1. The Engagement
1.1. The Engagement Letter and these Terms and Conditions must be read together as they form the terms of the engagement contract (Engagement) between you, as the Client, and Prism Accounting. A reference to “us”, “our” or “we” is a reference to Prism Accounting. A reference to “Client” or “you” or “your”, refers to the entity described in the Engagement Letter.
1.2. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between the Engagement Letter and these Terms and Conditions, the Engagement Letter prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
2. Period of Engagement
2.1. The Engagement will come into effect on the date we receive a duly signed Engagement letter, or when we commence providing services upon your request, whichever is earlier.
2.2. If the Engagement Letter is not duly signed and you provide us with instructions, you will be deemed to have accepted to be bound by these terms of Engagement.
2.3. If the scope of the Engagement includes periodic compliance services, the First Period of Engagement, as specified for each type of service in the Engagement Letter, will be the first period for which we will be responsible. Preceding periods are not in the scope of this Engagement, unless specifically agreed otherwise.
2.4. For recurring taxation and accounting services involving preparation of annual statements, the minimum period of Engagement is a full financial year (or a substituted accounting period applicable to the entity).
2.5. Recurring Engagements are renewed automatically on the first day of the subsequent period (Renewal Date) under the terms of the Engagement effective at the time, unless the Engagement is varied by mutual agreement or duly terminated.
3. Scope of Engagement
3.1. The scope of the Engagement is to provide the Services as specified in the Engagement Letter.
3.2. If we agree to provide additional services to you, we may provide you with a new or amended engagement letter. If we do not, those additional services will be provided under the terms of this Engagement as out-of-scope services.
3.3. For the avoidance of doubt, the Scope of Engagement does not include attending to audit, review, investigation, inquiry or similar activity initiated by ATO or other government authorities, producing documents or information to a third parties pursuant to any order, subpoena, notice to produce, other directive, or your instructions, attending court hearings or meeting in relation to a judicial, regulatory or administrative process. Any such work will be charged on a time basis based on the hourly rates of the personnel involved as applicable at the time the work is performed.
4. Who we are acting for
4.1. We are acting only for the individual or the entity specified as Client in the Engagement Letter. Where you would like us to act for anyone else, we will issue a separate engagement letter to them.
5. Client’s Identity
5.1. We may be required to verify your identity to comply with various legal and professional requirements, including provisions of Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), The Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards (APES), the Tax Practitioners Board’s (TPB) minimum requirements, and for the purposes of the anti-money laundering laws. We may request from you such information as we require for these purposes and make searches of appropriate databases.
6. Who may instruct us
6.1. You confirm that you, and any other person you nominate in writing from time to time (provided we have acknowledged such nomination), are authorised to give us instructions and information on behalf of all persons we are acting for and to receive our advice and documents on their behalf.
6.2. If we are acting for an entity and we receive conflicting advice, information or instructions from different persons, we may refer the matter to the board of directors, trustees, partners or proprietors (as applicable) and act only as requested by them.
7. You and your spouse
7.1. If we are engaged to perform services to both you and your spouse as individuals, we will advise you and your spouse on the basis that you are a family unit with shared interests. We may deal with either of you and may discuss with either of you the affairs of the other. If you wish to change these arrangements, please let us know.
8. Our professional obligations
8.1. Honesty and integrity
8.1.1. We must act honestly and with integrity.
8.1.2. We must comply with the taxation laws in the conduct of our own personal affairs.
8.1.3. We must account to you for money or other property that we receive on your behalf and hold on trust.
8.2. Independence and conflicts of interest
8.2.1. We have a duty to act in our client’s best interests. However, the duty to act in our client’s best interests is subject to an overriding obligation to comply with the law, even if that may require us to act in a manner that may be contrary to your directions.
8.2.2. We must have in place adequate arrangements for the management of conflicts of interest that may arise in relation to the activities that we undertake in the capacity of a Registered Tax Agent.
8.2.3. We will inform you if we become aware of any conflict of interest in our relationship with you and another client. Where conflicts are identified which cannot be managed in a way that protects your interests then we may be unable to provide further services to you. If this arises, we will inform you promptly.
8.2.4. We may act for other clients whose interests are not the same as or are adverse to yours, subject to the obligations of conflicts of interest and confidentiality referred to above.
