Accounting Manager

Zenbooks is a fully remote Canadian accounting firm founded in 2015 and headquartered in Ottawa. We serve 300+ small and mid-sized businesses coast to coast — companies in the $1M to $10M revenue range across professional services, SaaS and tech, marketing and creative agencies, e-commerce, and non-profits. Every client is on a monthly recurring engagement. Our regulated practice operates as Zenbooks Tax Services Professional Corporation under CPA Ontario.

In 2026, we were named to the Financial Times’ Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies list. In 2024, the Globe and Mail ranked us among Canada’s Top Growing Companies. Both rankings are based on independently verified compound revenue growth.

We don’t just do the work - we shape the conversation. Our team has been published in the Toronto Star, Policy Options, Canadian Accountant, The Hill Times, Le Devoir, BetaKit, and the Ottawa Business Journal, and has appeared on CBC and CTV on tax policy, small business finance, and the future of the accounting profession. Through OpenSME, we led national advocacy for Canadian SMEs, including a 30,000-signature CRA petition that generated 25 media interviews in five days. We also hosted the Small Business Big Insights podcast, with guests including mayors and executives from Wagepoint, Mastercard, and Wealthsimple.

We are seeking a highly organized Accounting Manager who is committed to delivering exceptional client experiences and has a keen eye for detail. You'll lead and coach a pod of staff and senior accountants, own the accuracy and timeliness of monthly accounting activities across your client portfolio, and act as the primary advisor for mid- to high-complexity client engagements. This role carries full ownership of your pod's performance — from gross margin and KPIs to client growth and team development — and is ideal for someone who is proactive, eager to grow others, and dedicated to continuous improvement.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who takes ownership, does what’s right for the client, is approachable and resilient, and builds trust with the people around them.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & People Management

• Lead and manage a pod of accountants and senior accountants, providing coaching, technical guidance, and regular feedback.
• Oversee all monthly accounting activities (A/R, A/P, payroll entries, reconciliations, accruals, adjustments), ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.
• Lead mid- to high-complexity client engagements, acting as the primary accounting advisor and main point of contact.
• Prepare and present advanced financial reports, KPI dashboards, and budgets, providing meaningful insights and recommendations.
• Conduct 1:1s, performance check-ins, and semi-annual reviews, ensuring each team member is progressing toward goals.
• Support staffing, workload balancing, and scheduling to ensure efficient delivery across the pod.
• Provide escalation support for technical accounting issues, client challenges, and workflow blockers.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and high-quality work within the pod.
  

Client & Engagement Oversight

• Oversee a portfolio of mid- to high-complexity clients assigned to the pod, ensuring all deliverables meet quality and timeliness standards.
• Review and approve financial statements, reconciliations, working papers, and month-end packages prepared by the team.
• Monitor client satisfaction and proactively address concerns, scope issues, or workflow challenges.
• Support team members in client meetings, stepping in when higher-level expertise or conflict resolution is needed.
• Build strategic, long-term relationships with clients while managing expectations and providing proactive communication and guidance.

Financial Performance & Pod Metrics (Ownership)

• Own the gross margin of the pod, ensuring efficient resourcing, appropriate scoping, and smart allocation of work across team members.
• Oversee budget vs. actual hours, identifying efficiency gaps or scope misalignments and coaching the team accordingly.
• Track and manage the pod’s KPIs, including overdue work items, on-time delivery, revenue retention, upsells, and workflow consistency.
• Work closely with the Director of Operations on pricing, resourcing, and capacity planning.

Client Growth & Revenue Management

• Review client scopes across the pod and ensure alignment with actual work performed.
• Identify upsell and expansion opportunities (additional services, special projects, cleanups, advisory) and support team members in presenting them.
• Manage overall revenue performance for your pod, ensuring renewals and pricing changes are handled proactively.

Process Improvement & Quality Assurance

• Ensure your pod consistently applies Zenbooks best practices, SOPs, documentation standards, and internal controls.
• Lead process improvement initiatives within the pod and contribute feedback to L&D, Operations, and Client Success.
• Support and oversee special projects for your clients or across the firm, including system improvements and catch-up work.

Cross-Department Collaboration

• Work closely with Tax and Payroll teams to ensure seamless cross-functional delivery.
• Collaborate with the Director of Operations to escalate concerns, review capacity, or delegate processing tasks to the appropriate staff.
• Participate actively in internal meetings, reporting pod metrics and contributing to issue-solving

Core Competencies

• Attention to Detail and Strong Organizational Skills
• Customer Service-Oriented with Excellent Communication
• Adaptability and Effective Problem-Solving Skills
• Time Management and Multitasking Abilities
• Collaboration and Initiative in Team Settings

Experience + Requirements

• 1–2 years of experience managing a team
• 1–2 years of experience in a controllership role (or handling controllership-level responsibilities)
• 2–3 years of client-facing experience supporting monthly reporting
• Strong working knowledge of cloud accounting software (e.g., Xero and/or QBO)
• Must pass a criminal background check and/or education/employment verification
• This is a remote role requiring high-speed internet access and availability during core business hours

Benefits & Perks

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: $85,000 to $92,000 per year

• 5 Personal Days + 15 Vacation days + 1 week during the winter holidays
• 100% Employer-paid Health benefits (medical, dental, disability, life insurance, and vision) (including EAP) and flexible health spending account
• Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
• 100% Employer-paid Laptop, monitor, keyboard and mouse
• 100% Employer-paid Ergonomic assessment of your home office (Virtual)
• Flexible work schedule

How to Apply:

• Submit your Resume and Cover Letter through the platform where you found this posting or directly on our website (Cover Letters are optional but encouraged).

Our Interview Process:

1. Phone Screen: Selected candidates will be invited to a phone interview with our People & Culture Generalist, Ashley Saunders, to discuss the role in more detail.
2. Case Activity: Candidates moving forward will be asked to participate in a Case Activity. Access to Excel or Google Sheets is required. 
3. Interview with Leadership: Candidates progressing to the final stage will take part in a Zoom interview with the management team. During this interview, you'll discuss your case, address any final questions, and some candidates may be asked to complete a QBO walkthrough.
4. Final Stage: The selected candidate will be extended an offer and introduced to the team!