Terms of Business

As of 01 June 2019

All engagements that we accept are subject to the following standard terms of business unless changes are expressly agreed in writing.

1          Professional obligations

1.1        We are members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and as such our conduct is subject to its Code of Ethics which can be found at www.accaglobal.com. We will observe and act in accordance with the bye-laws and regulations of ACCA. We accept instructions to act for you on this basis.

1.2        Where we become aware of errors made by HM Revenue & Customs you give us authority to correct them. We will not be liable for any loss, damage or cost arising from our compliance with statutory or regulatory obligations.

1.3        Details of the firm’s professional registrations can be found at www.gw-accountants.co.uk

Professional indemnity insurance

1.4        In accordance with the disclosure requirements of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009, our professional indemnity insurer is Aon UK Limited of Eastwood House, Glebe Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1QW. The territorial coverage is worldwide excluding professional business carried out from an office in the United States of America or Canada and excludes any action for a claim brought in any court in the United States of America or Canada.

1.5        If for any reason circumstances arise that may result in a claim to our professional indemnity insurers, you give us your permission to notify them.

2          Fees

2.1        Our fees are calculated on the basis of time spent on your affairs, the levels of skill and responsibility involved, the importance and value of the advice provided to you, and the level of risk. In addition we may charge disbursements of travel, accommodation and other expenses incurred in dealing with your affairs.

2.2        If it is necessary for us to carry out work that is outside the scope of the engagement currently in place with you, we will advise you of this in advance. Any additional work will result in additional fees being charged. We would therefore like to point out that it is in your interests to ensure that the information you provide us with is completed to the agreed stage.

2.3        If we give you an estimate of our fees for carrying out any specific work, then that estimate will not be contractually binding unless we have explicitly stated that will be the case.

2.4        If we agree a fixed fee with you for providing a specific range of services this will be the subject of a separate agreement. This agreement will set out the period which the fixed fee relates to and the services covered by it. If you have signed Accounts and Tax Returns to which the fee relates and is included therein it will be deemed you have already agreed the fee.

2.5        Where we have agreed that you will pay on an invoice rendered basis, invoices are payable in full (including disbursements) in accordance with the terms set out on the invoice. Any queries you have

on our invoices must be notified to me within 14 days of receipt or we shall deem you to have accepted that payment is due

2.6        Where we have agreed that you will pay us on a standing order basis, we will discuss with you separately the amount and frequency of payments. These standing orders will be applied to fees arising from work agreed in our letter of engagement for the current and ensuing years. Where a scheduled monthly payment is not made any fees invoiced to you that are outstanding at that time will immediately become due for payment in their entirety.

2.7        You may have an insurance policy or membership of a trade or professional body that entitles you to assistance with payment of our fees in some situations. A particular example would be assistance with an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs. Unless you arranged the insurance through us then you will need to advise us of any such cover you have. Please note that you remain liable for our fees regardless of whether all or part are liable to be paid by your insurers.

2.8        We reserve the right to charge interest on overdue accounts at the current rate under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. We also reserve the right to terminate our engagement and cease acting if payment of any fees billed is unduly delayed.

2.9        In the event that we cease to act for you then you agree to meet all reasonable costs of providing information to your new advisers. In particular you agree to meet these costs where we are required by law to provide information to a successor firm.

2.10      As directors you guarantee to pay personally any fees (including disbursements) for services provided to the company that the company is unable to pay. This clause shall become effective in the event of a receiver or liquidator being appointed to the company or the company otherwise being wound-up.

3          Help us to give you the right service

3.1        If at any time you would like to discuss with us how our service to you could be improved, or if you are dissatisfied with the service you are receiving, please let us know by contacting Debbie Warburton.

3.2        We undertake to look into any complaint carefully and promptly and do all we can to explain the position to you. If we do not answer your complaint to your satisfaction you may of course take up the matter with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

3.3        In order for us to provide you with a high quality service on an ongoing basis it is essential that you provide us with relevant records and information when requested, reply to correspondence in a timely manner and otherwise follow the terms of the agreement between us set out in this Standard Terms of Business and associated Engagement letters. We therefore reserve the right to cancel the engagement between us with immediate effect in the event of:

• your insolvency, bankruptcy or other arrangement being reached with creditors;
• failure to pay our fees by the due dates;
• either party being in breach of their obligations where this is not corrected within 30 days of being asked to do so.

