Small Practice, Big Impact: The Sustainability Service Opportunity for CPAs in Small and Medium Practices

(May 2025)

Small and medium-sized practices (SMPs) have a unique opportunity to drive significant change by enhancing their expertise in sustainability and assisting their clients with sustainability initiatives. Sustainability-related services, such as sustainability reporting and assurance, materiality assessments, risk assessment & strategy, carbon accounting and scenario analysis, are becoming increasingly relevant for businesses looking to integrate sustainable practices. SMPs can play a critical role in helping businesses navigate these areas effectively.

Additionally, the following are two-high value services that present significant opportunities for SMPs to support their clients:

• Helping clients secure green loans and tap into government tax incentives and grants.
• Providing expertise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting and compliance.

Navigating the application processes or preparing sustainability-related information can be daunting for small and medium businesses (“businesses”). This presents opportunities for CPAs to expand traditional accounting, assurance and tax advisory services to include new sustainability advisory services and be there for their clients as trusted advisors.

CPAs already possess well-established core competencies such as data analysis, financial reporting, strategic planning and risk management. By upskilling their sustainability knowledge, CPAs can apply these competencies to this new era of reporting.

Here is a closer look at the new service opportunities.

Helping clients access tax incentives and secure green loans

Government grants & tax incentives

The Canadian government has grants and investment tax credits available to encourage sustainable practices and innovation. However, many businesses may not be aware of these opportunities or may struggle to navigate the application process.

The qualification criteria and application process can be complex and time-consuming. Businesses often lack the resources and expertise required to take full advantage of these opportunities.

CPAs can assist their clients by guiding them through the process, ensuring they meet the necessary requirements, and helping them prepare the required documents. CPAs providing tax services already have expertise with compliance and can upskill and expand their services to include these types of services.

Green loans

Many financial institutions have green loans or sustainability-linked loans available to support businesses finance green projects, such as installing solar panels, transitioning to electric vehicles or retrofitting buildings for greater energy efficiency. It is important for CPAs to inform their clients on the availability of these types of loans, advise them on meeting the eligibility criteria and assist them in providing the necessary information for loan application.

Helping clients become aware of, and apply for, green loans, government grants and tax incentives further affirms CPAs as trusted advisors with the technical knowledge and strategic expertise to reach their sustainability goals.

Supporting clients with GHG emissions information requests

SMPs can advise and support clients who may be required to provide sustainability-related information, such as GHG emissions data.

Stakeholders are looking for this type of information from businesses of all sizes, which they may not be prepared to provide. Customers, investors and lenders are particularly interested in this information as it influences their decision-making. For example, larger companies are reporting their GHG emissions for strategic or regulatory compliance reasons. Often, these companies have also set goals to reach net-zero GHG emissions. One of the ways they are managing their emissions is by requesting GHG emissions data from their vendors and suppliers in order to understand the full scope of their environmental impact.

Measuring and reporting their GHG emissions can be a big undertaking for businesses, and they may not have the expertise or resources to provide this information. However, SMPs can support them by expanding their traditional accounting and tax advisory services to include GHG emissions advisory services.

For detailed guidance on the six essential steps for effective GHG accounting, refer to CPA Ontario’s GHG Measurement and Reporting Guide.

Bottomline

There is an opportunity for CPAs in Small and Medium Practices to expand their service offerings and provide different types of sustainability-related services to their clients. By leveraging their existing toolkit and upskilling with new capabilities, CPAs can play a crucial role in helping their clients navigate the complexities of sustainability reporting and take advantage of these opportunities.