Careers | Stern Cohen

BENEFITS

Stern Cohen is YOUR opportunity for a rewarding and satisfying career.

Read staff reviews AND check out the many benefits.

Highly competitive compensation package

Based on our research and team member feedback.

Hybrid workplace, flex hours

We pride ourselves on work/life balance.

Advancement opportunities

We're growing! Come to us to achieve your career goals.

We're great people!

We can even prove it. Read the reviews below.

What makes us the best choice for accounting careers?

Competitive compensation (based on our research and team member feedback)
Comprehensive benefit plan including:
- Medical, dental, vision care, life and accident insurance, vacation and educational assistance
Advancement opportunities for management and partnership due to rapid firm growth
Opportunities to specialize, diversify, innovate, and achieve your career goals
Professional development training and support, feedback and coaching for optimal learning and growth
Hybrid workplace. Flexibility to work from home or our office at Yonge & St. Clair
Real commitment to work/life balance
Flex time / flex hours
Dress for your day
Fridays OFF with pay in July and August (9 extra days!), PLUS 2 during the winter holidays
8 personal days in addition to your generous vacation time
We close at 2:00 PM Friday before EVERY long weekend!
Direct interaction with partners and clients
Industry-leading cloud technology platform including Office 365, Zoom and Teams

Firm culture is key

At Stern Cohen, the health and wellbeing of our team is a priority. Our “Disconnecting from Work” policy ensures work-life balance. Here we are on Toronto Island for an afternoon of voyageur canoeing followed by dinner on Queen’s Quay.

Stern Cohen team members on a day out on Toronto Island going voyageur canoeing.

Even tax season is fun!

That’s because we bookend it with a kick off party and an after party. Here we are at Spin enjoying ping pong, food and fun!

A collage of Stern Cohen team members at our Tax Season Kick Off party. We're playing ping pong at Spin.

Lunch and learn with Stern Cohen

We love to learn. Career development is a huge focus at Stern Cohen. Join us and grow with us!

Group of Stern Cohen Accountants in a Lunch and Learn in our large boardroom

The Stern Cohen Team is…

Satisfied: We earned ClearlyRated’s Best of Accounting Employee Satisfaction award in 2024, 2023 and 2022 based on ratings by our team members.
Passionate about what we do: Our talented team has won ClearlyRated’s Best of Accounting Client Satisfaction award for the last nine years. Learn more.
Modern: We’ve embraced a hybrid model (as endorsed by CPA Canada’s CEO, Pamela Steer) so team members can easily work from home and our office.
Smart: In our last survey, a client wrote this about us: “Knowledgeable. Personable. Level-headed. The team at Stern Cohen know their stuff and are responsive to client matters; offering quick and practical solutions to matters that arise. They’ve helped us to navigate more than a few complex regulatory and compliance issues, and we’re all the better for it. We would definitely recommend Stern Cohen for all your accounting and advisory needs.” Read more client testimonials on this page.

Photo of Stern Cohen Manager Christopher A. Rolle, CPA

Michael Jacobson, CPA, CA, LPA, Stern Cohen Partner and Real Estate Specialist

At Stern Cohen, I absolutely love the people I work with! The partners, management and staff care about my well-being and future. Leadership has always shown a lot of interest in my career development. As an immigrant, I have always greatly appreciated that they’ve had my back and been there for me when I needed their support.

Christopher A. Rolle

CPA Manager, Assurance

I chose Stern Cohen because of the people – like Laura Gay and her team. Laura got the entire Nonprofit team involved in my interview! Normally you’re only interviewed by the person you will report to. This “team” interview approach was unique and showed Stern Cohen leadership values their team and their team’s perspectives. That really appeals to me.

Vivian Lam

CPA Senior Manager, Not-for-Profit FIT Practice

Stern Cohen is a very supportive environment in terms of achieving your growth potential. Everyone at the firm, whether it be seniors, managers, or partners, have always been available and willing to give me a helping hand in order to foster my development. They make the time to train, mentor, and provide advice on career progression. Furthermore, the firm has always recognized my progress. Initially I was hired with a not-for-profit focus, but when I later asked for exposure to for-profit clients the firm’s leaders made sure I got the exposure that I wanted to round out my skill set. I really appreciate that. They do a great job of making sure that my career needs are always being met.

