Premier Professional Accountants Inc.

Employee Spotlight: Alisha LaFantaisie

Recently the Brant Beacon's local reporter Brian Trota reached out to conduct an interview with our founder Jason B. Smale about his path into business ownership, the Premier team as a whole and their vision for giving back to the community, and what he sees for the growth of the City of Brantford and our entrepreneurship community.

“I think Brantford has a lot to offer, from our beautiful trail systems to the sports arena and the local Brantford Bulldogs hockey team that we now have. I also am a big supporter in new development [and] in the way that we’re going about dealing with intensification projects…making sure that we’re building vertically, rather than sprawling out in the community and taking away all the forestry and the natural resources that we have around us,”

“I’m definitely excited for the future of this city… obviously as more people come here, more opportunities will arise that will feed [the] growing entrepreneurship spirit that I see within the community…I think there will be more of that in the future.”

Link to the full article is in the comment section.

We like to be efficient with how we share our resources. But, this organization amongst select others that we invest our time, money, and resources into throughout the year are highly deserving.

Thank you to team member Connor Piet for agreeing to use some of his paid volunteer time to help our friends at Gifts Of The Heart Brantford.

Premier Professional Accountants Inc. is always happy to support the positive activities and initiatives happening in the communities we serve.

We look forward to all the ways the Bulldogs and the Premier team will engage the community experience this CHL hockey season.

Starting this Monday with training camp.

Every year we have experiences like this. But, never such a significant windfall on two family's lives in what has become a financially troubling time for many.

Between two client accounts that we acquired this year for the first time and reviewed their unique tax scenarios. One being a senior living in a retirement center where the previous accountant missed 7 years of claiming the costs associated to that living center and we're in the midst of recovering $54,000 in income taxes, and a friend's family who we just finished the work on today, recovering up to $17,000 for disability tax credit claims for a dependent that they were never advised they could claim.

These two cases result in just under $72,000 recoverable in taxes between two families in our community, amidst the economic backlash of this recent pandemic.

This is why the team at Premier Professional Accountants Inc. does what we do and why we're so passionate about our work!

We've got some HUGE news to share with our clients and business supporters.

We've been diligently working for months on strategic planning that will affect our Brantford office. More on that will follow in later posts. But first, we want to share with you the exciting news that our team is now expanding and opening an office in St. Catharine's, Ontario.

This reach will allow us to continue to grow as a team, eventually adding more experienced professionals to our team that better serve our clients throughout the two territories and securing a long-term foothold within this industry.

We thank you for your role in our growth over the past seven years and we look forward to continuing this journey with you.

110 James St.
St. Catharines, ON L2R 7E8
Mon - Fri 9 am to 5 pm

Phone: 289.479.5740
Email: [email protected]

We mentioned last week about how the team at Premier Professional Accountants Inc. went down to Ottawa to support our friends at F4K and their Ottawa Unbirthday event.

Although some might say we should be used to this by now through our community engagement, it just never gets old.

A big shout out to the Premier Count played this past weekend by our beloved team member Alisha LaFantaisie.

Our team is very proud to see this positive impact taking place continuously and remain committed to more of the same in the future.

"𝙆𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙉𝙀𝙎𝙎 𝙄𝙎 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘼𝘽𝙄𝙇𝙄𝙏𝙔 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝘿𝙀𝙎𝙄𝙍𝙀 𝙏𝙊 𝙃𝘼𝙑𝙀 𝘼 𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙄𝙏𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝙄𝙈𝙋𝘼𝘾𝙏 𝙊𝙉 𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙎." ~ Raktivist

This email we got just after our OTTAWA UNBIRTHDAY PARTY made our absolute day!
******
Good morning,
I brought my daughter and her friend to your unbirthday event in Ottawa yesterday.
We had THE BEST time! We can’t thank you enough. The generosity and kindness show to all the children brought tears to my eyes.
What a beautiful idea - in a world where so many are excluded, let’s include everyone and celebrate who they are and what they bring to the world.
The highlight for my daughter Kayleigh was the Count! On the chance you are able to contact them, she would like to share this picture she drew. She says she hopes he was not too warm on such a hot day.
Best,
Norma and Kayleigh (age 7)
******

What Kayleigh may not know, is that it's those moments that make the Count's day too! The Count has been a volunteer at the Unbirthday Party events ever since our very first party. The Count is tops in our books too Kayleigh! And so are you!!!

HUGE THANKS to Norma for sharing this magical memory and incredible artwork by Kayleigh. As well as to Premier Professional Accountants Inc. & one of our newest F4K board members Alisha LaFantaisie - you are magical!

Come find us this weekend at CrewFest. We've brought six party seekers from the team to pack the VIP section.

As our community knows we have for years now supported our friend Nicole Callander of Friends 4 Kindness and her teams vision to celebrate and spread kindness to children and adults struggling with the social aspects of living with different abilities at their Unbirthday party.

