602 2nd Avenue, Fernie BC  ·  Mon–Fri 8:30–4:30250-423-6881  ·  info@fernieaccountant.com  ·  GPI clients
Careers · Fernie, BC

Accounting jobs in Fernie, BC.

Swap the Deerfoot or the Port Mann for a walk to work, with the ski hill five kilometres from the office. Six roles are open on 2nd Avenue, and every one shows its pay range.

ApplyWhy Fernie
5 km from town to Fernie Alpine Resort
~9 m of snow a year on the hill
35 hrs office week, May to December
2000 in Fernie, one office since
See it

The hill, right now.

Fernie Alpine Resort's live camera, five kilometres from the office. Press play to see what the snow looks like today.

Open roles

Six roles, one office.

Every role is full-time and based in Fernie. If your title is not here and you do accounting work, apply and tell us what you do.

Pay
$120,000–$150,000 a year
Type
Full-time, permanent
Where
In the office, 602 2nd Avenue, Fernie
Hours
35 a week May–Dec; 40 a week Jan–Feb; 48 a week Mar–Apr, with hours over 40 banked or paid out

CPA Senior Manager

Senior CPA with a direct path to partnership.

A seasoned CPA who wants to own client relationships, enjoys variety in the work, and wants to build something they can one day call their own. If a larger firm feels constraining or big-city hours have worn you down, we want to hear from you.

Read the full roleHide the details

What you'll do

  • Lead and run audit and review engagements for owner-managed businesses, not-for-profit organizations and other entities
  • Prepare and review T1, T2, T3 and partnership returns
  • Review compilation engagements and financial statements prepared under Canadian standards
  • Tax planning: corporate reorganizations, estate planning and owner-manager remuneration
  • Manage client relationships across accounting, tax and business advice
  • Deal with CRA on audits, objections and compliance inquiries
  • Supervise, mentor and develop staff and CPA students
  • Take part in practice management, quality management and improving how the firm works

What we look for

  • Canadian CPA designation
  • Five or more years of post-designation experience in public practice, across audit, review, compilation and tax
  • Strong technical knowledge of ASPE, ASNPO and the Income Tax Act
  • Experience running client files independently and supervising staff
  • Clear writing and speaking; able to explain complex matters to non-accountants
  • CaseWare, TaxCycle and QuickBooks Online, or equivalent
  • An interest in practice ownership and in building long-term roots in Fernie are strong assets

What we offer

  • $120,000 to $150,000 a year, depending on experience
  • A path to ownership, with profit-sharing and partnership equity as the relationship develops
  • Flexible scheduling and little bureaucracy
  • CPA dues, CPA Canada fees and verifiable CPD paid by the firm
  • Extended health and dental benefits
  • Senior work and your own clients from day one
  • Relocation assistance for the right candidate
Apply for this role
Pay
$100,000–$125,000 a year
Type
Full-time, permanent
Where
In the office, 602 2nd Avenue, Fernie
Hours
35 a week May–Dec; 40 a week Jan–Feb; 48 a week Mar–Apr, with hours over 40 banked or paid out

CPA Manager

CPA who runs a portfolio of files and reviews the team's work.

Read the full roleHide the details

What you'll do

  • Run review and compilation engagements and society audits from planning to partner sign-off
  • Prepare and review T1, T2 and T3 returns
  • Be the main contact for your own portfolio of clients
  • Respond to CRA reviews and enquiries on your clients' files
  • Supervise and coach senior accountants, technicians and CPA students

What we look for

  • Canadian CPA designation
  • Three or more years of post-designation experience in public practice
  • Working knowledge of ASPE, ASNPO and the Income Tax Act
  • Experience reviewing other people's files
  • CaseWare, TaxCycle and QuickBooks Online, or equivalent

What we offer

  • CPA dues, CPA Canada fees and verifiable CPD paid by the firm
  • Extended health and dental benefits
  • Flexible scheduling and little bureaucracy
  • Room to grow into the senior manager role
Apply for this role
Pay
$82,000–$105,000 a year
Type
Full-time, permanent
Where
In the office, 602 2nd Avenue, Fernie
Hours
35 a week May–Dec; 40 a week Jan–Feb; 48 a week Mar–Apr, with hours over 40 banked or paid out

CPA, senior accountant

Designated CPA, or close to it, with public-practice experience.

