax as Their Audit and Assurance Starting Point
One place to scope the requirement. We identify what the stakeholder is actually asking for, so you do not order a full audit when a lighter engagement satisfies the requirement.
Honest about who signs. We tell you before you commit that an independent CPA Ontario licensed firm signs the audit or review, and that Bestax prepares the file. Any provider that is vague about who signs is a provider to avoid.
Clear routing to specialist work. External audit coordination, internal audit, third-party assurance and forensic work stay on separate pages, so you move straight to the team and process that fit your issue.
Accounting preparation under one roof. If the books are not ready, our accounting team organizes records, reconciliations and schedules before the deadline becomes urgent, and hands a clean file to the licensed auditor.
Mississauga access, Canada-wide support. We work from 1470 Hurontario St #100 in Mississauga and support clients remotely across Canada.
What to Check Before Choosing an Audit Firm in Mississauga
Before you choose any audit firm in Mississauga, ask five direct questions:
What report will I receive?
What level of assurance does it provide?
Which professional standard applies?
Who is the signing practitioner, and do they hold a current CPA Ontario Public Accounting Licence?
Is the firm registered with CPA Ontario for this engagement?
Then ask what the firm needs from your team, how independence will be handled, what sits outside the scope, and what happens if your records are not audit ready. Clear answers at the start prevent delays and surprise fees later.
Our answers, in advance: the report is issued by the independent licensed firm named in your engagement letter, under Canadian Auditing Standards for an audit or CSRE 2400 for a review, and Bestax's preparation and coordination role is set out separately so nothing is blurred.
Our Audit and Assurance Scoping Process
Understand the request.
We review why the report is needed, who will use it, and the wording of any lender, shareholder, funding, regulatory, customer or transaction requirement.
Identify the engagement type.
We separate an audit, review, compilation, internal audit, third-party assurance, agreed-upon procedures, forensic investigation or accounting-preparation need.
Confirm the signing firm and independence.
Where an audit or review is needed, we introduce the independent CPA Ontario licensed firm, you sign directly with it, and the separation between our preparation work and its audit work is documented before fieldwork starts.
Set the scope and document list.
You receive a clear list of records, responsible contacts, timing, deliverables and dependencies.
Prepare the file and run the engagement.
We get the books audit ready, hand the file to the licensed auditor, and manage the questions and requests through fieldwork so your team is not chased.
Complete and follow up.
After the engagement, outstanding accounting, control, tax or reporting actions are handled through the relevant Bestax service, without mixing those into the assurance conclusion.
A Practical Hub for Businesses That Need Clarity Before They Commit
The goal of this page is to make audit and assurance services Canada easier to buy correctly. If you need assurance for a lender, board, investor, funder or another stakeholder, we start by reading the actual requirement and separating the engagement types before we discuss scope.
For businesses that need independent audit services, the external audit path gives the detailed financial statement audit process and names the licensed firm that signs. For clients searching for accounting assurance services, we check whether the real need is a review, a compilation, accounting cleanup or another engagement, rather than assuming an audit.
This approach also lets you compare any audit firm in Mississauga on the points that matter: report type, assurance level, professional standard, signing responsibility, licensing, independence, timeline and required records.
Our Other Services
Internal Audit Services
for governance, risk, controls and internal audit support.
Third-Party Assurance Services
for defined external assurance and related-service needs.
Forensic Accounting and Auditing
for investigation, disputes and suspected financial irregularities.
Accounting and Bookkeeping
for record cleanup, reconciliations and ongoing accounting support.
Corporate Tax Return Filing
for Canadian T2 filing and corporate tax compliance.
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Frequently Asked Questions
No, and we say so upfront. Bestax is an accounting and advisory firm, not a CPA Ontario licensed public accounting firm. We scope the requirement, prepare your statements and audit file, and coordinate the engagement with an independent licensed firm that performs and signs the audit or review. Your bank or funder receives that firm's report on its own letterhead, exactly as if you had engaged it alone. What changes is that your file arrives audit ready, which usually shortens the audit and lowers the cost. Internal audit, forensic accounting, compilations and all preparation work are done by Bestax directly.
Only a CPA who holds a valid Public Accounting Licence from CPA Ontario, working at a CPA Ontario registered firm, may sign an audit or review report. That is a requirement of the Public Accounting Act, 2004. At Bestax, that person is the engagement partner of the independent licensed firm we coordinate with. Bestax does not sign audit or review reports.
Start with the document or the stakeholder asking for the financial statements. An audit provides reasonable assurance, a review provides limited assurance, and a compilation provides no assurance. Many requirements can be met with a review or compilation rather than a full audit. Send us the exact wording and we will tell you which one satisfies it before any work is scoped.
Not necessarily. Ask the bank for the exact report it requires, or send us the wording. A lender can accept an audit, a review, a compilation or another specified report. Confirming the requirement first often prevents unnecessary work and cost.
It depends on how you are set up. A private company can usually skip the audit if all shareholders consent in writing each year. Not-for-profits and charities have revenue thresholds that decide whether an audit, a review or neither is required, and those downgrades need a member vote. Condominium corporations must appoint an auditor unless they are very small and all owners agree. Send us your structure and revenue and we will confirm your exact position.
We can identify the missing reconciliations, schedules and supporting records before the assurance work begins, and our accounting team can bring the books into order. Because Bestax prepares the file and a separate licensed firm audits it, independence is preserved. Getting audit ready early is the single biggest thing that shortens an engagement and controls the fee.
No. A financial statement audit is designed to obtain reasonable assurance that the statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. Reasonable assurance is high, but it is not absolute. If you have a specific concern about fraud or a loss, a forensic engagement is the right tool, and Bestax handles those directly.
External audit produces an independent report for users of your financial statements, such as lenders or shareholders, and must be signed by a licensed auditor. Internal audit works for you, testing governance, risk, controls and processes inside the business, and reporting privately to management or the board. Bestax delivers internal audit directly and coordinates external audit with a licensed firm.
Yes. Send us the exact requirement. The right response can be agreed-upon procedures, a compliance report, a special-purpose engagement or another defined service. We scope it from the requested criteria and the intended report, and where a formal assurance report is required, an independent licensed firm signs it.
Send the request or agreement that triggered the need, your latest financial statements, your year-end date, your deadline and any prior assurance report. If you have a lender checklist, grant terms, a board request or a regulator letter, include that too. The more we can read up front, the faster we can tell you exactly what you need and what it will cost.