IWhere we come in
Industries / 08 — Trading & Distribution
Inventory that doesn't reconcile is a sales tax problem before it's a stock problem.
Statutory audit, sales tax across federal and provincial authorities, inventory verification and corporate compliance for importers, distributors and traders.
Trading and distribution businesses carry a sales tax footprint that spans federal and multiple provincial authorities, and an inventory position that an auditor will always test closely. We work with import and distribution businesses, tooling and electronics distributors, and general traders on exactly that combination.
Our sales tax filings span more than one provincial authority and we're not confident they're all correct.
Federal and provincial sales tax positions mapped and reconciled, not filed separately without cross-checking.
Our stock records and our books don't quite agree.
Inventory verification that reconciles physical stock to the ledger before an auditor finds the gap first.
We import goods and need to understand our full compliance exposure.
Corporate and tax compliance mapped to how an import and distribution business actually operates.
We distribute a manufacturer's products and need statutory audit and tax done properly.
Statutory audit built around distribution margins and inventory turnover, not a generic trading template.
We are a general trading business and our compliance has fallen behind.
Regularisation of overdue filings, and a structure going forward that doesn't repeat the same gap.
IIWhat we do
What we handle in trading & distribution
All eleven service lines are available to any client. These are the ones genuinely relevant to an importer, distributor or trader.
01
Audit & Assurance
Statutory audit built around distribution margins, inventory turnover and import activity.
- Statutory audit
- Inventory verification
- Group reporting where relevant
02
Tax & Regulatory
Sales tax compliance across federal and provincial authorities, and the notices that follow a mismatch.
- Federal and provincial sales tax compliance
- Income tax compliance
- Notices, assessments and appeals
03
Accounting & Outsourcing
Bookkeeping and inventory accounting that reconciles physical stock to the ledger.
- Bookkeeping and ledger management
- Inventory accounting
- Management reporting
04
Corporate & Secretarial
Statutory filings and registers kept current, and regularisation where compliance has fallen behind.
- SECP statutory filings
- Regularisation of overdue filings
- Statutory registers
05
Risk & Forensic
Internal control review where inventory or cash handling controls need independent scrutiny.
- Internal control review
- Inventory control testing
- Fraud risk assessment
06
Financial Instruments & IFRS 9
Expected credit loss modelling for distributors carrying large trade receivable and payable books.
- Financial instrument classification
- Expected credit loss modelling
- Trade receivable disclosures
07
Advisory & Consulting
Feasibility and financial modelling before a new warehouse, product line or distribution territory is committed to.
- Feasibility studies
- Financial modelling
- Investment appraisal
08
Internal Audit & ICFR
Control testing for larger distributors and importers where lenders or principals require independent assurance.
- Internal audit
- Risk and control matrices
- ICFR design and testing
09
Technology & Digital
Systems and controls advisory for distributors running inventory, warehouse or ERP platforms.
- IT general controls
- ERP and systems selection
- Cybersecurity advisory
Each of these has its own page setting out the full scope, approach and pricing — this is the set most relevant to trading and distribution specifically.
IIIRepresentative work
What the work looks like
Named-client work sits behind our clients' own consent, and is not published here — this is the shape of the sector experience, not a client list.
Our representative work in this sector includes import and distribution businesses, tooling and electronics distributors, and general traders — spanning statutory audit, multi-authority sales tax compliance and inventory verification. The fuller list of sectors and anonymised engagement snapshots is on our Clients & Experience page.
IVCommon questions
Questions we are asked
Our sales tax registrations span more than one province — can you handle that?
Yes. Federal and provincial sales tax positions are mapped and reconciled together, not treated as separate, unrelated filings.
Can you help if our stock records and books have drifted apart?
Yes. Inventory verification and reconciliation is a core part of the practice for importers, distributors and traders.
Do you work with smaller general trading businesses, or only larger distributors?
Both. The scale of the engagement varies, but the underlying compliance questions — sales tax, inventory, statutory filings — are similar across sizes.
Can you help regularise compliance that's fallen behind?
Yes. We establish the current position first and quantify the exposure before filing, the same approach we use for any regularisation.
How is trading and distribution sector work priced?
Statutory audit and ongoing tax compliance are typically scoped as annual engagements. Inventory verification and regularisation work is quoted separately once the extent is understood.
Related
The service lines behind this page
Let's work together
Does this sector look familiar?
If we have worked on something like it, the first conversation starts further along. A partner will tell you what's realistic before anything is scoped.