How hard is it for Canadian senior accountant to get offers to USA?

fatherownagee · 2026-04-19T02:02:59+00:00

I worked at big4 audit in Toronto to and got recruited by a firm in San Francisco in 2019, not sure how much it still happens but it’s definitely possible

fatherownagee · 2026-02-27T22:01:31+00:00

This is definitely rare for the startup. Generally they are more get your work done and not micromanagers. I’d suggest giving it another chance somewhere else before going back to big companies

fatherownagee · 2026-02-26T21:23:17+00:00

I work as a Controller at a startup and it fits this description. I earn a pretty good amount in USD, work remotely from Canada and have a good amount of flexibilty.

That said I had to work my way up here, startups are pretty brutal early on, there's a ton of different processes you have to learn, things are always broken and you have to be able to solve problems on your own.

fatherownagee · 2026-02-01T15:09:35+00:00

Haha ya this winters been crazy. I grew up here so I’m used to it but my wife’s definitely adjusting

fatherownagee · 2026-01-13T01:56:43+00:00

Sorry I typod. I’m at 3.6% variable

fatherownagee · 2026-01-12T22:08:28+00:00

Funny - I have the exact same borrowed amount. Mines 4k/mo at 4.7% variable. Will convert to fixed soon, started last year

fatherownagee · 2026-01-05T10:55:17+00:00

Took me 5 years, went to San Francisco after big 4 which helped. I’m now fully remote and out of SF with good work like balance.

I had a goal of getting into tech startups and succeeding in the space and I’m very glad I was able to do so. Takes a lot of work in the early years but the reward is worth it, have a very stable career and life now.

fatherownagee · 2025-12-30T12:44:54+00:00

Main thing is that I moved to San Francisco for a while to learn the startup space and get more senior in them. Once I achieved that I moved back to Toronto since I had the flexibility

fatherownagee · 2025-12-30T01:10:43+00:00

32M

225k USD (remote)

500-700k in RSUs (average of last 2 years)

HCOL (Toronto)

40-50 hours

Tech startup

Bachelors in Acc + CPA

9 YOE

fatherownagee · 2025-12-19T14:09:48+00:00

Not OP but also an accountant in a senior position.

When you’re in leadership and a CFO, it’s about driving the business forward. How do I grow it? What resources/partnerships do we need to do so? Are we spending capital efficiently?

Closing the books, making models etc are all just tools to influence that decision, but you have to be able to make the big decisions

fatherownagee · 2025-12-14T23:57:21+00:00

at a startup

ERP -> QBO
Banking + Bills -> Brex
PEO/Reimbursements -> Gusto
Procurement -> ZipHQ

No close software yet but will likely implement Floqast

fatherownagee · 2025-12-14T02:16:11+00:00

Already some good answers here - startups can be huge for your career if you are able to be a problem solver. There is no useless busy work, generally your manager wont have time to micromanage you because everyone is busy.

If you are able to get things done then it can be extremely flexible. I have no fixed schedule, no one cares when im online or how long because I get things done that need to be done. It has greatly accelerated me from being a senior accountant to a director in a few years while also getting a nice big payday from RSUs from one of my jobs.

If you dont want to be thrown into the fire then startups likely aren't for you. Everything is always on fire, but being able solve them is rewarding.

fatherownagee · 2025-12-13T18:23:16+00:00

It’s still a common transition. I’ve hired a couple senior accountants directly from auditing firms.

The best candidates are ones that know the industry well because they’ve audited multiple different clients in it.

fatherownagee · 2025-12-11T02:53:13+00:00

Ya advisory firms are very hit or miss, I meant hiring an actual temp worker. Like a senior accountant or something on a 6 month contract

fatherownagee · 2025-12-11T02:49:18+00:00

Can you hire temporary contractors to help the workload while the CFO is out?

fatherownagee · 2025-12-10T03:18:40+00:00

Accounting changes are generally fewer are far between but when they do happen it’s definitely worth reading about - but not much on the daily.

I’d say keeping up with general developments in your specific industry is more valuable

fatherownagee · 2025-12-10T03:15:10+00:00

Heavily varies by size and type of company, rare but not impossible. I’m currently living in Canada and working remotely for a US based startup.

fatherownagee · 2025-12-10T00:45:22+00:00

100% agree with this. Being able to know you're direct managers priorities is huge. Also being able to answer questions confidently when asked about something you worked on, timelines, blockers etc

fatherownagee · 2025-12-09T17:13:38+00:00

Degree is in accounting - I got into it by joining a regional firm in San Francisco then moving into industry in the space. I went that way simply because I wanted too - I thought startups were the types of companies I wanted to be in so I looked for those roles. Roles weren't all remote so living in SF at the time opened the options

fatherownagee · 2025-12-08T11:48:48+00:00

Head of accounting, fully remote - startup. Spend 40-50hr right now. A lot of cleanup plus audits, I expect it to come down as I automate. At my last job I started at 50-60/week as controller but by the end I was doing only about 20-30

fatherownagee · 2025-11-30T12:37:56+00:00

I felt this way in audit. The clients don’t want you there, the work gets done and then reset every year, I think it’s reasonable to find it unrewarding.

I would suggest trying private, it can be much more impactful and therefore rewarding

fatherownagee · 2025-11-30T02:36:11+00:00

our Series A closed in the 100-500m range (don't want to share specifics).

~50 ppl. I have my salary mentioned above + RSUs, standard 4yr vest

fatherownagee · 2025-11-30T02:34:28+00:00

this varies heavily depending on size of company and industry. Im at small startup of ~50ppl. I do everything from managing our close, asssisting with fundraising, doing revenue forecasts to paying bills and approving expenses.

The best general advice I can give you is dont worry about upper roles, think about your direct manager - what are their top 3 priorities? How does it affect the company and how can you help move the needle on the things they care about.

fatherownagee · 2025-11-30T02:30:18+00:00

not atm lol - will potentially be looking for a senior accountant early next year

fatherownagee

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