- info@totaltaxaccountants.co.uk
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We are pleased that you have chosen Total Tax Accountants to be your accountant. Please read the following terms of engagement carefully and ensure that you fully understand its contents, as it establishes the terms of our appointment. If you have a question, concern or do not understand anything you should contact us before consenting. We recommend taking appropriate advice before consenting to our terms of engagement.
Services:
Paragraphs below detail the services that we will provide as part of this business relationship. If at any time you require additional services from us, you must inform us in writing via email / letter. From time to time, we may offer you additional services, you will be informed of these recommendations in writing. If you decide to accept additional services offered by us, you must confirm this in line with the following terms of engagement.
Any work we complete will be based upon the information you and your business provide us with. The accuracy of the work we produce will be influenced by the accuracy of the information you provide us with.
Fees:
Our fees are calculated based on the time spent and the level of expertise required for the work undertaken. The complexity of the task and the qualifications of the staff involved are also considered in determining the charges. For transparency, it’s important to note that our fees are agreed upon through direct communication with you / our clients. This agreement is made via email, letter, or phone conversation, ensuring clarity and mutual understanding of the charges before any work commences.
Wherever address facility is provided, please note this is solely from correspondence purposes. We don’t allow our address for parcel deliveries, Google promotions or advertisement.
We will try to assist where necessary, However contacting HMRC and / or Companies House and / or any other body and / or institution on your behalf, either by phone, via email and / or by writing, are NOT covered within the fees.
Unless otherwise agreed, our fees will be charged under the heading of “Accountancy and Tax Services” for each main class of work mentioned above and will be billed upfront to be collected before the work is commence which allow us to allocate best resources.
Payment Continuity:
Where agreed fees to be billed on monthly basis, it will be collected via Direct Debit during the year. As accountancy work may require monthly engagement therefore should direct debit monthly payments are consistently delayed or defaulted for 2 months or more, we reserve right to seize work with immediate effect without notice.
Where annual accounting fees are to be collected on a monthly cycle, it is to note that due to regular monthly engagement and time spent on your accountancy / tax affairs, there will be NO refund due should you wish to cancel our services mid-way through the company’s financial year. If you re-join during year, and we are expected to prepare your year end statuary accounts / tax returns, the difference of (yearly fees minus already paid) full year accountancy fees will become payable.
Your fees and / or monthly accountancy fees are subject to a periodic review. We may change your monthly price plan due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic fluctuations, market conditions, changes in labour costs, or revisions in statutory regulations. In the event of any adjustments to this rate, we will provide you with prior notification either through a formal letter or via email, with a minimum notice period of 30 days.
We will charge for any parking charges (excluding any fines or penalties) and any public, private transport fares/ fuel expenses incurred whilst undertaking work on your behalf outside our office or at your premises.
Notification of Changes:
If at any point your details change you agree to notify us as soon as practicable.
Your / Client Responsibilities:
As an unincorporated business, individually operated and / or a corporate entity, you are personally liable for the actions and liabilities of your business/enterprise. It is ultimately your responsibility to ensure that; appropriate records of sales and expense are kept; of the relevant tax year, in accordance with all applicable deadline; you pay all relevant income tax and national insurance contributions; once required to do so, you must register for VAT; and, if applicable, you must also register with HMRC for the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) and relevant schemes with HM Revenue & Customs and / or any other authority.
You are responsible for providing all necessary information, documents, and assistance required for the completion of our services.
You shall ensure that all information provided is accurate, complete, and timely.
You agree to inform us of any changes in your business operations, financial status, or any other relevant matter that may affect the services provided.
Our Responsibilities as Your Accountant:
We hold no statutory responsibility / obligations to you or your business. The nature of our relationship and our responsibilities is governed by this document and any other document issued for the purposes of establishing our relationship.