Read the full roleHide the details

What you'll do

  • Compilation (CSRS 4200) and review engagements, start to finish
  • Audits of not-for-profit societies and trust-account reports
  • T2 corporate, T3 trust and estate returns; reorganizations with the partners
  • Review the work of technicians and CPA candidates
  • Deal with clients directly: you are the person on their file

What we look for

  • CPA designation, or PEP nearly complete
  • Three or more years in public practice
  • Comfortable running a file without a manager checking every step
  • CaseWare, TaxCycle and QuickBooks Online, or equivalent
Apply for this role
Pay
$60,000–$75,000 a year
Type
Full-time, permanent
Where
In the office, 602 2nd Avenue, Fernie
Hours
35 a week May–Dec; 40 a week Jan–Feb; 48 a week Mar–Apr, with hours over 40 banked or paid out

CPA candidate, staff accountant

In the CPA program, or about to start it.

Read the full roleHide the details

What you'll do

  • Year-end files under a CPA's review: working papers to draft statements
  • T1 and T2 returns, including the January-to-April personal tax season
  • Engagement work across compilations, reviews and society audits
  • Practical experience toward your designation: GPI is a CPA BC pre-approved training office

What we look for

  • Accounting degree, enrolled in or about to start the CPA program
  • Some public-practice experience helps; it is not required
  • Careful with detail and willing to ask early
Apply for this role
Pay
$52,000–$72,000 a year
Type
Full-time, permanent
Where
In the office, 602 2nd Avenue, Fernie
Hours
35 a week May–Dec; 40 a week Jan–Feb; 48 a week Mar–Apr, with hours over 40 banked or paid out

Accounting technician

Diploma-level accountant who can carry a compilation file.

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What you'll do

  • Compilation engagements for owner-managed businesses
  • Corporate and personal tax returns
  • Year-end adjustments and working papers for CPA review

What we look for

  • Accounting diploma or equivalent experience
  • Two or more years in a public-practice firm
  • QuickBooks Online and Sage 50; tax software experience
Apply for this role
Pay
$52,000–$66,000 a year
Type
Full-time, permanent
Where
In the office, 602 2nd Avenue, Fernie
Hours
35 a week May–Dec; 40 a week Jan–Feb; 48 a week Mar–Apr, with hours over 40 banked or paid out

Bookkeeper

Monthly books, payroll and GST for the firm's business clients.

Read the full roleHide the details

What you'll do

  • Monthly and quarterly bookkeeping in QuickBooks and Sage 50
  • Payroll, source deductions, T4s and ROEs
  • GST and PST returns and filings
  • Set-up and clean-up of client books

What we look for

  • Two or more years of full-cycle bookkeeping
  • Payroll certification is an asset
  • QuickBooks Online and Sage 50
Apply for this role
A year at GPI

Four busy months, eight steady ones.

The office hours change with the season. Here is how the work year lines up with the mountain year.

January – April

Tax season

T4s and T5s by the end of February, personal returns by April 30. January and February are 40-hour weeks and the peak powder months. March and April run 48-hour weeks; hours over 40 are banked as time off or paid out. Griz Days in March, spring skiing to mid-April.

8:00–5:00 · 48-hr weeks Mar–Apr
May – June

Year ends and T2s

Self-employed returns by June 15 and corporate returns for December year ends by June 30. The trails dry out, and the rivers open June 15.

8:30–4:30
July – September

Summer

Steady file work and long evenings on the trails and the river. The quietest stretch of the year for planning time off. Wapiti Music Festival in August.

8:30–4:30
October – December

Planning and year ends

Society year ends, tax planning before December 31. The hill opens in early December.

8:30–4:30 · closed Dec 24–Jan 1

The office closes 12–1 for lunch all year. Scheduling is flexible: tell us what you need around the busy months.

The work

Six lines of work, all in one office.

Clients are owner-managed businesses, families, not-for-profit societies, lawyers and realtors across the Elk Valley. Here you work across all of it, and you see each file from start to finish.

  • Bookkeeping, payroll and GSTMonthly books, payroll and GST filings in QuickBooks and Sage 50.
  • Financial statementsCompilation (CSRS 4200) and review engagements for year end, banks and boards.
  • Personal and corporate taxT1, T2 and trust returns, and planning before the year end.
  • AuditsNot-for-profit society audits and trust-account reports for lawyers and realtors.
  • Estate and successionEstate freezes, reorganizations and final returns, with the client's lawyer.
  • Business adviceBudgets, cash flow, financing, and buying or selling a business.
Why Fernie

Live where Calgary and Vancouver come to ski.

