These Engagement set out the things we’re required to disclose to you, our commitments to you, the way we’ll work together, and what we need from you to ensure we can deliver our services to you at a high standard, as efficiently as possible.
If you have questions about any of these Terms, please contact us to discuss them prior to accepting our proposal. By accepting our proposal, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
We may update these Terms from time to time. We’ll keep you informed of any changes we make.
Our Core Values guide our behaviour and we expect our team and clients to respect and live into our Core Values:
Teamwork
Working together to achieve beautiful service
Integrity
Practicing what we believe.
Communication
We value respectful relationships.
Kaizen
We are continually improving our skills and knowledge.
Dilligence
Constantly going beyond expectations
We expect you to provide us with any information we need in a timely manner, and to the best of your abilities
If you need help to get your information in order, let us know so we can assist you - it will save you time and money in the future
We may send you pre-work to complete prior to some of our meetings which we expect you to complete by the required date and to the best of your abilities; the more time you spend thinking about the answers to our questions, the more value you’ll get from our meeting
We’re obligated by law to undertake certain identity checks and we expect you to provide this information upon request
We’ll recommend you have processes in place to ensure you get paid on time; please respect our firm’s processes and ensure payments are made on time.
We’re committed to helping you to the best of our ability, working with you to make fully informed decisions which are best for you and your business
We want you to see the value in the services we provide you
We won’t recommend services unless we truly believe you will receive more value than the price you pay
We won’t undertake any work without first giving you an estimate of the price
We value our relationship with you and want you to feel confident that you can reach out to us with any questions you have -ask us about our complimentary Quick Queries service
We won’t tell you what to do; we’ll listen to you, ask questions, identify potential options and their risks and benefits, and support the decisions you make
You authorise us to act as your agent for ACC levy purposes and also for all associated entities
This authorisation allows us to query and change information on your ACC levy account(s)through ACC staff and through ACC Online Services
This authority also allows our main representative discretion to delegate access to your ACC information to other members of our organisation, including our contractors
Other delegated members of our organisation will also be able to query and change information on your ACC levy account. You also authorise us to act on behalf of yourself and other taxpayers identified as associated with this engagement
· Our work involves collecting your personal information relevant or incidental to our work
· Your personal information will be held securely at our offices and will be retained for as long as may be relevant to the engagement and, except where otherwise noted in this letter, will only be used or disclosed for purposes related to the engagement
· You can contact us at any time to access your own personal information and correct it if required
· You confirm we have authority to communicate with any third party (including IRD) if the information sought is relevant to our engagement
· You’re liable to reimburse us for certain costs we’re required to pay on your behalf
Extent of Services
We don’t accept responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of accounting records and other information you supply to us, or for the reliability, accuracy, and completeness of the financial information compiled on the basis of those records and information
We also don’t accept any responsibility for the maintenance of adequate accounting records, an adequate internal control structure, and the selection and application of appropriate accounting policies within your organisation
You’re solely responsible to users of the financial information we compile
The information you supply must be provided on a timely basis
Our engagement doesn’t include the investigation or discovery of internal control weaknesses, errors, illegal acts, or other irregularities, including without limitation, fraud, or non-compliance with laws or regulations. However, we will inform you of any such matters which come to our attention during the course of our engagement
If we’re unable to complete your financial statements, or we consider the information to be misleading, we may refer to such matters within our compilation report or we may determine, at our sole discretion, not to issue a report
We will store accounting records that we hold on your behalf for a period of 7 years after the applicable balance date
At the end of that period, unless you write requesting they be forwarded to you, the records will be destroyed using a secure document destruction method
We understand that the intended use and distribution of the financial statements is for the purposes of completing your tax return, so if this should change you must notify us immediately
We will not accept any responsibility to any person, other than you, for the contents of the financial information
Independence is not a requirement for a compilation engagement
If we are aware that we are not independent, this fact will be stated in our report
However, we will not conduct a comprehensive review to determine whether we are, or are not, independent
The conduct of this engagement is in accordance with the professional standards, rules and ethical requirements of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
However, as members of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and members of Atainz, we are subject to, and bound by, the disciplinary procedures and rules of the Institute, and our work and files are subject to the practice review rules of the Institute under which compliance with professional standards by members is monitored
These procedures and rules require us to disclose to the Institute, its reviewers, and/or its disciplinary bodies, our files and work papers including client information. By allowing us to undertake this engagement, you acknowledge that, if requested, our files relating to this engagement will be made available to the Institute, its reviewers, and/or its disciplinary bodies
We assure you that the same ethical standards regarding confidentiality that we adhere to apply equally to the Institute’s reviewers
We’ll compile your financial statements in accordance with the standards issued by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and NZ GAAP.
We’ll always act in accordance with any bylaws, regulations and ethical guidelines of our regulatory body and accept instructions to act on that basis
Material you provide us remains yours and will be returned to you when the engagement is completed
Workpapers that we create will remain our property
At the end of that period, unless you ask us to send that information to you, the records will be destroyed using a secure document destruction method
If you use Xero, you need to upload all significant invoices and documents relating to bank transactions to your Xero accounting file
We’ll send you an electronic Annual Accounts questionnaire at the end of your financial year
Please complete and submit within 30 days
If on a monthly agreed service plan, your plan rolls over every year unless we agree to a change; such change is to be documented in a signed proposal
If not on a monthly agreed service plan, we’ll send a proposal for your Annual Accounts and Tax Returns a month before we are due to begin work
Your Account Manager will schedule a face to face
or virtual meeting after you’ve submitted your Annual Questionnaire, at which you’ll:
Go through your completed Questionnaire
Discuss any major transactions for the year
After the meeting, we’ll review your data and
information and get in touch if anything is missing
Please supply missing information within 48 hours
When we have all the required information, we’ll
start work on your Annual Accounts
We’ll get in touch if we have any queries
Please respond within 48 hours
We’ll schedule a meeting after drafting your Annual Accounts
We’ll send you pre-work to complete, along with a copy of the draft Accounts to review, so that you get as much value as possible from our meeting
We’ll complete your draft Accounts within 30 days of commencing the work.
Thank you for all you do. I really like the way our accounting is done quietly for us in the background, keeping us up to date and compliant and allowing us to focus on helping others.