Andrea Silman
Silver Fox Accounting
Silver Fox Accounting is a boutique accounting firm. We originated our firm from under another banner, Our friend asked how can you communicate all the experience you gained while you got grey? That was the naming event for Silver Fox Accounting.
I became a Certified Professional Accountant more than 40 years ago after a whirlwind career in IT and a great deal of education. The firm is run jointly with my wife, Andrea. The strategy behind this approach is that I occasionally speak like an accountant and she translates it into plain English so our customers can understand the proposed strategies.
I think of myself as the swiss army knife of accountants because of my training and experience in many areas. We handle accounting, bookkeeping, taxes, financial planning, tax planning. cash management, and cost accounting. We also love handling unusual clients such as a talent agent and a sports agent rolled into one. Because we are a boutique firm, we enjoy cross-recommending and networking clients where appropriate.
We have had a client come in with many years of receipts and unopened CRA letters in a shopping bag, not even a nice shoebox. We completed their books and tax returns from there.
For CRA issues, we have thawed frozen bank accounts within 1 week for clients in Ontario and Quebec. We believe in working with the CRA in a cordial and friendly manner to resolve problems as quickly and as painlessly as possible. We have also released a salary garnishment in less than one week. Obviously, these instances vary by the individual case and how angry the client got the assigned collector. In all cases, we try to maintain a friendly collegial relationship. The reason for this is our recognition that taxes must be paid and our job is to keep it to the legal minimum.
For other clients, we have undertaken numerical analysis, policy, or governance development, the creation and continuing accounting for a non-profit organization. We provided business valuations on the purchase of a restaurant as well as develop their business plan for long term financing. We have also provided advice to a small service business owner whose retail prices did not cover their costs.
Our approach is to meet the client's needs at every turn. With the exception of planned and pre-announced vacations, we have never failed to return a clients' telephone call or email request within 4 business hours.
We also like dealing with and helping new immigrants, because I came to Canada as a child refugee and I am grateful for the opportunity. That is the other reason, why we ensure that our clients understand every nuance of our recommended strategy.
Working for all levels of government in Canada as well as the private sector, I retired in 2016 and hung out our shingle. I do not know how I ended up exactly as an accountant because I started out in IT, but upon doing my family tree research, I found that the last 6 generations of males on my mother's side were accountants. So I guess becoming an accountant was inevitable. Working with a small business was also inevitable because my father was an entrepreneur as was my wife's father.
My record for back tax returns currently stands at 19. While I do have the software, I do not want to beat that record prior to 2025.