Statistics Canada : Accounting services, 2014

Released: 2016-01-26

The accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services industry group generated $16.8 billion in operating revenue in 2014, up 5.9% from a year earlier. Operating expenses rose 6.2% to yield a profit margin of 27.2%, down slightly from 27.4% in 2013.

The industry group's revenue came mainly from auditing and other assurance services (32.0%), followed by bookkeeping, financial statement compilation and payroll services (26.4%), and tax preparation and representation services (24.4%). Management consulting services increased their share of industry sales from 9.6% of total sales in 2013 to 11.0% in 2014. Insolvency and receivership services (3.3%) and other sales of goods and services (3.0%) accounted for the remainder of sales in the industry.

Almost every province and territory recorded annual growth in 2014. Firms operating in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia generated most (89.3%) of the revenue in the industry, with the largest share in Ontario at 42.4%. Provincial/territorial revenue shares for the industry were relatively unchanged from previous years.

Firms in the industry group spent most of their operating budget on employment costs (such as salaries, wages and commissions, employee benefits, subcontracts and professional fees), which accounted for 65.4% of total operating expenses. Combined, rental and leasing expenses and office and computer expenses represented the second largest expense category, at 9.7% of total operating costs.

Sales to clients in Canada were split among businesses (72.5%), individuals and households (14.9%) and government and public institutions (8.1%). Clients outside of Canada represented 4.5% of the industry's client base.

Note to readers

Data for 2012 and 2013 have been revised.

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