About Us
We bring an exceptional degree of experience and strategic financial planning expertise to our affluent, ultra high net worth and corporate clients with a view to ensuring that their personal and family financial objectives are met and that they achieve their business objectives.
Our firm’s fortunes are wholly dependent on long-term, often inter-generational relationships that enhance our clients’ business and financial success. Our advice is identical to that which we have adopted ourselves or have given to our closest family members. We believe that no single decision is worth making unless it makes the most of your assets and serves your best long-term interests.
What Makes Us Different
Our long-term interests are aligned with yours: Our Partners have a personal and permanent stake in the advice we provide and the clients we serve. Unlike advisors employed by large, national and multinational firms who may juggle conflicting career, corporate and client interests and have a more transient relationship with their clients, we can really focus on you and take a long term approach.
We are financially and philosophically independent: In a marketplace dominated by commercialized advice and product marketing from large consulting businesses with significant operating expenses and financial return requirements, we are fundamentally different. As a well-capitalized, independent accounting and advisory boutique with tightly controlled operating costs, we are not beholden to any institution or corporately-promoted product solution. We can maintain an independent perspective when advising you to ensure your long term success.
Our broad range of expertise and perspective: Our Partners have a comprehensive range of multi-industry business and accounting expertise and we have an affiliation with a nationally prominent strategic planning and financing group so you have access to the deepest knowledge base in the industry. Collectively, our experience spans decades of strategic financial advice to corporate boards and some of the highest net-worth private families in Canada.
We are specialists: We specialize in helping entrepreneurs from China, Asia and South East Asia to access opportunities, capital and expertise in the North American business community. We provide market-leading advice and creative yet practical solutions to suit your specific requirements, not generic solutions and advice to meet broad market opportunities. We have a wide array of business and financial experience but we still take a specialized approach for each client. We also work in consultation with our clients’ existing tax, business, legal or financial advisors so you receive highly personalized, ongoing service.
Our collaborative approach: Every client benefits from the collective expertise within the firm. Our internal practices and collaborative culture reflect a partnership approach to serving clients. We take the time to listen to clients closely and confirm we understand our clients’ needs to ensure our advice will lead to a successful outcome.
MANAGING PARTNER
Ying Xu, CPA, CA
Ying is a co-founder of Ethos CPA LLP and brings a multifaceted accounting, finance, industry and assurance experience to her role at the firm. Born in China, and with her international education and work experience, Ying helps international clients navigate the North American business environment. She specializes in helping Chinese and Canadian businesses identify business protocol and cultural differences to bridge high value corporate and personal relationships to create value for her clients.
Ying’s experience includes providing assurance and financial services to Canadian and US public and private companies with Chinese operations as well as a range of advisory services for Chinese companies listed on North American exchanges. She has also led corporate due diligence for both mergers and acquisitions and corporate reverse-takeover projects in a range of industries including aviation, energy, mining and the winery business.
Prior co-founding the firm, Ying served as the Canadian CFO for a major international retail chain and ran a boutique public accounting firm. She began her career in accounting as an auditor with Ernst & Young in Vancouver where she articled and earned her Chartered Accountant designation.
PARTNER
Lilly Chen (李金萍) MBA, CPA, CGA
For more than 30 years, Lilly Chen has advised clients with respect to accounting as well as individual and corporate tax matters. A pioneer within the Mandarin speaking accounting industry in Canada, Chen established her accounting firm in the early 1990s. Since then, Lilly’s firm has advised thousands of clients on accounting and tax matters; provided compilation and review services to numerous clients; represented numerous individual and corporate clients in CRA tax audits; audited the financial statements of a number of not-for-profit organizations; as well as assist clients in a host of other accounting and tax matters.
Lilly frequently appears as a guest expert on TV and radios. She has written numerous books on personal and corporate income tax matters in Canada. The Globe and Mail: Report on Business Magazine featured Chen on the cover of its November 1996 issue. Chen received her bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan University – Taiwan’s top university. After moving to Canada, Chen obtained a master’s degree in finance from the University of British Columbia. In addition to being a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chen is also a Certified Financial Planner.
A devout Christian, during her free time, Lilly enjoys attending church meetings and Bible studies; reading up on emerging tax issues, and spending time with her three children – Flora (an accountant and stay home mom), Chris (a lawyer and accountant), and Christina (an accountant), as well as her dog Sarah (a miniature schnauzer who doesn’t yet have a job).