8.3. Confidentiality
8.3.1. We must keep any information relating to your affairs that we obtained in the course of or in connection with providing the Services to you confidential and not disclose it to a third party, except where:
a) we need to disclose your information to our service providers or regulatory bodies in performing the services, our professional advisers, or insurers, or as part of an external peer review, from time to time. Our files may be subject to review as part of the quality review program of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. By accepting this engagement, you acknowledge that, if requested, our files relating to this engagement will be made available under this program. We will take reasonable steps to ensure any such recipient (other than a regulatory body) keeps such information confidential on the same basis;
b) we are required by law, regulation, a court of competent authority to disclose the information;
c) you instruct us or give us permission to disclose the information;
8.3.2. We may retain your information during and after our engagement to comply with our legal requirements or as part of our regular IT back-up and archiving practices. We will continue to hold such information confidentially.
8.4. Competence
8.4.1. We have a duty to ensure that taxation services provided by us or on our behalf are provided competently. We must maintain knowledge and skills relevant to the services we provide.
8.4.2. Where we are providing taxation services, we are required to exercise reasonable care in correctly ascertaining your state of affairs.
8.4.3. We must take reasonable care to ensure that taxation laws are applied correctly to the circumstances in relation to which we are providing advice to you.
8.5. Prescribed events
8.5.1. Tax practitioners are obliged to advise all current or prospective clients if any of the following prescribed events have occurred to them the last 5 years:
a) their registration was suspended or terminated by the Tax Practitioner Board;
b) they were an undischarged bankrupt or went into external administration;
c) they were convicted of a serious taxation offence;
d) they were convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty;
e) they were serving, or were sentenced to, a term of imprisonment in Australia for 6 months or more;
f) they were penalised, subject to an injunction, or been subject to an order for breaching a voluntary undertaking, for being a promoter of a tax exploitation scheme;
g) they were penalised, subject to an injunction, or been subject to an order for breaching a voluntary undertaking, for implementing a scheme that has been promoted on the basis of conformity with a public ruling, private ruling or oral ruling in a way that is materially different from that described in the ruling;
h) they were penalised, subject to an injunction, or been subject to an order for breaching a voluntary undertaking, for promoting on the basis of conformity with a public ruling, private ruling or oral ruling a scheme that is materially different from that described in the ruling;
i) the Federal Court has ordered you to pay a pecuniary penalty for contravening a civil penalty provision under the Act.
8.5.2. Tax practitioners also have to advise their current or prospective client if their registration as a tax agent is subject to conditions.
8.5.3. There are no current issues about which are obliged to advise you. If we become aware of any such issues, we will notify you within 30 days.
8.6. Keeping records
8.6.1. We are responsible for keeping records of the tax agent services that have been provided to you by us or on your behalf.
8.6.2. The records we must keep may include the following:
• the records you must keep and retain under the taxation law that you have provided to us (e.g. copies of invoices, statements, logbook records and other documents)
• the records showing the nature, scope and outcome of the tax agent service provided
• the records of the advice provided to you (whether in a written form or orally), including the relevant facts, assumptions, calculations and reasoning underpinning such advice
• the advice, instructions or consents given by you
• the records of communications with yourself or third parties in connection with the provision of the Services to you
8.6.3. We must retain the records for at least five years after the tax agent service has been provided, unless otherwise required by legislation.
8.6.4. Our record-keeping obligation does not replace or override the separate obligations imposed on you by the taxation law to keep and retain records.
8.6.5. We reserve the right to retain records for longer periods where we deem it appropriate.
8.7. Other tax practitioner’s obligations
8.7.1. As tax practitioners, we must comply with certain other obligations under the legislation and professional standards, including:
• to uphold and promote the ethical standards of the tax profession
• to not knowingly obstruct the administration of the tax laws
• to establish and maintain a system of quality management, in relation to the provision of tax agent services and document and enforce the policies and procedures
• to advise you of your rights and obligations under the tax laws
• to not make false or misleading statements to the TPB or ATO, and in some cases withdraw our engagement with you and notify the TPB or ATO of certain matters
• to address any false or misleading statements we are responsible for
• to engage with clients to address other false or misleading statements, exploring options to correct
8.8. NOCLAR
8.8.1. We will comply with the professional and ethical standards of the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board, available at apesb.org.au. This includes APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including Independence Standards), which among other things contains provisions that apply if we become aware of any actual or potential ‘non-compliance with governing laws or regulations’ (NOCLAR).
8.8.2. Where any such non-compliance poses substantial harm (such as serious adverse consequences to investors, creditors, employees, auditor, group auditor or the public), we may be required to disclose the matter to an appropriate authority.
9. Privacy
9.1. The purpose of collecting your personal information is to carry out the Services and for related purposes such as staff training and education, updating and enhancing our client records, analysis for management purposes and statutory returns, legal and regulatory compliance and crime prevention.