4          Commissions or other benefits

4.1        It is not our policy to accept commission or benefits in respect of transactions you arrange with companies or individuals we introduce to you. We will however contact you if this policy changes. If we receive any commission as a result of a transaction related to you or your company. We will notify you immediately

5          Client monies

5.1        We do not maintain a client bank account and therefore do not hold monies on behalf of clients.

6          Retention of and access to records

6.1        During the course of our work we will collect information from you and others acting on your behalf and will return any original documents to you following the preparation of your accounts and returns. You have a legal responsibility to retain these records. The law requires individuals, trustees and partnerships to keep records in relation to trading or rental income 6 years from the 31 January following the end of the tax year to which they relate. Other records should be kept for 22 months after the end of the tax year they relate to. Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships and other corporate entities are required to keep records for 6 years from the end of the accounting period.

6.2        While certain documents may legally belong to you, unless you tell us not to, we intend to destroy correspondence and other papers that we store which are more than seven years old, other than documents which we consider to be of continuing significance. If you require retention of any document you must notify us of that fact in writing.

7          Conflicts of interest and independence

7.1        We reserve the right during our engagement with you to deliver services to other clients whose interests might compete with yours or are or may be adverse to yours. We confirm that we will notify you immediately should we become aware of any conflict of interest involving us and affecting you. We have safeguards that can be implemented to protect the interests of different clients if a conflict arises. Where conflicts are identified which cannot be managed in a way that protects your interests then we regret that we will be unable to provide further services.

7.2        If a conflict of interest should arise, either between two or more of our clients, or in the provision of multiple services to a single client, we will take such steps as are necessary to deal with the conflict. In resolving the conflict, we would be guided by the Code of Ethics of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants which can be viewed at www.accaglobal.com.

8          Confidentiality

8.1        Communication with us is confidential and we shall take all reasonable steps to keep your information confidential except where we are required to disclose it by law, by regulatory bodies, by our insurers or as part of an external peer review. Any subcontractors we use will be bound by the same confidentiality requirements.

9          Quality control

9.1        As part of our ongoing commitment to providing a quality service, our files are periodically subject to an independent regulatory or quality review. Our reviewers are highly experienced and professional people and are, of course, bound by the same requirements of confidentiality as our principals and staff.

9.2        We may, on occasions, subcontract work on your affairs to other tax or accounting professionals. The subcontractors will be bound by our client confidentiality terms.

10        Applicable law

10.1      This engagement letter is governed by, and construed in accordance with, English law. The Courts of England will have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference concerning this engagement letter and any matter arising from it. Each party irrevocably waives any right it may have to object to any action being brought in those courts, to claim that the action has been brought in an inappropriate forum, or to claim that those courts do not have jurisdiction.

10.2      If any provision in these terms of business or any associated engagement letter, or its application, are found to be invalid, illegal or otherwise unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality or enforceability of any other provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired.

11        Internet communication

11.1      Unless you tell us otherwise we will at times use email or other electronic means to communicate with you.

11.2      Internet communications are capable of data corruption and therefore we do not accept any responsibility for changes made to such communications after their despatch.  It may therefore be inappropriate to rely on advice contained in an e-mail without obtaining written confirmation of it.  We do not accept responsibility for any errors or problems that may arise through the use of internet communication and all risks connected with sending commercially sensitive information relating to your business are borne by you. If you do not agree to accept this risk, you should notify us in writing that e-mail is not an acceptable means of communication.

