Max Ermakov CPA, CA
Partner
My story
When I graduated in 2005 from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the Chartered Accountancy program—later passing the Uniform Final Examination in 2007—I wasn’t quite sure what direction my career would take. What I did know is that I liked number-crunching as a tool to help others succeed.
After spending a couple of co-op terms with smaller public accounting firms while in university, I gained a good understanding of the kind of workplace where I wanted to build my career. I joined the Adams + Miles team soon after graduation, starting as a senior accountant. I would move up to supervisor, manager and was eventually made a partner in our Accounting and Assurance practice in 2019.
What drives me
I’ve always enjoyed working with numbers and the various analytics attached to them—especially as those figures apply to an organization’s finances. During university and my co-op terms, I also realized that I really liked helping clients with their tax reporting and accounting needs. I learned through experience that the right accounting advice can help an organization achieve financial stability or new levels of growth—often both—while also ensuring compliance and mitigating avoidable risk. I think I speak for the entire team when I say that our firm takes pride in helping clients find innovative solutions to their challenges.
In that sense, I think A+M’s culture is unique because we set the bar high for service delivery and will do what it takes to ensure our clients are satisfied with their service experience. Quality and technical accuracy are a top priority. I believe that’s why we continue to have the privilege of working with clients that have relied on our advice for 20, 30 or, in some cases, 40 years.
Delivering quality work means retaining great people. We’ve been able to do it by maintaining work-life balance across our team and providing as much workplace flexibility as possible, at least outside of our busiest seasons when we take an all-hands-on-deck approach to meeting deliverables. We give our team members opportunities to gain expertise in different sectors and with exciting organizations. All told, I think this makes A+M a very rewarding place to work.
Advice for clients
“Work with an accounting firm that has extensive experience and truly cares about your organization’s success.”
Personal pursuits
- Skiing
- Running
- Travelling without kids (and with them, too!)