Fernie is a town of about 6,300 in BC's Elk Valley, five kilometres from Fernie Alpine Resort. Powder named it one of the 8 best ski towns in the world in 2025. Here is what changes if you move here, including the parts that are harder.

From Calgary

Stop driving to the mountains.

  • Your ski hill is 5 km from home, so a powder morning no longer starts on the Trans-Canada.
  • Calgary stays close: about 3 hours and 280 km by car, for family, flights out of YYC and the odd game.
  • Income tax is close to even. In 2026 a $100,000 salary is taxed about the same in BC as in Alberta; Alberta pulls ahead at higher incomes.
  • Calgary's average commute is 27.7 minutes each way. Downtown Fernie is small enough to walk across.
  • Same work, smaller firm: whole files and your own clients, with no layers of review between you and the partner.
From Vancouver, Surrey and the Fraser Valley

Trade the commute and the mortgage for snow.

  • Metro Vancouver's average commute is 31.1 minutes each way. Here you can walk to work.
  • Homes cost less: Fernie townhomes benchmarked at $588,000 and apartments at $526,600 in April 2026, against a $1,075,900 composite for Greater Vancouver.
  • Real winter: about 9 m of Rockies snow a year, five alpine bowls and cat skiing just outside town.
  • Still in BC: same provincial tax, same CPA BC membership, same health coverage.
  • Daily flights to Vancouver from Cranbrook, 75 minutes away.

The numbers, side by side

Latest published figures as of October 2026. A benchmark is the price of a typical home of that type, not an average of sales.

MeasureCalgaryMetro Vancouver and Fraser ValleyFernie
Average commute, each way27.7 min31.1 min (Vancouver)A walk, in a small downtown
Single-family home benchmark$739,400 (detached, Sept 2026)$1.30M (Fraser Valley detached, Sept 2026)$986,200 (April 2026)
All-homes or condo benchmark$566,700 (all homes, Sept 2026)$1,075,900 (Greater Vancouver, all homes, Sept 2026)$588,000 townhome, $526,600 apartment (April 2026)
Asking rent, one bedroom$1,508$2,373 Vancouver, $1,807 SurreyScarce: 0.5% vacancy
Income tax at $100,000Within about $1,000 a year of each other in 2026. Alberta is lower at higher incomes.BC rates
Nearest ski resortBanff and Lake Louise, a drive westNorth Shore and Whistler, a drive north5 km from town
Distance to FernieAbout 3 hours, 280 kmAbout 900 km by road, or fly to CranbrookYou are here

Getting here

Fernie sits on Highway 3 in the southeast corner of BC, close to the Alberta border.

Travel to Fernie
CalgaryAbout 3 hours by car, 280 km
YYC airportAbout 3.5 hours by car; the Tunnel49 shuttle runs in ski season
CranbrookCanadian Rockies International (YXC), 75 minutes by car. Daily flights to Calgary, Vancouver and Kelowna
VancouverAbout 900 km from Surrey by road, a long day's drive
The hill5 km. The FernieStoke shuttle runs from town in ski season for $5 a ride

About 6,300 people, up 17% between the 2016 and 2021 censuses. Elk Valley Hospital is in town, with an emergency department. Schools run from kindergarten to grade 12, including a French school and an independent school, and College of the Rockies has a Fernie campus. Fernie has its own "20 cm rule": after 20 cm of snow overnight, some shops open late.

Three things to plan for

People who move here and stay are the ones who planned for these. We would rather you hear them from us.

Housing is tight

Rental vacancy was 0.5% in late 2025, and a Fernie house costs more than a Calgary one. Start looking as soon as you have an offer, and expect to rent first. Relocation assistance is available for the right candidate.

Winter driving

Winter tires or chains are required on BC's interior highways from October 1 to March 31, and to April 30 on some mountain passes. A car with good tires makes the valley easy to get around.

Summer smoke in some years

Like most of BC, the Elk Valley gets wildfire smoke in some summers. The province issued smoke warnings for the area in September 2025 and June 2026.

Things to do

A year outside, five kilometres from the hill.

Fernie is a ski town in winter and a trail town in summer. The resort usually opens in early December and runs to mid-April, so the ski season covers tax season end to end.

2,500+acres, 142 named runs
3,550 ftof vertical, 10 lifts
5alpine bowls: Currie, Timber, Siberia, Lizard and Cedar
370 kmof trails kept up by the Fernie Trails Alliance
Winter

Cat skiing

Island Lake Catskiing has run for more than 30 years on over 7,000 acres that average about 13 m of snow a year.

