Status of the Canadian Bookkeeping Industry 2009

Benchmarking Study by the Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada

1. Bookkeepers with a professional designation are able to charge higher rates and earn higher salaries.

   65.8% of respondents with a professional designation reported earning more than $50,000 per year.  Similarly, bookkeepers employed in a permanent position with a professional designation earn nearly twice as much ($69,228) on average as those without the designation.

   That’s not all.  Accredited bookkeepers reported receiving more respect, more referrals, and a better quality of client as well as charging higher rates . . . all due to their professional designation.

   What does this mean?  It “pays” to be certified. 

   The simple fact of the matter is this: Certification benefits accountants, business owners, and the entire business and financial communities as well as the bookkeepers who earn the designation.   How exactly does everyone benefit from certification of bookkeepers?

   All critical decisions are based on a financial foundation – the financial statements and everything that created them.  This foundation must have receipts that were interpreted correctly; payroll that was prepared correctly; all source documents entered into the chart of accounts correctly and so on.  This is the responsibility of the bookkeeper.

   An accountant, for example, then takes the financial statements and turns them into the best tax solution for his/her clients.  Finally, the financial statements and the documents from the accountant form the basis for many strategic decisions made by the business owner.

   Bottom line: Certification gives independent third party verification that the bookkeeper you hire is qualified to process your financial records.  Yet our benchmark study uncovered the fact that only 29.4% of the study respondents have professional accreditation.

   All this leads to one of the primary goals of the IPBC – raise the standards and level of excellence within the bookkeeping profession.  Currently bookkeeping is an unregulated industry in Canada.  We believe this puts business owners at risk and it’s time to change history.

   As a first step the IPBC introduced the nation’s first professional designation for bookkeeping professionals – CPB-Certified Professional Bookkeepers^TM.  The requirements to become certified are modeled after the accounting profession.  The candidate must have a minimum amount of experience, pass a rigorous national standardized exam, adhere to a code of ethics, and take 20 continuing education credits each year to retain certification.

    

2. What rates do bookkeepers typically charge?

   Bookkeepers have many of the same concerns as any other practitioner:  Are my rates competitive?  Am I being fairly compensated for my work?

   The majority of bookkeepers have average rates less than $50 per hour based on the 2009 Benchmark Study by the IPBC.  But again, those with professional accreditation (e.g., earned the CPB designation from the IPBC), are able to charge higher rates and rightly so.  And depending on the service provided, the hourly rate charged by bookkeepers can also vary.

   For example, data entry typically has the lowest hourly rate, while higher rates are often charged for preparation of financial statements, T4s, and T5s.

   By province, Manitoba came out on top with regard to hourly rates – 4.5 percent of the respondents reported rates above $80 per hour.  Compare this to the national average where only 2.4 percents charge hourly rates over $80.  The next highest provinces were Ontario at 3.9 percent and Alberta at 2.9 percent of respondents charge more than $80 per hour.

   Annual gross revenues for respondents ranged from less than $25,000 per year to over $500,000.
   24.6% of respondents reported annual gross revenues in the range . . . $25,001 - $50,000
   20.2% of respondents reported annual gross revenues in the range . . . $50,001 - $75,000
   14.6% of respondents reported annual gross revenues in the range . . . $75,001 - $100,000

   
   
3. Demographic data for the 2009 Benchmark Study illustrates a diverse cross section among respondents.
   
   • 80.8% are veteran practitioners with more than 10 years of experience.
     
   • 85.9% are self-employed and the remainder are employed in salaried bookkeeping positions.  Among the self-employed bookkeepers, nearly three-quarters operate home-based businesses.  And 64 percent are sole proprietorships, 31.3 percent have a corporate entity of some type, and 4.7 percent have partnerships.
     
   • Bookkeepers believe in higher education.  Over half – 54.4 percent – hold a college diploma or university degree.
     
   • As you might expect, the majority are located in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta.
     
   • Who do they serve?  What types of businesses do their clients have?  Clients served include those in Business & Personal Services (71.2% of respondents); Construction (61%); Retail Trade (57.8%) or Finance, Insurance & Real Estate (40.6%)
     

Benchmark Study: $250.00
Click on the PayPal Buy Now button below to purchase.