A first meeting with a new accountant is more useful when there's something concrete to look at, rather than starting from a blank page. None of this needs to be perfectly organized — approximate and incomplete is still a good starting point.
Documents worth bringing
- Last year's personal and (if applicable) corporate tax returns and Notice of Assessment
- Basic corporate documents, if you're incorporated — articles of incorporation, minute book if you have one
- Whatever bookkeeping exists, even if it's a spreadsheet or a shoebox of receipts
- A rough sense of revenue and major expenses for the current year
Questions worth having ready
Beyond documents, it helps to walk in with a sense of what you're actually trying to solve — whether that's "I think I'm paying too much tax," "I have no idea if incorporating makes sense for me," or simply "I want someone to actually call back when I have a question." Naming that up front makes the first meeting more useful than a general get-to-know-you conversation.
The goal of a first meeting isn't to have everything figured out — it's to give your accountant enough of a picture to tell you what actually matters for your situation, and what can wait.