11.3      It is the responsibility of the recipient to carry out a virus check on any attachments received.

12        Data Protection

12.1      In this clause 12:

‘client personal data’ means any personal data provided to us by you, or on your behalf, for the purpose of providing our services to you, pursuant to our engagement letter with you;

‘data protection legislation’ means all applicable privacy and data protection legislation and regulations including PECR, the GDPR and any applicable national laws, regulations and secondary legislation in the UK relating to the processing of personal data and the privacy of electronic communications, as amended, replaced or updated from time to time;

‘controller’, ‘data subject’, ‘personal data’, ‘personal data breach’, ‘processor’, ‘process’ and

‘supervisory authority’ shall have the meanings given to them in the data protection legislation;

‘GDPR’ means the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679);and

‘PECR’ means the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (SI 2426/2003).

12.2      We shall both comply with all applicable requirements of the data protection legislation. This clause 7 is in addition to, and does not relieve, remove or replace, either of our obligations under the data protection legislation.

12.3      We both acknowledge that for the purposes of the data protection legislation, we both are the data controller and the data processor. Schedule 1 sets out the scope, nature and purpose of processing by us, the duration of the processing and the types of personal data and categories of data subject.

12.4      In respect of the client personal data, unless otherwise required by applicable laws or other regulatory requirements, we shall:

1. process the client personal data only in accordance with your lawful written instructions, in order to provide you with the services pursuant to our engagement with you and in accordance with applicable data protection legislation;
2. disclose and transfer the client personal data to [members of our firm’s network,] our regulatory bodies or other third parties (for example, our professional advisors or service providers) as and to the extent necessary in order to provide you with the services pursuant to our engagement with you in relation to those services;
3. disclose the client personal data to courts, government agencies and other third parties as and to the extent required by law;
4. maintain written records of our processing activities performed on your behalf which shall include: (i) the categories of processing activities performed; (ii) details of any cross border data transfers outside of the European Economic Area (EEA); and (iii) a general description of security measures implemented in respect of the client personal data;
5. maintain commercially reasonable and appropriate security measures, including administrative, physical and technical safeguards, to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing of any client personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, such client personal data.
6. return or delete all the client personal data upon the termination of the engagement with you pursuant to which we agreed to provide the services;
7. ensure that only those personnel who need to have access to the client personal data are granted access to it and that all of the personnel authorised to process the client personal data are bound by a duty of confidentiality;
8. notify you if we appoint a sub-processor (but only if you have given us your prior written consent, such consent not to be reasonably withheld or delayed) and ensure any agreement entered into with the relevant sub-processor includes similar terms as the terms set out in this clause 12;
9. where we transfer the client personal data to a country or territory outside the EEA to do so in accordance with data protection legislation;
10. notify you promptly if:
11. we receive a request, complaint or any adverse correspondence from or on behalf of a relevant data subject, to exercise their data subject rights under the data protection legislation or in respect of the client personal data; or
12. we are served with an information or assessment notice, or receive any other material communication in respect of our processing of the client personal data from a supervisory body (for example, the Information Commissioner’s Office);

1. notify you, without undue delay, in the event that we reasonably believe that there has been a personal data breach in respect of the client personal data;
2. at your cost and upon receipt of your prior written notice, allow you, on an annual basis and/or in the event that we notify you of personal data breach in respect of the client personal data, reasonable access to the relevant records, files, computer or other communication systems, for the purposes of reviewing our compliance with the data protection laws.

12.5      Without prejudice to the generality of clause 12.2, you will ensure that you have all necessary appropriate consents and notices in place to enable the lawful transfer of the client personal data to us.

12.6      Should you require any further details regarding our treatment of personal data, please contact our data protection officer Debbie Warburton.

13        Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999

13.1      Persons who are not party to this agreement shall have no rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this agreement. This clause does not affect any right or remedy of any person which exists or is available otherwise than pursuant to that Act.

13.2      The advice we give you is for your sole use and is confidential to you and will not constitute advice for any third party to whom you may communicate it. We will accept no responsibility to third parties for any aspect of our professional services or work that is made available to them.

14        The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017

14.1      In common with all accountancy and legal practices, the firm is required by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 to:

• Maintain identification procedures for clients and beneficial owners of clients;
• Maintain records of identification evidence and the work undertaken for the client; and
• Report, in accordance with the relevant legislation and regulations.

