Note: The below includes part of our standard terms of services set out. However, any letter of engagement signed by the client regarding our professional working relationship supersedes any of the terms below, unless in direct contradiction with the law.

Investment services

We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to conduct Investment Business. If you require investment business services, please contact a firm authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Fees

Our fees are computed based on time spent on your affairs by the principals and our staff, including sub-contractors or consultants where necessary, and on the levels of skill and responsibility involved. Disbursements represent travel, accommodation and other expenses incurred in dealing with your affairs.

If it is necessary to carry out work outside the responsibilities agreed with you for each service, we will advise you in advance. Any additional work will involve additional fees. Accordingly, we would like to point out that it is in your interests to ensure that your records etc. are completed to the agreed stage.

Invoices are payable in full (including disbursements) in accordance with the terms set out on the invoice. If you do not accept that an invoiced fee is fair and reasonable you must notify us within 21 days of receipt, failing which you will be deemed to have accepted that payment is due.

It is our common practice to request that clients make arrangements to pay a proportion of their fee on a monthly Standing Order/Direct Debit. These will be applied to fees arising from work agreed in this letter of engagement for the current and ensuing years. Once we have been able to assess the amount of work and time involved, we would be grateful if you would agree to pay an amount to us on a regular basis.

If a client company, trust, or other entity is unable or unwilling to settle our fees, we reserve the right to seek payment from the individual (or parent company) giving us instructions on behalf of the client, and we shall be entitled to enforce any sums due against the group company or individual nominated to act for you.

If we cease to act in relation to your business’s affairs, 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.

Retention of and access to records

You have a legal responsibility to retain documents and records relevant to your financial affairs. 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/audit of your financial statements/returns if requested.

Documents and records relevant to your tax affairs are required by law to be retained as follows:

Individuals, trustees, and partnerships:

• with trading or rental income: for 6 years from the 31 January following the end of the tax year to which they relate;
• otherwise: 1 year from the 31 January following the end of the tax year to which they relate.

You should retain them for longer if HMRC enquire into your tax return.

Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships, and other corporate entities:

• six years from the end of the accounting period.

Confidentiality

We confirm that where you give us confidential information, we shall at all times keep it confidential, except as required by law or as provided for in regulatory, ethical or other professional statements relevant to our engagement.

You agree that, if we act for other clients who are or who become your competitors, to comply with our duty of confidentiality, it will be sufficient for us to take such steps as we think appropriate to preserve the confidentiality of information given to us by you, both during and after this engagement. These may include taking the same or similar steps as we take in respect of the confidentiality of our own information.

In addition, if we act for other clients whose interests are or may be adverse to yours, we will manage the conflict by implementing additional safeguards to preserve confidentiality. Safeguards may include measures such as separate teams, physical separation of teams, and separate arrangements for storage of, and access to, information.

You agree that the effective implementation of such steps or safeguards as described above will provide adequate measures to avoid any real risk of confidentiality being impaired.

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. You may additionally need to consider your data protection responsibilities.

We reserve the right, for the purpose of promotional activity, training, or other business purposes, to mention that you are a client.  As stated above, we will not disclose any confidential information.

This clause applies in addition to our obligations as to data protection and privacy policy stated on the website.

Dealing with HM Revenue & Customs

When dealing with HMRC on your behalf we are required to be honest and to take reasonable care to ensure that your returns are correct. To enable us to do this, you are required to be honest with us and to provide us with all necessary information in a timely manner.

Help us to give you the right service

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 schedules. 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.

Applicable law

This engagement letter is governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of England & Wales. The Courts 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.

If any provision in this Standard Terms of Business or any associated engagement schedules, 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.

Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy

We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice previously given by us without first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in light of any change in the law, public policy or your circumstances.

We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law or the interpretation thereof, practice, or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

Internet communication

Unless you instruct us otherwise, we may, where appropriate, communicate with you and with third parties via email or by other electronic means. However, 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. We will never change our bank details without confirming this to you by posted letter. Any emailed or telephoned communications appearing to be from us which are not confirmed by post are fake and we accept no liability for any loss caused to you through accepting such communications as genuine. Similarly, always give us by hand or by post (as well as by email) details of your bank account.

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

Data Protection

To enable us to discharge the services agreed under our engagement, and for other related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis for management purposes and statutory returns, crime prevention and legal and regulatory compliance, we may obtain, use, process and disclose personal data about you/your business/company/partnership/its officers and employees and shareholders (‘personal data’). Please read our Data Privacy policy on our website for further details.

General Limitation of liability

We will provide our services with reasonable care and skill. Our liability to you is limited to losses, damages, costs and expenses caused by our negligence or wilful default. 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.  Further, we will not be liable to you for any delay or failure to perform our obligations if the delay or failure is caused by circumstances outside our reasonable control. Our liability to you shall be limited as set out in our engagement or other client letter.

You will not hold us, our principal(s)/director(s), shareholders and staff, 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. This applies equally to fraudulent acts, misrepresentation or wilful default on the part of any party to the transaction and their directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers.  However, this exclusion shall not apply where such misrepresentation, withholding or concealment is or should (in carrying out the procedures which we have agreed to perform with reasonable care and skill) have been evident to us without further enquiry.

You agree that you will not bring any claim in connection with services we provide to you against any of our partners, shareholders, directors or employees personally.

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. You agree to indemnify us and our agents in respect of any claim (including any claim for negligence) arising out of any unauthorised disclosure by you or by any person for whom you are responsible of our advice and opinions, whether in writing or otherwise. This indemnity will extend to the cost of defending any such claim, including payment at our usual rates for the time that we spend in defending it and our legal fees on an indemnity basis.

Retention of papers

You have a legal responsibility to retain documents and records relevant to your financial affairs. During the course of our work we may collect information from you and others relevant to your tax and financial affairs. We will return any original documents to you if requested. Documents and records relevant to your tax affairs are required by law to be retained as follows:

Individuals, trustees and partnerships:

• with trading or rental income: five years and 10 months after the end of the tax year;
• otherwise: 22 months after the end of the tax year.

Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships, and other corporate entities:

• six years from the end of the accounting period.

Disengagement

If we resign or are asked to resign, we will normally issue a disengagement letter to ensure that our respective responsibilities are clear.