Winter

Nordic and touring

The Fernie Nordic Society grooms 8 km at the golf club and 10+ km at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre, and the resort adds 14 km plus a dedicated uphill touring route.

Winter

The Powder Highway

Fernie is one stop on the Kootenay Rockies' Powder Highway. Kimberley is about 1.5 hours away by car, Castle Mountain about 2 and Panorama about 3.

Summer

Mountain biking

370 km of trails, many starting at the edge of town. The resort's bike park adds 38 trails and 656 m of lift-served descent from late June to early September.

Summer

The Elk River

About 220 km of freestone river with westslope cutthroat and bull trout; Fernie calls itself Trout Town. Rafting trips run the Lower Elk, class IV canyon included, from June to September.

Summer

Hiking and golf

Mount Fernie Provincial Park is 3 km south of town. The big days: Heiko's Trail, 20 km with 1,450 m of climbing, and the Three Sisters at 2,789 m. Fernie Golf Club is 18 holes, par 70, on the valley floor.

How hiring works

Four steps from application to offer.

  1. Apply

    The form below takes about ten minutes. Attach a résumé; a cover letter is optional.

  2. Call with a partner

    Thirty minutes by phone or video about the work, the town and what you are looking for.

  3. Visit the office

    Meet the team on 2nd Avenue and see Fernie for yourself.

  4. Offer

    A written offer with pay, start date and relocation assistance where it applies.

Apply

Tell us about your work, and why Fernie.

A partner reads every application and replies within five business days. You will get an email copy of what you sent.

Trouble with the form?

Email your résumé to applygpi@yahoo.com with the role in the subject line, and include your CPA body and member number if you are a CPA.

Your information

Applications are held in strict confidence. We use what you send only to consider you for a role at GPI. We keep applications for 12 months, then delete them, and you can ask us to delete yours sooner. Privacy

About you
The role
Qualifications
Engagements you have worked on (any)
Software you have used (any)
In your words

You may be asked to tick a box to show you are not a robot. GPI Chartered Professional Accountants is an equal opportunity employer.

Apply nowRoles

Thank you. Your application is on its way.

A partner reads every application and replies within five business days. A copy of what you sent is in your inbox; if it is not, check your spam folder.

Why FernieThings to do
Questions

What people ask before they apply.

Do I have to be a CPA?

No. The accounting technician and bookkeeper roles do not need a designation, and the CPA candidate role is for people working toward it. The manager roles and the senior accountant role are for CPAs.

Why would I leave Calgary or the Lower Mainland for Fernie?

Short commutes, a ski hill five kilometres from the office, and senior work on whole files. Why Fernie sets out the move from Calgary and from Metro Vancouver side by side, including the harder parts.

How far is Fernie from Calgary and Vancouver?

About three hours by car from Calgary (280 km). From Vancouver it is a long day's drive, or a flight to Cranbrook, 75 minutes from Fernie. See getting here.

How does tax season fit with ski season?

January to April is the busy stretch. January and February are 40-hour weeks, 8:00 to 5:00 on weekdays, so the peak powder months still leave your weekends. March and April run 48 hours a week to get personal returns out by April 30, and every hour over 40 can be banked as time off or paid out. From May to December the office closes at 4:30, and scheduling is flexible all year.

What is there to do when it is not ski season?

Mountain biking from the edge of town, fly fishing on the Elk River, hiking, golf and the lakes. See Things to do, season by season.

Is housing hard to find?

Yes. Rental vacancy was 0.5% in late 2025, so start looking as soon as you have an offer. Relocation assistance is available for the right candidate. What to plan for has the details.

Is the job in the office?

Yes. Every role is based at 602 2nd Avenue.

What does the job pay?

Each role shows its pay range. British Columbia's Pay Transparency Act requires every public job posting to include one, and we would post it anyway.

What benefits come with the job?

Extended health and dental benefits. For CPAs, the firm pays CPA dues, CPA Canada fees and verifiable CPD, and the senior manager role carries a path to ownership with profit-sharing and equity.

Can I get my CPA practical experience at GPI?

Yes. GPI is a CPA BC pre-approved training office. See the CPA candidate role.

Privacy

How we handle your application.

We use what you send only to consider you for a role at GPI. We do not sell or share it. The form is delivered to our hiring inbox by FormSubmit, an email form service; it keeps a copy of the text for up to 30 days and does not keep your résumé. Applications are kept for 12 months and then deleted. To see, correct or delete what we hold about you, email applygpi@yahoo.com. We follow British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act.

Sources for the figures on this page