Waterford Accountants will provide Accounting services in accordance with the relevant professional and ethical standards issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia & New Zealand. No audit (with the exception of a SMSF) or review will be performed and so we provide no assurance will be expressed.
As no audit will be undertaken our engagement cannot be relied upon to disclose irregularities including fraud, other illegal acts and errors that may exist.
We understand that an audit of the Financial Accounts is not required, and therefore we will not be expressing an opinion as to the truth and fairness of those statements. However, we will inform you of any such matters that come to our attention.
Where an audit is required then we outsource this service to a suitably qualified professional and where this occurs will advise accordingly.
This engagement starts from the date you engage Waterford Accountants or you sign the Waterford Accountants Engagement Agreement, whichever occurs sooner.
We provide all clients with an Engagement Agreement on an Annual Business. The Engagement Agreement is in accordance with the requirements of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand.
You or agent(s) will be responsible for maintaining and regularly balancing all books of accounts, and the maintenance of an adequate accounting and internal control system. You also acknowledge that the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the accounting records are your responsibility and that you have disclosed to us all material and relevant information.
Waterford Accountants involvement in this type of engagement will not disclose fraud, defalcations or other irregularities which may occur. However, any material weaknesses in the accounting or internal control systems which come to our notice will be drawn to your attention.
Please be aware that:
– you are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the particulars and information provided in relation to taxation services and this responsibility rests with you;
– any advice given to you is only an opinion based on our knowledge of your particular circumstances; and
– a taxpayer has obligations under self-assessment to keep full and proper records in order to facilitate the preparation of accurate returns.
It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to keep those records for five (5) years.
Any information acquired by us in the course of our engagement, including any information relating to your affairs whether or not it belongs to you or not or is provided by you or not, is subject to strict confidentiality requirements. Information will not be disclosed by us to other parties except as required or allowed for by law or regulations, or with your express consent unless, we determine that disclosure of the non-compliance or suspected non-compliance to an appropriate authority is an appropriate course of action in the circumstances.
Our files may, however, be subject to review as part of the quality control review program of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand which monitors compliance with professional standards by its members. We advise you that by signing this letter you acknowledge that, if requested, our files relating to this engagement will be made available under this program. The same strict confidentiality requirements apply under this program as apply to us.
We may collect Personal Information about you, your representatives, your clients and others when we provide services to you. If we do, you agree to work with us to ensure that we both meet the obligations that we each may have under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (as amended) (Privacy Act). The obligations may include notifying the relevant person to whom the personal information relates who we are and how we propose to use their personal information. Where you have collected personal information, you confirm that you have collected the personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act, that you are entitled to provide this personal information to us and that we may use and disclose the personal information for the purpose/s we provide our services to you. We will handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act.
You are responsible for ensuring that your (all entities and individuals listed in this agreement) business activities are conducted in accordance with laws and regulations. You are also responsible for identifying and addressing any non-compliance by your entities (all entities and individuals listed in this agreement), by an individual charged with governance of the entity, by a member of management, or by other individuals working for or under the direction of you (all entities and individuals listed in this agreement).
A taxpayer is responsible under self-assessment to keep full and proper records in order to facilitate the preparation of a correct return. Whilst the Commissioner of Taxation will accept claims made by a taxpayer in an income tax return and issue a notice of assessment, usually without adjustment, the return may be subject to later review. Under the taxation law such a review may take place within a period of up to four (4) years after tax becomes due and payable under the assessment. Furthermore, where there is fraud or evasion there is no time limit on amending the assessment.
Accordingly, you should check the return before it is signed to ensure that the information in the return is accurate.
Where the application of a taxation law to your particular circumstances is uncertain you also have the right to request a private ruling which will set out the Commissioner’s opinion about the way a taxation law applies, or would apply, to you in those circumstances.
You must provide a description of all of the facts (with supporting documentation) that are relevant to your scheme or circumstances in your private ruling application. If there is any material difference between the facts set out in the ruling and what you actually do the private ruling is ineffective.
If you rely on a private ruling you have received, the Commissioner must administer the law in the way set out in the ruling, unless it is found to be incorrect and applying the law correctly would lead to a better outcome for you. Where you disagree with the decision in the private ruling you can lodge an objection against the ruling if it relates to income tax, fuel tax credit or fringe benefits tax. Your time limits in lodging an objection will depend on whether you are issued an assessment for the matter (or period) covered by the private ruling.
In some circumstances Waterford Accountants uses third-party service providers to carry out its functions and provide services. Acceptance of our services in conjunction with this engagement document indicates your acceptance of the use of outsourced services as described. Where the outsourced service requires the disclosure of personal information to an overseas recipient a consequence of your consent is that Waterford Accountants will be required to take reasonable steps to ensure that the Australian Privacy Principles are complied with by the overseas recipients of the Personal Information.
We will provide you with a fixed price agreement where possible in relation to the work you have asked us to undertake.
Services not covered by such an agreement
The Parties agree that unanticipated services are not a part of this agreement. These services include (but are not limited to):
– an audit by a taxing agency;
– restructuring your current accounting group;
– meetings with a Director to discuss your financial planning affairs;
– the sale or purchase of a business;
– liaising with financial institutions;
– any other exogenous service not contemplated by the parties at the time of this agreement.
Wherever possible an estimate of approximate professional costs and disbursements will be provided before the additional work is undertaken. This service will be billed separately to you and will be payable within 14 days of issue.
All original documents obtained from the client arising from the engagement shall remain the property of the client. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable number of copies of the original documents for our records. Our engagement will result in the production of financial reports and income tax returns for all entities of the client. Ownership of these documents will vest in you. All other documents produced by us in respect of this engagement will remain the property of the firm, subject to any statutory obligations.
The firm has a policy of exploring a legal right of lien over any client documents in our possession in the event of a dispute. The firm has also established dispute resolution processes.
If for any reason you are unsatisfied with our services and wish to make a complaint, you should contact your Client Relationship Manager at first instance. If this is inappropriate or ineffective you may escalate your complaint to our Business Manager, Anna Catalovski. We will always endeavour to respond to your complaints in a prompt and effective manner. Our relationship with our clients is our highest priority.
Waterford Accountants is not licensed to provide financial advice and all advice is therefore General in Nature. Contents of the Waterford Accountants website and general in nature and provide factual information only as we have not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should therefore not rely on this information on the website for personal advice.
Waterford Financial Services is a separate and unrelated legal entity. Any financial service provide to you will be by Waterford Financial Service and such services will never be provided by Waterford Accountants as Waterford Accountants is not licenced to do so. Waterford Financial Services is licensed by Charter Financial Planning Ltd. Where financial planning services are provided by Waterford Financial Services these services will be in accordance with the Waterford Financial Services advice process. These financial service are monitored and reviewed on a regular basis by Charter Financial Planning Ltd. For further information please refer to the Waterford Financial Services Website (www.waterfordfinancialservices.com.au).