As a team we wanted to follow up our big fundraiser drive from last summer where we supported Tamarley Smith in his journey to prep school prior to leaving for NCAA football in the states.

But, we didn't want to follow that big accomplishment with a mediocre summer experience. So, after a little brainstorming and speaking to Nicole about her vision to grow her second Unbirthday party site and the challenge in finding volunteers in Ottawa, we decided to send the Premier team down to Ottawa to help make the event a smashing success.

The pictures attached tell a little of the story. We are so proud of this team and their selfless giving!

Notable absence this weekend was Jason who stayed behind to Coach the U18 Bisons Football program who went on to finish their regular season last night undefeated.

Our Accountants have taken what is becoming their annual trip to Las Vegas to compete in the World Series of Poker.

After a grueling start to day one we have one team member that has survived to the second round and is guaranteed to walk away with a cash prize. Last year's first place winner won $500k USD.

So, we're asking for everyone back home to throw up a little support for Shawn P. Stemmler as he fulfills a dream he shared with his now late father.

Shawn was ranked 62nd in chip stack out of a remaining 593 players and 4,600 original entrants.

Another successful semester of partnering with local City of Brantford high schools to mentor co-op students as they make crucial assessments of their future and direction in education.

At a recent football practice one of our owners was approached by a community member who said, "you know, with all the promotional work you did last year with the Brantford Bulldogs I don't think I could go anywhere without seeing your company branding."

We just want you to know Kelly, we took that as a personal challenge. We're doubling our investment in the Brantford Bulldogs this year.

Let's Go Bulldogs! Let's Go City of Brantford

Premier Professional Accountants Inc. is hiring for a part-time administrator/bookkeeper role.

The job will start out with 20-25 hours a week with the intention that the role can grow in to a full-time job, which we're trending to be able to offer by the end of this calendar year.

We are currently a team of 5 and looking to grow and have someone who wants to be a stable part of our team moving forward.

Our accountants prepare ongoing training plans to help you grow in the role and will provide paid external content / seminar training to ensure you meet annual professional development goals.

𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

- Greet and direct clients as they enter the office.

- Sort and file mail as required.

- Prepare materials to be printed and packaged for delivery.

- Ability to perform online research through major search engines and Canada.ca website.

- Use of slack communication software is ideal, but training can be provided.

- Prepare email communication requesting supporting documentation from clients.

- Prepare thorough notes to assist clients to become better organized as work on files are completed.

- Review and reconcile your own work before handing off to accounting team for review.

- Conduct account analysis to identify discrepancies in reporting period to period.

- Prepare government remittances when required.

- Process accounts receivable, payable, and general journal entries as required.

- Other duties as may be assigned.

𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

- Must possess strong English communication skills(reading/writing).

- Basic understanding of accounting principles(training will be supplied to advance skills)

- Proficiency in using Microsoft Office, Adobe, G-Suite, and Accounting software(QuickBooks Desktop & Online)

- Must be able to work both independently and as part of a team.

· High school diploma, a business degree or diploma from a post-secondary institution will be considered a bonus.

· 1-2 years’ experience in the financial industry.

· Ability to deal with people sensitively, tactfully, diplomatically, and professionally at all times.

· Ability to prioritize and manage conflicting demands.

· High level of integrity and excellent work ethic.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

- $18 - $21 per hour depending on experience
- Discretionary bonuses paid at the end of tax seasons
- Paid compensation for attending community events as we giveback to the City of Brantford.
- Attend concerts and fun events as part of the team.
- Paid lunches and team activities.

We regularly receive these awards/announcements from community votes programs.

But, in the midst of a very busy season, regardless of the stock that you put into these awards. It is always a nice motivational refresher to see people recognizing the hard work of the team.

As a business owner as many of you are, you can understand and appreciate how difficult it can be to find the right fit for talent and personalities, especially when working in an office environment.

We consider 2023 to be another milestone year for our team, although there were challenges, we emerged with a new cornerstone piece to the office and our team. We were in search for a long time to find a stable presence to work alongside Alisha LaFantaisie and we found that person in Leanne L'Heureux.

Alisha and the team have been spending countless hours and months in building upon Leanne's existing administrative skills, and refining her accounting knowledge. To say the least we're pretty happy with the way the efforts are reflected in the work Leanne does for our clients.

In the late summer 2023 an announcement was made that Alisha LaFantaisie joined the board and became an active member of the Friends 4 Kindness organization.

Well, after much deliberation and some careful consideration we have chosen to partner with another of the City of Brantford 's fine charitable/not-for-profit organizations in Gifts Of The Heart Brantford. This time Leanne L'Heureux will be taking a seat on the board with the guidance and assistance of Jason B. Smale.

We're excited as a team to continue giving back to the community.