14.2      We have a duty under section 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) if we know, or have reasonable cause to suspect, that another person is involved in money laundering. Failure on our part to make a report where we have knowledge or reasonable grounds for suspicion would constitute a criminal offence.

14.3      The offence of money laundering is defined by section 340(11) of the Proceeds of Crime Act and includes concealing, converting, using or possessing the benefits of any activity that constitutes a criminal offence in the UK. It also includes involvement in any arrangement that facilitates the acquisition, retention, use or control of such a benefit.

14.4      This definition is very wide and would include such crimes as deliberate tax evasion, deliberate failure to inform the tax authorities of known underpayments or excessive repayments, fraudulent claiming of benefits or grants, or obtaining a contract through bribery. Clearly these examples are by no means exhaustive.

14.5      We are obliged by law to report any instances of money laundering to NCA without your knowledge or consent. In consequence, neither the firms’ principals nor staff may enter into any correspondence or discussions with you regarding such matters.

14.6      We are not required to undertake work for the sole purpose of identifying suspicions of money laundering. We shall fulfil our obligations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in accordance with the guidance published by the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies.

14.7      We may use electronic checks as part of our identification procedures. We confirm that these electronic checks are not credit checks.

15        General limitation of liability

15.1      We will provide services as outlined in this letter with reasonable care and skill. However, to the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be responsible for any losses, penalties, surcharges, interest or additional tax liabilities where you or others supply incorrect or incomplete information, or fail to supply any appropriate information or where you fail to act on our advice or respond promptly to communications from us or the tax authorities.

15.2      You will not hold us, the owners of this firm and any staff employed by the firm, responsible, to the fullest extent permitted by law, for any loss suffered by you arising from any misrepresentation (intentional or unintentional) supplied to us orally or in writing in connection with this agreement. You have agreed that you will not bring any claim in connection with services we provide to you against any of the principals or employees personally.

15.3      Our work is not, unless there is a legal or regulatory requirement, to be made available to third parties without our written permission and we will accept no responsibility to third parties for any aspect of our professional services or work that is made available to them.

16        Use of our name in statements or documents issued by you

16.1      You are not permitted to use our name in any statement or document that you may issue unless our prior written consent has been obtained. The only exception to this restriction would be statements or documents that in accordance with applicable law are to be made public.

17        Draft/interim work

17.1      In the course of our providing services to you we may provide advice or reports or other work products in draft or interim form. However final written work products will always prevail over any draft or interim statements.

18        Advice

18.1      Advice we give you orally should not be relied upon unless we confirm it in writing. We endeavour to record all advice on important matters in writing. However if you particularly wish to rely upon oral advice we give you during a telephone conversation or a meeting, you must ask for the advice to be confirmed in writing.

18.2      Unless specifically instructed and agreed in advance we will not assist with the implementation of our advice.

19        Intellectual property rights

19.1      The copyright in any document prepared by us belongs to us in entirety unless the law specifically provides otherwise.

20        Interpretation

20.1      If there is a conflict between the engagement letter and these terms of business then the engagement letter takes precedence.

20.2      If any provision of this engagement letter or terms of business or its application is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality or enforceability of any other provision and its application shall not in any way be affected or impaired

21        Investment services

21.1      Since we are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority then we may have to refer you to someone who is authorised if you need advice on investments. However, as we are licensed by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, we may be able to provide certain investment services that are complementary to, or arise out of, the professional services we are providing to you.

21.2      We may therefore be able to:

• advise you on investments generally, but not recommend a particular investment or type of investment;
• refer you to a Permitted Third Party (PTP) (an independent firm authorised by the FCA), assist you and the PTP during the course of any advice given by that party and comment on, or explain, the advice received (but not make alternative recommendations). The PTP will issue you with their own terms and conditions letter, will be remunerated separately for his services and will take full responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;
• advise you in connection with the disposal of an investment, other than your rights in a pension policy or scheme;
• advise and assist you in transactions concerning shares or other securities not quoted on a recognised exchange;
• assist you in making arrangements for transactions in investments in certain circumstances; and
• manage investments or act as trustee (or done of a power of attorney) where decisions to invest are taken on the advice of an authorised person.

