We're a Finalist for Xero's Small Firm of the Year 2026
Xero has named Nex CPA a finalist for Small Firm of the Year at the 2026 Xero Partner Awards Canada. Winners are announced at Xerocon in Denver.
We want to explain why this matters to us, because the story behind it says more about how we work than the award itself does.
Three people, one firm
Nex CPA runs on three people. There is no back office, no bench of juniors rotating through client files, no team you are introduced to once and never hear from again. When you call us, you are talking to someone who already knows your business.
Most accounting firms treat growth as the only measure of success. More staff, more clients, more revenue, all stacked together and called progress. We looked at that model early on and decided it was not the goal. It was just the default everyone inherited without questioning.
Why we stayed small on purpose
Staying small was never a limitation we worked around. It was the strategy. Every system we have built exists to raise what three people can handle, not to justify hiring a fourth.
That meant designing out the things that usually force firms to grow headcount just to keep up. Fewer handoffs between staff. Tighter, more deliberate processes. A structure where the quality of the work does not erode the moment things get busy.
Most firms grow by hiring first and hoping service quality survives the expansion. We built the systems first, so our capacity could grow without the work slipping. That difference is the entire premise of the firm.
What the award actually measures
The Small Firm of the Year category is open to Canada-based Xero partners with no more than four employees. Within that group, judging comes down to Xero utilization, client retention and satisfaction, and demonstrated innovation, not who has the most people on staff. In other words, it is measuring whether a firm at this size can deliver work that holds up, which is precisely the bet we made in 2022.
What this recognition means
Being named a finalist is a nice moment. What matters more to us is what it confirms: a three-person firm can compete at the top of this category without adding people to get there.
We built Nex CPA around the belief that founders do not need a bigger firm. They need a firm that never makes them repeat themselves, never loses their history in a handoff, and never treats their business like a file number. This nomination is a signal, from outside our own head, that the model works.
We will share the winner announcement once it is official. In the meantime, thank you to the clients who trusted a three-person firm before there was an award to point to.
About Nex CPA
Nex CPA is a boutique Canadian digital accounting firm that provides online accounting solutions by combining technology and forward-thinking businesses. Tailored for the modern entrepreneur, we provide an easy, automated and client-focused service so you can focus on working 'on' the business and not 'in' the business.
For more information, email us at info@nex.cpa
