BLR

What BLR does

BLR, LLP is a privately-held Chartered Professional Accountants firm headquartered in Burlington, Ontario, with a secondary office in Waterdown, Ontario. Founded around 1986, the firm delivers bookkeeping, tax preparation, corporate and personal tax planning, audit, review and compilation engagements, payroll administration, retirement and estate planning, and management consulting services to individuals and families, corporations and cooperatives, and not-for-profit organizations within Ontario.

The firm operates as a Limited Liability Partnership under partner ownership, with five active CPA, CA partners (David Beckett, Doug Lowden, Shari Stolpmann, Vicki Wilson, and Norm Read) and a retired FCPA partner (Nancy Brewer). Its service delivery relies on standard accounting and tax preparation software augmented by a secure client portal for file exchange, with no proprietary technology stack, AI/ML capability, or third-party API integrations disclosed. Distribution is conducted exclusively through direct, in-person consultations at its two physical offices, and new client onboarding is gated to referral-only intake.

BLR's go-to-market is built on long-standing face-to-face client relationships and a quarterly newsletter program covering federal and provincial tax developments, CRA procedures, and personal financial planning topics. The firm generates revenue on a professional services engagement basis with fees determined by scope and complexity; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm maintains a minor networking relationship with the Burlington Executives Network (BEN), where partner Doug Lowden serves as a Director, supporting local referral flow consistent with its acquisition model.

Name

BLR

Legal name

BLR, LLP

Website

https://blrcpa.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BLR, LLP is a privately-held Canadian Chartered Professional Accountants firm in Burlington and Waterdown, Ontario, providing bookkeeping, tax preparation, audit, payroll, and advisory services to individuals, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations on a referral-only basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlington

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels2 records

Core offering

BLR, LLP is a Chartered Professional Accountants firm that delivers bookkeeping, tax preparation, tax planning, accounting, audit, review and compilation, payroll administration, estate planning, retirement planning, and management consulting services. It serves individuals and families, corporations and cooperatives, and not-for-profit organizations from offices in Burlington and Waterdown, Ontario.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Tax Preparation and Planning Preparation of personal income tax returns and year-round personal tax planning strategies for individual taxpayers and families. Covers RRSP/TFSA planning, tax instalment management, child care expense claims, political contribution credits, and other personal deductions and credits.
• Corporate Tax Preparation and Planning Corporate tax return preparation and year-round tax planning for corporations and cooperatives, including GST/HST filing support and management of corporate tax compliance obligations.
• Audit, Review and Compilation Services External audit, review, and compilation engagements producing financial statements for corporations, cooperatives, and not-for-profit organizations in accordance with Canadian accounting standards.
• Bookkeeping Services Day-to-day bookkeeping and accounting record maintenance for corporations, cooperatives, and individual clients needing ongoing financial record-keeping.
• Payroll Services Payroll administration for corporate clients, including calculation of wages, withholdings, source deductions, and remittance filings with the CRA.
• Retirement Planning Advisory service helping individual clients plan for retirement, including RRSP contribution decisions, pension income splitting, Old Age Security clawback mitigation, and CPP/QPP contribution planning.
• Estate Planning Estate planning advisory service covering wealth transfer, estate structuring, and business succession planning for individuals and owners of family enterprises.
• Management Consulting Management consulting engagements for business clients on operational, financial, and strategic matters.
• Not-for-Profit Tax Return and Financial Statement Preparation Annual tax return filing and financial statement preparation specifically for not-for-profit organizations operating for charitable or public-benefit purposes, addressing the specialized NPO compliance regime distinct from standard small business corporations.
• Trust Management Services

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Burlington Executives Network (BEN)minorOthers

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• BDO Canada: Canadian arm of BDO Global providing audit, tax, advisory, and consulting services to mid-market clients including private companies and NPOs. Directly comparable to BLR's full-service CPA practice, though at a larger national scale.
• Baker Tilly Canada: Canadian accounting and advisory network serving mid-market clients with audit, tax, and consulting services. Comparable in scope and target market to BLR's CPA practice, with similar mid-tier positioning.
• RSM Canada: Canadian operations of RSM Global, focused on mid-market audit, tax, and consulting. Directly comparable to BLR in target client segment and service offering.
• Grant Thornton Canada: Canadian member of Grant Thornton International providing audit, tax, and advisory services primarily to mid-market and privately-held businesses. Comparable service mix to BLR with similar mid-market client focus.
• Crowe Soberman LLP: Toronto-based mid-tier CPA firm providing audit, tax, advisory, and bookkeeping services to private businesses and high-net-worth individuals. Closely comparable to BLR in Canadian mid-market full-service positioning.
• Smythe LLP: British Columbia-based mid-tier CPA firm offering audit, tax, and advisory to private companies, NPOs, and individuals. Directly comparable to BLR in regional mid-market service mix and client segment diversity.
• MNP LLP: One of Canada's largest mid-market accounting and business advisory firms, offering audit, tax, consulting, and bookkeeping services to individuals, corporations, and NPOs nationwide. Closely comparable to BLR's full-service Canadian CPA offering but at substantially larger national scale.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Canada: Canadian Big 4 firm providing audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory across all major industries. Comparable in service categories to BLR but serving large enterprise and multinational clients.
• KPMG Canada: Canadian operations of Big 4 accounting firm offering audit, tax, and advisory at national and multinational scale. Overlaps with BLR's service categories but at a substantially larger enterprise-focused scale.
• PwC Canada: Canadian Big 4 firm providing assurance, tax, and advisory services. Overlaps with BLR's audit and tax offerings but operates at a much larger enterprise-focused scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BLRcpas
• Facebookfacebook.com/BLRCpas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blr-llp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BLR