21.3      For corporate clients we may also, on the understanding that the shares or other securities of the company are not publicly traded:

• advise the company, existing or prospective shareholders in relation to exercising rights, taking benefits or share options, valuations and methods of such valuations;
• arrange any agreements in connection with the issue, sale or transfer of the company’s shares or other securities;
• arrange for the issue of new shares; and
• act as the addressee to receive confirmation of acceptance of offer documents etc.

21.4      We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included on the Register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling, and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at www.fca.org.uk/register.

Financial Promotions

21.5      To enable us to provide you with a proper service, there may be occasions when we will need to contact you without your express permission concerning investment business matters. For example, it may be in your interests to sell a particular investment and we would wish to inform you of this. We may therefore contact you in such circumstances, but would only do so in my normal office hours. We shall of course comply with any restrictions you may wish to impose which you notify to us in writing.

22         Probate services

22.1      We do not undertake Probate Services.

23         Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standards

23.1      Unless agreed specifically in a separate engagement letter, we are not responsible for your compliance with the International Tax Compliance (United States of America) Regulations 2013, produced as a result of FATCA.  In particular, we are not responsible for the categorisation of any UK entity into either a Financial Institution (FI) or an active or passive  Non-Financial Foreign Entity (NFFE) nor, if a Financial Institution, for its registration with the ME Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and subsequent submission of the required annual returns to HM Revenue & Customs.

23.2      However, if requested to do so we can provide advice on the completion of the forms supplied by Financial Institutions under these Regulations, or under Common Reporting Standards, and used by them to determine the status of an entity. We can also provide advice on setting up the appropriate systems to identify and report on your clients or beneficiaries who are foreign citizens affected by FATCA or Common Reporting Standards.

24         Fee Protection Insurance

24.1      We have Fee Protection Insurance which is available to you whilst a client of this firm. This cover refers to our fees that would arise to you in consequence of any enquiry into your affairs by HMRC. We attach an Abbey Tax brief summary of the cover and should you have any questions please get in touch. 

Schedule 1

This Schedule includes certain details of the Processing of Customer Personal Data as required by Article 28(3) of the GDPR.

1. Subject matter and duration of the processing of client personal data

The subject matter and duration of the processing of the client personal data are set out in our engagement letter.

2. The nature and purpose of the processing of client personal data

We will process your personal data:

• As necessary to perform our contract with you for the service you require:

1. To manage and perform that contract;
2. To update your records; and
3. To trace your whereabouts to contact you about your service and any fees outstanding.

• As necessary for our own legitimate interests or those of other person and organisations, e.g.:

1. For good governance, accounting, and managing and auditing our business operations; and
2. To send you marketing communications.

• As necessary to comply with a legal obligation, e.g.:

1. When you exercise your rights under data protection law and make requests;
2. For compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and related disclosures;
3. For activities relating to the prevention, detection and investigation of crime; and
4. To verify your identity, fraud prevention and anti-money laundering checks.

• Based on your consent, e.g.:

1. When you request us to disclose your personal data to other people or organisations; and
2. To send you marketing communications where we’ve asked for your consent to do so.

3. The types of client personal data to be processed

We’ll collect most of this directly during the initial interview. The sources of personal data           collected indirectly are mentioned in this statement. The personal data we use may include:

• Full name and personal details including contact information (e.g. home address and address history, email address, home and mobile telephone numbers);
• Date of birth;
• Financial details (e.g. salary and details of other income, and details of accounts held with pension companies, banks etc.);
• Details of any investments held;
• Employment details/employment status;
• National Insurance number and Unique Taxpayers Reference (UTR);
• Pay As You Earn (PAYE) details; and
• VAT Registration details.

4. The categories of data subject to whom the client personal data relates

• Your employees.
• Your customers.
• Your suppliers.

5. Your obligations and rights

Your obligations and rights are set out in our engagement letter.