Tax Associate (Junior Level)

• →Complex advisory work — reorganizations, estate freezes, M&A exits, and CRA disputes
• →Firm-sponsored CPA Canada In-Depth Tax Course, including paid in-residence weeks
• →Hands-on mentorship from experienced practitioners, not just textbook learning
• →No traditional busy season — advisory work, not a compliance grind
• →An AI-forward firm that invests in modern tools and workflows
• →Health Spending Account for medical and dental expenses

Cedar Consulting Group is a boutique tax, legal and valuation advisory firm in Oakville, Ontario, founded in 2020. We advise entrepreneurs, high-net-worth families, family offices and larger businesses — up to $800M companies and publicly traded REITs — on reorganizations, estate and succession planning, M&A, CRA disputes, cross-border structuring and valuations.

We're a team of 17 across tax, legal, valuation and US cross-border, working in person in Oakville with a flat structure. Whiteboards, not silos. Regular team lunches, a friendly atmosphere, and real work-life balance — 8 hours a day, then go home.

We're looking for a Tax Associate (Junior Level) on a dedicated tax specialist track. You'll support our advisory team with the technical and financial groundwork that makes complex tax engagements run — while learning the advisory work from the inside.

Our work is advisory: estate planning, business exits, reorganization planning, M&A, CRA disputes and international tax. We don't do accounting, bookkeeping or tax return preparation as a service — our clients' accountants handle that. Your focus will be the groundwork under the advice: the accounting side of reorganizations, working with clients' accountants, tax models and schedules, steps memos, CRA audit support and corporate records. We also keep a small number of returns tied to our planning — mostly T3s, plus some T1s and T2s — for training, and prepare T1134s and surplus calculations for cross-border groups.

This is not primarily a client-facing role. As you learn and grow, it expands into more complex advisory work. We invest in that through mentorship and firm-sponsored In-Depth Tax Course enrollment.

You find tax more interesting than audit. Maybe the tax courses in your degree were the ones that clicked. You want to go deep into tax, not wide across everything. You don't need to know it all — we'll teach you. What matters is that you're organized, detail-oriented, ask questions when something doesn't make sense, and follow through.

Just as important as the technical side: you'll be the person who keeps engagements moving. That means owning your own to-do list, following up with clients, our legal and valuation teams, and clients' external accountants so files don't stall, and flagging early — to your team lead — when something's at risk of slipping. We give you real autonomy and we don't micromanage; in exchange, we count on you to manage your own workload and communicate proactively about where things stand.

• →Reorganization accounting — The accounting side of corporate reorganizations — preparing the journal entries for each step across holding companies and restructured entities so the books match the plan
• →File ownership & follow-through — Keep your engagements moving: maintain your own task list and deadlines, chase down what you're waiting on from clients, legal, valuation, and external accountants, and surface blockers or timing risks to your team lead before they become problems.
• →Accountant coordination — Work with clients' external accountants during and after reorg transactions so their books reflect the steps — resolving discrepancies and coordinating adjusting entries
• →Tax modeling & schedules — Help prepare tax models and technical schedules for planning engagements (QSBC, CDA, RDTOH, GRIP, safe income, PUC/ACB) — you'll learn these on the job
• →Tax steps memos — Draft tax steps memos for reorganization engagements — documenting the sequence of transactions, tax consequences at each step, and supporting calculations
• →Returns and cross-border reporting — A small training portfolio of returns tied to our planning — mostly T3s, plus some T1s and T2s — and T1134 foreign affiliate reporting and surplus calculations for cross-border groups. Occasionally a T5 after a reorganization dividend, or T1135s as part of a voluntary disclosure
• →CRA audit support — Compile and organize information for CRA audits; help prepare responses and maintain traceable documentation
• →Corporate administration — Review and summarize corporate minute books and share attributes; prepare the elections and CRA filings that come out of our planning
• →Process improvement — Create and update SOPs; test new software; track deadlines; contribute to process improvements

• →Undergraduate degree in accounting or finance
• →0–2 years in public accounting or tax (co-op/internship counts)
• →Genuine interest in Canadian tax — not a stepping stone to audit or assurance
• →Comfortable with accounting and general ledger fundamentals
• →Willingness to learn tax modelling, journal entries for reorganizations, and steps memo drafting
• →Basic understanding of Canadian tax regulations and GST/HST, or willingness to learn quickly
• →Comfortable with QBO or Xero, and able to pick up Taxprep and Microsoft 365
• →Organized, detail-oriented, clear communicator
• →Curious, takes feedback well, asks questions
• →Strong project management instincts — you keep your files moving from start to finish and don't let things stall
• →Organized with your own to-do list — you track what's due, what you're waiting on, and from whom, without being reminded
• →You own your workload — you follow through on your tasks, chase down what you need from clients, legal, valuation, and external accountants, and see your files through
• →Self-directed — you take initiative with minimal supervision, and you flag risks and roadblocks to your team lead early rather than letting them slip
• →In the office every day. Our office isn't reachable by transit, so a valid driver's licence and your own vehicle are required. Open to candidates relocating closer to Oakville

• →Advisory environment, not a compliance mill — no traditional busy season
• →Talented teammates who want to help you grow
• →Firm-sponsored In-Depth Tax Course with paid in-residence weeks
• →Two weeks' vacation, plus a December break — the office closes for the second half of December (usually about two clear weeks with the statutory holidays)
• →Professional development paid
• →Health Spending Account for medical and dental expenses
• →Free on-site parking
• →An AI-forward firm that invests in modern tools and technology
• →Work-life balance: 8 hours a day, 5 days a week
• →Clear career path with real growth opportunities

1. 1Resume review — the full team reads every application together
2. 2Phone screen — 15–20 minutes, if there's a fit
3. 3In-person interview — at our Oakville office
4. 4Offer — employment is with Sankalp Jaggi Professional Corporation (SJPC), through which Cedar Group provides its tax services
5. 5References and checks — once you've signed: two references — a professor, co-op supervisor or past employer is fine — and a criminal record and background check. The offer is final when these are complete