From Academia to a Practice Built for the Future
Dr. Najlaa Kallousa, PhD, MBA, CPA, CGA transitioned from academia to founding ValueNode Accounting. With a PhD in financial accounting from the University of Calgary and a postdoctoral fellowship in taxation, she taught at institutions including Concordia University, University of Dubai, Koç University, and Trent University.
“I wanted to distinguish ValueNode to be not a traditional practice in Calgary. I wanted to utilize all my knowledge, my education, my research skills to come up with a systemized practice where everything can be handled electronically and digitally.”
She initially evaluated ShareFile and CCHiFirm but found them insufficient. “ShareFile didn’t give me the integration I was looking for. I’m not only looking for a place to share files securely — I needed everything to connect.” She discovered Assembly through organic search and confirmed its fit during a two-week trial.
One Portal to Connect Everything
“What I liked about Assembly is that I have everything in one place.”
Inside the Assembly portal, ValueNode clients access organized file systems with subfolders for bank statements, employee information, government reports, invoices, and bills. Dr. Kallousa embedded custom Google Sheets for interactive transaction review workflows with automatic notifications. Contracts and engagement letters are signed electronically with full audit trails. Clients book appointments directly within the portal.
Dr. Kallousa is integrating Looker Studio dashboards to provide real-time financial visibility. “My clients stress that visualization makes a difference. I agree: visualization is the most important part.”
The Results: A Scalable Foundation From Day One
Previously, new client file setup required over five hours. Now it takes minutes through folder template duplication.
“It saves me more than 90% of my setup time for a new client. What would take me at least five hours, I do in Assembly in 10 to 30 minutes.”
Electronic signatures eliminated in-person meeting requirements: “I don’t have to go meet a client in person to get a signature. I can send everything electronically, and I have the full trail showing they signed it. That saves a lot of time.”
ValueNode serves businesses across childcare, healthcare, oil and gas, and nonprofit sectors in Calgary, with active marketing expansion plans.
“It saves me so much time — just knowing exactly where to find things, and having everything streamlined in one secure place. I can get back to the work that actually matters.”