Accounting and Taxation:
Upon receipt and thorough review of your documents, we will prepare your accounts and tax return. However, it is important to emphasize that our services do not include an audit of the documents and information you provide. The responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of this information lies solely with you. You must ensure that all information supplied to us is accurate and complete, as we rely on this data without conducting an independent verification or audit.
Once we have compiled your accounts and tax return based on the information you have furnished, and with your approval and signature, we will submit them to Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), as required. In the event of your tax return being rejected by HMRC, we will inform you immediately and assist in addressing any issues for a successful resubmission.
We stress the importance of providing accurate and complete documents and information. Any errors or omissions in the data you provide could impact the accuracy of your financial reporting and tax obligations. Our commitment is to manage your accounting and tax-related matters efficiently and professionally, based on the information you provide.
Data Protection
The data controller for our practice is Maz Zaheer. If you have any concerns about data protection in relation to this engagement, please contact our data controller.
In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 we are registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). Our registration number is ZA683231.
During our engagement, we will process certain personal data relating to you and your business. Personal data will be processed fairly and lawfully.
Data will be collected by direct request to you. Data may also be requested from third parties who you have worked with in the past. For example, your previous accountant.
Data will normally be stored electronically, though from time to time, it might be necessary for us to store data in a non-electronic format. We have in place appropriate security measures and safeguards to protect your data.
Throughout our engagement, we may use the third party software or outsource to allocate the best resources, who may store information on servers not located on our premises and may use cloud based servers located away from our own premises. We are not responsible of data breach as a result of third party actions and hold no responsibility whatsoever for any data loss or data compromised.
We will retain any financial information relating to this engagement for a period of 6+1 years (seven years). Any information relating to client due diligence, carried out on you, will be stored for ten years. After the applicable period has passed, the data will be securely destroyed.
Throughout our engagement, we will return to you OR safely discard any original documents used to prepare your financial statements, once we have completed the agreed work, unless otherwise stated in these terms of engagement or subsequent correspondence.
We may disclose personal data about you; to facilitate us completing this engagement; or, to prevent crime; and to comply with both statutory and voluntary regulatory requirements. From time to time we may disclose the information we hold on you to our voluntary regulatory body the Association of Accounting Technicians, Association of International Accountants, and Institute of Financial Accountants, this will be done for assurance purposes to ensure that we are continuing to provide an ethical, compliant and competent service.
If at any time you wish to gain access to the data, we hold on you, you must issue a written request to us. We aim to respond to all written requests within twenty working days.
A full copy of our practice’s data protection policy can be requested from us.
Client Due Diligence:
We will conduct appropriate due diligence before confirming our appointment / engagement. Once we have conducted due diligence, we may decide not to pursue the engagement. If this is the case, we will notify you in writing no later than twenty working days after this letter has been issued. We will refund any fees paid to us during this period.
Our customer due diligence process requires us to verify your identity. This process will require us to have access to government issued photo identification documents. This process may also require us to conduct a ‘soft search’ of your credit records. We currently don’t use any Credit Reference Agency (CRA).
We reserve the right to contact your previous accountant as part of our due diligence process.
Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002:
Money laundering is an offence defined in section 340(11) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. This offence includes possessing, concealing, using or converting the benefits of any activity that constitutes a criminal offence in the UK, and/or creating any arrangement that facilitates the acquisition, retention, control or use of such benefits.
Under section 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 we are required to report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) any suspicion we have of money laundering. We are obliged to make such reports to the NCA without your knowledge.
For the purposes of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 we are regulated as an accountancy service provider by Institute of Financial Accountants – IFA
Conflicts of Interest:
We maintain a conflicts of interest policy. Under this policy, we are required to disclose to you any conflict of interest which we identify.
Where appropriate we will develop and implement proportionate safeguards against any conflict of interest. If, however, we feel that we cannot implement appropriate safeguards we will, with regret, terminate this engagement. If we arrive at this decision, we will notify you promptly.
