Boutique Accounting Firm Positioned for Growth in the City of Ottawa

“ I always have clients who say ‘I’m making money—but why don’t I see it in my bank account?’” says Andrew Abraham, the founding, Managing Partner and President of Elite Accounting, an accounting firm that specializes in supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs in Ottawa.

“That’s a very common question, and a big concern for small business owners,” he says. “They can see that there’s profit on paper, but they don’t really feel it. What we do here is not only full cycle accounting but we help our clients manage cash flow. We have developed tools that help our clients get on a weekly schedule—controlling what comes in, and what goes out. When you’re able to manage cash flow weekly, our entrepreneur clients are able to repay debt and save at the same time.

It’s all about building better habits.” If there is a shortfall somewhere, he explains that with their expertise they are able to identify it quickly which means that they can manage it quickly as well. This year the company is celebrating their tenth year of business and they recently acquired a new partner from within. “It’s very rewarding to have one of my senior accountants buy a piece of the book of business last year and become a partner,” Abraham reflects. “For me, seeing my business go from only having one client to having someone else enthusiastically buy-in and work under the firm banner—it just shows how far we’ve come.”

In addition to individual and corporate tax services, Elite Accounting offers a managed accounting service, which includes monthly bookkeeping, sales tax filing, payroll, and year-end corporate tax filing. This service combines the roles of accountants, bookkeepers, and administrative staff allowing clients to have access to constant support and benefit from advice throughout the year.

Abraham is always finding himself with new projects. Along the way, he also started another business—the OCM Auto Financing Fund. He says the idea stemmed from the fact that he’s always looking for ways for his friends and clients to diversify their financial portfolios. With the stock market up and down, this is a steady alternative investment for them.

Elite Accounting is making a name for themselves within the Ottawa business community by capitalizing on word of mouth. “Because of all the organic growth we have seen, a lot of our new clients are referrals,” Abraham says. “That’s important to me, because a referral is really an extension of [the referring company’s] service and we need to reciprocate that level of service. We want people to be able to refer us because they are confident that we will handle their referred client as well as they would, if not better.”

Coming from a Big Four accounting firm, Abraham went out on his own and grew his business. As an entrepreneur himself, he takes pride in helping others on that path. “I started this out of my home,” says Abraham. “It went from a small home office to a permanent office on Bank Street, where we have worked hard to provide a warm and welcoming environment to meet our clients and display our work.”

Andrew Abraham, Founding, Managing Partner and President