9.2. Personal information collected by us in the course of our dealings with you will be handled in accordance with this engagement letter and our privacy policy, available at https://www.prismaccounting.com.au/privacy_policy/ (Privacy Policy).
9.3. Where you share personal information regarding a third party (including your directors and employees) with us, you confirm that you have complied with your obligations under the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) (including, if you are not bound by that Act, as if you were so bound), including that the personal information was lawfully collected, that you are entitled to disclose the personal information to us, and that we may use and disclose the personal information in the manner detailed above.
10. Your rights
10.1. Safe harbour provisions
10.1.1. Under the safe harbour provisions, taxpayers using a registered tax or BAS agent may not be liable to some administrative penalties imposed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in certain circumstances.
10.1.2. To obtain the benefit of the “safe harbour” protection, both of the following requirements must be satisfied:
• you can show you provided us with all relevant tax information to enable us to lodge your return, notice, statement or other document to the ATO by the due date; and
• failing to lodge the return, notice, statement or other document with the ATO did not result from our intentional disregard or recklessness as to the operation of a tax law;
10.1.3. “All relevant tax information” means all the relevant information to enable us to prepare and lodge the document on time in the approved form. This also means you must provide the required information by the deadlines we specify when we request the information. Relevant tax information also includes a signed document, where applicable.
10.1.4. If you wish to rely on the safe harbour provisions), you bear an evidential burden that you provided all relevant information to us as required.
10.2. Right to seek a Private Binding Ruling
10.2.1. Where the application of a taxation law to your circumstances is uncertain, you have a right to request a Private Binding Ruling from the ATO. Upon providing the ATO with all the relevant facts, they will provide you with a ruling setting out their view on the proper tax treatment of the issue requested to be ruled upon.
10.2.2. A Private Binding Ruling is binding on the ATO and can be relied on by you.
10.3. Objecting to an assessment
10.3.1. If you disagree with a decision made by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) concerning your tax affairs, you have the right to lodge an objection. Objections must be submitted in writing within the prescribed time limits.
10.3.2. For original income tax assessments (including tax offsets and rebates), the objection period is:
• two years from the date the notice of assessment is issued for individuals and qualifying small and medium businesses;
• four years for other taxpayers
10.3.3. For amended assessments, the period for objecting is the greater of:
• 60 days from the time the amended assessment is received; or
• two or four years (whichever is applicable) from the time the original assessment was received.
10.3.4. If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the objection, you have the right to have the matter reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or to appeal the matter to the Federal Court.
11. Your responsibilities
11.1. Provision of information
11.1.1. You must provide us with all the information necessary for dealing with your affairs within reasonable timeframes, as requested by us, and respond to our queries in a timely manner to enable our services to be completed before any applicable deadlines.
11.1.2. You must keep us informed on a timely basis of any changes in your circumstances that may affect our services.
11.1.3. We will rely on information you provide as being true, correct and complete and will not audit the information.
11.1.4. You authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate for information that we consider necessary to deal with your affairs.
11.2. Taxation services
11.2.1. Where we are engaged to provide taxation services:
a) you are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the particulars and information provided and this responsibility rests with you;
b) you acknowledge that any advice given to you is only an opinion based on our knowledge of your particular circumstances;
c) a taxpayer has obligations under self assessment to keep full and proper records in order to facilitate the preparation of accurate returns;
d) It is your responsibility to check tax return before signing to ensure that the information in the return is accurate.
11.3. Compilation of financial information
11.3.1. Where we are engaged to prepare general purpose financial statements or special purpose financial statements, you are responsible for:
a) the form and content of the financial information in accordance with an applicable financial reporting framework that is acceptable in view of the intended use and users of the financial information;
b) the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the accounting records and disclosures provided to the member;
c) the judgements needed in the preparation and presentation of the financial information, including those for which the member may provide assistance in the course of the compilation engagement.
12. Fees
12.1. Our fees are based on the level of skill, responsibility, importance, and value of the service, as well as the level of risk involved in the provision of the services.
12.2. The Engagement Letter will specify the fee basis and the payment terms for the Services included in the scope.
12.3. Unless otherwise agreed to the contrary, our fees do not include the costs of any counsel, or other professionals engaged with your approval.
12.4. Any disbursements and expenses we incur in the course of performing our services to you will be added to our invoices where appropriate.
12.5. Fixed fees
12.5.1. If we have provided you with a fixed fee proposal, these fees are based on the information you provided to us and on our understanding of your circumstances at the time the proposal is made. If it becomes apparent to us, due to unforeseen circumstances, that the proposed fixed fee is inadequate, we will notify you of a revised figure as soon as practicable and seek your agreement to it.