Note: 5 years ago, Katarina started at Stern Cohen as a Staff Accountant in our Assurance practice. Since then, she was promoted to Senior and now has become a Manager.

Katarina Hedler

CPA Manager, Assurance

As a FIT Specialist at Stern Cohen, I get to work with a variety of clients from small local businesses to international companies. Each one is unique and one solution does not fit all, so I am always learning something new. Another great perk is the team itself. We are like a big family and always help each other out. I’m never alone. I used to think accounting was all about numbers, but in my career at Stern Cohen I’ve learned that it’s about building client relationships. I should mention that clients don’t want to just know the numbers – they what to know what the numbers mean and we provide that for them. Finally, coming to Stern Cohen has also given me the opportunity to become really knowledgeable and efficient with accounting technologies.

Team Member

FIT Specialist

At Stern Cohen, we know that investing in our people is the key to success. Join us and we’ll invest in you. If your goals are partner or something unique – we’ll help you grow personally and professionally.

Michael Jacobson

CPA, CA, LPA Partner & Real Estate Specialist

QUESTIONS?

We have answers!

Are there opportunities for advancement for me at Stern Cohen?

Absolutely! We are growing fast and diversifying our services. Within our team you’ll find generalists and specialists. 91% of staff in our January 2024, anonymous survey by ClearlyRated said “There are opportunities for advancement for me within Stern Cohen.”

In addition, 6 out of our 7 partners were promoted from within. They started as Staff Accountants, Seniors or Managers with Stern Cohen.

What are the other team members like at Stern Cohen? Is there a sense of community?

Take a look at the staff testimonials and photos above. They demonstrate the great team vibe at Stern Cohen.

Here’s another picture of us:

A group of Stern Cohen team members having lunch together.

Does Stern Cohen value diversity, equity and inclusion?

Yes we do! In our January 2024, third-party, anonymous staff survey by ClearlyRated, 91% of staff said: “The best people get promoted, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or identity.” Feel free to check out our diverse team by clicking on the Our Team link on the top navigation bar.

Are staff optimistic about their careers at Stern Cohen?

In our January 2024, third-party, anonymous staff survey by ClearlyRated, 96% of staff said “I am optimistic about what the next year has in store for me working at Stern Cohen.”

What kind of clients does Stern Cohen have?

We focus on privately-held businesses and not-for-profits with revenues of 1 million and beyond. Check out our website for featured clients on our Testimonials page (under About on the top navigation bar.

What kind of services does Stern Cohen offer?

We have specialist practices in tax, estate planning, assurance, and client accounting and advisory services (Stern Cohen FIT). We also have a number of in-house niche experts for a variety of industries including not-for-profit, real estate and more!

What’s unique about the firm?

We’re 60 years old but despite our long history we’re thoroughly modern! Tech wise, we were one of the first mid-sized firms to move to a Cloud platform (a virtualized desktop) with Microsoft 365. The Cloud desktop enables us to log in and work from home (or anywhere) easily and securely.

Life at Stern Cohen even includes fun photo shoots so that you can be part of our website!

Can I work remotely?

Yes you can! We have embraced a hybrid model (as endorsed by CPA Canada’s CEO, Pamela Steer) so team members can work from home and our modern office at Yonge & St. Clair. You’ve got options!

What's the office like?

Just steps from St. Clair Station on the Yonge subway line, our office is centrally located and includes staff parking, bike racks and elevator access. We have the entire 14th floor and everyone has an assigned desk or office (no scrambling for a spot). We have an open door policy so there is always an opportunity to get help or chat when you need some support or information. Our well-stocked kitchen provides gourmet coffee, juice and pop, as well as fruit, power bars, chocolate bars, chips and more to help keep our energy up.

Who are the people pictured on this page?

We don’t use stock photos. What you see is what you get! 🙂

The people on this page are ALL Stern Cohen team members!