Premier Professional Accountants Inc. will pay the ladies for all hours committed to these organizations throughout the year including board meetings and events. We believe in putting our money where our mouth is, these engagements are not for-profit engagements for us, we're literally gifting our most talented staff to these organizations to see them continue to make a positive impact in our community.

Don't be a W***y.

Get your taxes done at Premier Professional Accountants Inc. this year and stay organized!

Basic tax returns starting at $60 + tax

We're always excited to see team members growing and bringing greater value to our clients through the expansion of the brand and service offerings.

Today we are excited to announce the launch of Premier Mortgage Lending a new and exciting channel of business that our team is thrilled to bring to our clients and community.

Premier Mortgage Lending will operate as part of the brokering channel under BRX Mortgage Inc one of Canada's fastest growing and most influential broker channels.

If you're needing mortgage financing in the next 12 months for

1. A new home purchase,
2. A mortgage refinance or switch
3. A development or investment project
4. You're facing a renewal and want to make sure you secure the best rate possible for your family.

Please don't hesitate to get the brand you've come to trust working for you!

Our team has been a proud sponsor in this inaugural season for the Brantford Bulldogs.

Did you know that our hometown team is in 1st place?

Today as a team we had the privilege of celebrating one of our team member's birthdays!! 🥳🥂

Please help us in celebrating Leanne L'Heureux first birthday as part of the team.

Jason promised not to reveal Leanne's age in fear of retribution 😂😂

We grabbed a few pictures this week of the ladies as they stopped by some client worksites to wish them a prosperous new year in business.

Let's make 2024 a great one!

From the team at Premier Professional Accountants Inc.

Ps. Jason fogot to take pictures a number of times. The ladies gave him the business and promise we'll do better this year.

We have a big announcement!

Small business owners will tell you in recent years that "finding good help" has been harder recently then it has been in quite some time.

But, every once in a while you find a real diamond amongst the rough. That's what we can proudly proclaim we found when hiring Alisha LaFantaisie. She started with limited accounting experience when Jason hired her 3 years ago, but with a commitment to professional development and mentorship Alisha has grown to become one of the best bookkeepers we have ever met in this community.

Her experience ranges from dealing with small start-ups to handling complex bookkeeping challenges for corporate for-profit clients from various industries, as well as providing bookkeeping support to a growing number of charities and not-for-profits.

Alisha made a great fit for our team for a number of reasons, but one of the key benefits identified early with Alisha was her passion for the community and willingness to engage our local community. This was something that our team cherished and wanted to foster. Already having been active community members, we wanted to open a window for Alisha to exercise some of this passion as she has taken on the roll as our beloved Premier Count engaging children and families at functions throughout the year.

This year having come out of the pandemic with no restrictions on how we engage the community Premier Professional Accountants Inc. wanted to make this a year that we intentionally committed to becoming re-engaged. We've done this in a number of ways, but when considering how we would move forward with the community one of the annual commitments Alisha has made at Friends 4 Kindness the Unbirthday party event they lost a great board member and someone they cherished dearly. After much consideration and internal discussions about Alisha's interest in growing professionally Jason reached out to community champion and leader of Friends 4 Kindness Nicole Callander to see whether Alisha would make a good fit for her vacant board position. After a successful in person meeting between Alisha and Nicole we are absolutely thrilled to announce that Alisha will be taking some of her employment hours through Premier Professional Accountants Inc. to assist Nicole in growing her vision for the Friends 4 Kindness.

We look forward to the great success you ladies will experience together and will be here to support you all of the way!!

The team may not have come first in the scarecrow voting contest in this years Scare in the Square. But, I'm very proud of the staff and co-op students for their effort in this years entry.

Definitely #1 in my heart girls.

**𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲**

We are so excited for this upcoming weekend and all of the great festivities taking place in Downtown Brantford and throughout our community.

This weekend our team is participating in Scare in the Square - where our beloved Premier Count will be in attendance with her lovely team handing out treats and smiles to little ones from 2 - 4 p.m. Unfortunately, team member Jason B. Smale will not be onsite as he will be on the field coaching the Paris District High Schools Sr. varsity football program.

Our team is also sponsoring and will be in attendance for both the Brantford Bulldogs home opener and this years Brantford Comedy Festival.

But, the main reason for our post here is to let you know that we have 2 tickets available to be given away for this weekends Comedy Festival. You'll have the opportunity to sit in the lower bowl with local sponsors and community business owners as we take in the comedy musings front and center.

In order to win these tickets all you have to do is tag a friend in the comments and share our post and make sure to like our business page Premier Professional Accountants Inc. to get the word out. We love giving back to our community and we would be thrilled to have you join us for all the laughter that's about to come.

Don't forget the three points of engagement.

1. Tag a friend in the comment section.
2. Like our business page.
3. Share this post!

The draw for tickets will be held at 8 p.m. this evening October 6th, 2023