Protection against additional fees.
Time spent on client services should never be compromised when responding to a review or audit initiated by the CRA.
Audit Shield is a no upfront cost solution for CPA accounting firms. It provides coverage for professional fees, both your own and those of other experts, when your client is subjected to a CRA review or audit.
With Audit Shield, the CPA and client can face a CRA review or audit side by side, responding as thoroughly as needed, without the burden of cost or stress. Reviews and audits may be unavoidable, but with Audit Shield, fee write-offs don’t have to be.
Why CPAs like Audit Shield.
- No COST solution, in fact you retain an admin fee each year
- No claim DEDUCTIBLE, and no minimum claim
- We handle the work of sending the offer to your clients, which goes on your letterhead
- If your client is subject to a review or audit – you claim 100% of your time responding (up to the sum insured)
- Claims are paid directly to you within 5 working days
All current and previously filed returns are covered, regardless of who prepared them.
Audit Shield at a glance.
The scope of Audit Shield is broad, starting with a simple post-assessment T1 slip request, extending to GST reviews (or HST or PST where applicable), and covering everything up to a full business audit.
Audit Shield also provides protection for reviews of CEWS, CERS, CRHP, THRP, HHBRP and LLP.
Our team takes care of all the administration, including printing and mailing, to invite your clients to participate, under a fee waiver service.
Join hundreds of CPA firms across Canada already offering Audit Shield.
An unexpected accounting bill during a CRA review can be difficult for clients to manage. By offering them a way to handle these additional expenses, you can also ensure you’re recovering your time for the work involved.
You’re invited to lock in a free, no-obligation Partner information session, available in person or virtually. It only takes around 30 minutes.
In this session, you’ll learn how some of Canada’s most proactive CPA firms are protecting their clients from surprise costs while avoiding the need to write off fees, all with the support of Audit Shield.
Dive in a little deeper.
Stop writing off time when the CRA comes calling.
CRA reviews aren’t optional, but unpaid work shouldn’t be either. Our Fee Waiver Service protects your time so review hours don’t quietly erode your margins. Instead of absorbing the cost, you recover it.
From disruption to revenue protection.
When CRA activity hits, it pulls your team off profitable work. With predictable coverage in place, that time becomes billable and recoverable, not a write-off. Same work. Different outcome.
No awkward conversations. No surprise invoices.
Clients value transparency. When protection is already in place, there’s no friction when extra CRA work arises. Their fees are covered, your relationship stays strong, and your firm avoids uncomfortable billing discussions.
Replace uncertainty with clarity.
CRA reviews are unpredictable, your revenue doesn’t have to be. A structured fee model ensures activity is covered when it happens, so your firm maintains steady margins instead of absorbing unexpected costs.
Trusted support when pressure is highest.
Audits demand time, expertise, and focus. With established systems supporting your firm, you can respond confidently without worrying about fee recovery. It’s structured backing, not insurance sold to clients, designed for accounting practices.
Simple to implement. Easy to manage.
No database clean-up. No complex onboarding. No extra administrative burden. You can start protecting clients immediately while keeping internal processes streamlined and participation strong.
Don’t just take our word for it, see what just a handful of client accounting firms in Canada had to say about Audit Shield.
We sat down with key professionals from Baker Tilly Canada to delve into the world of Audit Shield and its impact on their clients and the accounting industry as a whole.
Why Audit Shield? Todd Zanatta, Partner at Baker Tilly Sudbury, along with Bud Arnold Baker, Tilly GWD Tax Partner, Helen Orok from Baker Tilly GWD, and Thomas Blonde, Partner at Baker Tilly GWD, shed light on the decision-making process behind offering Audit Shield to their clients. Discover the strategic thinking that led these firms to provide this valuable service.
The individuals behind the insights:
- Todd Zanatta, Baker Tilly Sudbury, Partner
- Bud Arnold Baker, Tilly GWD, Tax Partner
- Helen Orok Baker Tilly GWD, Partner
- Thomas Blonde, Baker Tilly GWD, Partner
My personal experience with Audit Shield is that they look for every possible way they can argue that CRA activity falls within the items that are covered. They run a very ethical, client-centric business. In addition to avoiding “surprise audit costs”, the practitioner never has to think “is this worth fighting economically?”
I have lost count of how many times I have been able to tell a client “There’s no fee for that – you paid for Audit Shield”. That takes a lot of the sting out of a CRA review! If the client does not want coverage, the decision is theirs.
Kingston Ross Pasnak LLP, Edmonton AB
Hugh Neilson FCPA FCA TEP, Director – Taxation Services
As a tax specialist with almost 40 years of tax experience, this product could have saved clients significant fees that they have paid to have their tax enquiries covered. I encourage anyone in the business community to consider this. Our clients have been pleased with the option of using Audit Shield – the vast majority of corporate clients have opted in to the program.
Smith & West Chartered Professional Accountants, Ottawa ON
Thomas West, Tax Partner