Commission:
From time to time, we may receive commissions or other benefits from third parties for making a referral. If at any point, we make a referral, and a commission and/or other benefit, will be transferred to us for making the referral, we will notify you, in writing, before the referral is made. This notification will include details of the type and amount of commission and/or benefit to be transferred.
Investment / Financial Advice:
We are NOT regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to conduct investment business and / or provide both financial or investment advice. If you require investment business services, we may refer you to a business regulated by the FCA to offer such services independent to us.
Changes in the Law:
We cannot accept any responsibility, or liability, for any losses or damages incurred because of a change in the law, or a change in the interpretation of the law.
Professional Indemnity Insurance:
We confirm that we currently hold sufficient professional indemnity insurance for our practice. This is a requirement of us to hold a practicing certificate with the Institute of Financial Accountants – IFA
Compliments and Complaints:
We welcome feedback from any of our clients. Should you wish to congratulate, or highlight something we have done well, please contact our Director on 01494 264826 or via email at maz@totaltaxaccountants.co.uk
Should you feel the need to make a complaint please contact Director on 01494 264826 or or via email at maz@totaltaxaccountants.co.uk who will aim to resolve your complaint informally. If you feel we have not been able to resolve your complaint informally,
Please write to us, we will issue a response within twenty working days. More details can be found in our complaints policy.
If you have already completed all steps of our complaints policy, but still feel your issue has not been resolved, you may issue a complaint to our professional body – (Institute of Financial Accountants – IFA). Details of this procedure can be found on the IFA website. Please note that the IFA do not intervene in disputes relating to fees.
Intellectual Property:
We retain the right to any documents prepared by us during this engagement, except where the law specifically provides otherwise.
Applicable Law:
This engagement letter shall be governed by English Law. The Courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any dispute, claim or difference relating to the engagement letter and any matter arising from it.
Third Party Rights:
This engagement and all work produced thus is intended for the addressed individual/entity. We accept no responsibility to third parties for any advice or work produced under this engagement. Only a party to this agreement has the right to enforce any of its terms and no rights or benefits are conferred on any third party under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
Client Monies:
We may, from time to time, hold money on your behalf. This money will always be held in a separate client bank account.
If compelled by law, we may refuse a request for money to be transferred from a client bank account to you.
We will not claim fees owed from any money held in a client’s bank account. Unless you have given permission in writing for us to do so.
Limitation of Liability:
Our liability for loss or damage arising from the provision of services is limited to a sum equal to the fee charged for the part of the service which is the subject of the claim, except in cases of fraud or where such limitation is not permitted by law.
Termination of Engagement:
You may terminate this engagement under any clause within these terms of engagement. At any time, you may terminate this agreement by providing us with written notice within ten working days of the date you wish to terminate this agreement. You will be liable to pay fees of £250+VAT or equal to work completed (whichever is greater) to cover the preparation of getting your files send to your new accountant or yourself.
We may terminate this engagement under any clause within this letter. We may terminate this engagement providing we issue you with written notice within fifteen working days of the date we wish to terminate this. agreement.
We aim not to terminate this agreement if we feel it will be unreasonably detrimental to your ability to meet HMRC and/or Companies House deadlines, unless we suspect you are involved in criminal activity or have directly breached any part of this letter.
A disengagement letter will be sent or email to the registered office for the company or email we hold on file. We may do the same for all stakeholders, and any other individual within the business, or related entities, who we feel need to be informed of the disengagement.
Client’s Name (If Printed):
Signature:
Date Signed:
This letter is given to the addressee in confidence and only for the purposes for which it was requested in good faith and on the basis available to us at the time it is given.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information.
Yours faithfully
Total Tax Accountants.
Leading Accountants High Wycombe and the surrounding areas.
Total Tax Accountants ® (Reg Trade Mark)
Trade name of Total Tax Accountancy Ltd
Member In Practice Firm AAT & IFA in UK
Approved Firm by ACCA Employer in UK
Office Address
30 High St, High Wycombe HP11 2AG
© 2008-2023 Total Tax Accountants ®