12.5.2. We reserve the right to revise our fixed fee arrangement, change the fee basis, or charge additional fees if, as a result of any actions or delays on your part, we are required to perform more work than anticipated or reschedule commitments.
12.5.3. For project based or ad-hoc engagements, we may require an upfront payment of the agreed fee in full before commencing the work.
12.6. Fee estimate
12.6.1. If we have provided you with a fee estimate for certain services, this estimate is based on the anticipated time spent and the hourly rates of appropriately qualified professional staff members required to be involved in the provision of these services. It is an estimate only and our actual fees may vary.
12.6.2. Unless expressly agreed upon in writing, the fee estimate shall not be deemed to limit or “cap” our professional fees.
12.6.3. We may require a 50% deposit or a full estimated fee to be paid prior to commencement of the work. The balance of fees, if any, will be invoiced upon completion of the work.
12.6.4. If the Services involve provision of a document (e.g. letter of advice), we may request the remaining balance to be paid in full prior to the provision of the final document.
12.7. Out-of-scope services
12.7.1. If we have provided you with a fixed fee or a fee estimate for one or more services, such fee applies only to the Services as specified in the Engagement Letter. Fees for any professional services we are required to perform that are not expressly included in the scope of the Engagement, unless agreed otherwise, will be charged on a fee-for-service basis as per clause 12.8.
12.8. Fee-for-service
12.8.1. Unless specified otherwise in the Engagement Letter the fees will be calculated based on the time spent at hourly rates or the minimum base fee applicable to each service or a component of the service required to be performed as specified in the Schedule A, whichever is greater.
12.8.2. Work of a substantive nature (e.g. meetings, letters of advice, completion of BAS) is generally billed separately, upon completion, unless agreed or specified otherwise.
12.8.3. Work involving preparation of a tax return is generally billed when the return is completed and authorised for lodgment.
12.8.4. It is our normal billing practice to aggregate non-substantive work (e.g short telephone calls and email correspondence, sending documents on request, issuing accountant’s letters, responding to reference check requests, liaising with other entities and the ATO) and bill it on an annual basis.
12.8.5. Notwithstanding the above, we reserve the right to invoice for work in progress amounts more frequently if we deem it appropriate.
12.9. Goods and Services Tax (GST)
12.9.1. The fees and charges are stated on a GST-exclusive basis. If a service provided to you is a taxable supply under A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, you agree to pay us an amount equal to the GST we are required to pay on the taxable supply.
12.10. Review of fees and hourly rates
12.10.1. Our fees and hourly rates are reviewed on a regular basis and may be subject to change. You will be given at least 30 days’ notice in writing of any changes to our Fee Schedule.
13. Payment terms
13.1. Unless specified otherwise in the Engagement Letter, fees for our services are due to be paid within 7 days of the Invoice Date;
13.2. If an invoice is overdue by more than 30 days, to the extent the amounts relate to the services already performed or being performed, we reserve the right to charge interest on any such amounts that remain unpaid at 5% above the RBA cash rate. The interest will accrue daily from the date the payment becomes due.
13.3. We may also suspend our services or cease to act for you on giving a written notice if payment of any fees is unduly delayed.
13.4. If any amounts are overdue by 60 days or more, we may commence legal action or refer the debt to a collection agency to recover the amounts.
13.5. In the event we commence a debt recovery action, you shall indemnify us against all costs and disbursements incurred by us in recovering the debt (including but not limited to internal costs, legal costs, collection agency fees and commissions, bank dishonour fees and any interest incurred on such amounts).
13.6. If an amount is owed by an entity (company, trust, partnership or SMSF) and the entity is unable to discharge its liabilities to us, the entity’s Directors, Trustees, Partners, or the individuals who otherwise instructed us to perform the services to the entity, shall personally indemnify us for any such liability.
13.7. In some cases, you may be entitled to assistance with your professional fees, particularly in relation to any investigation into your tax affairs by the ATO. Assistance may be provided through insurance policies you hold or via membership of a professional or trade body. Other than where such insurance was arranged through us, you will need to advise us of any such insurance cover that you have. You will remain liable for our fees regardless of whether all or part are to be paid by someone else.
13.8. Lien over documents
13.8.1. If permitted by law or professional guidelines, we may exercise a lien over all materials or records in our possession relating to all engagements for you until all outstanding fees and disbursements are paid in full.
14. Timing and delays
14.1. We will endeavour to provide the Services within the timeframes, or by due dates, specified in the Engagement Letter, or by statutory due dates, whichever is applicable.
14.2. However, we will not be responsible nor liable to you or any third party for any delay in performing the Services where that delay is caused by circumstances outside of our control.
14.3. We may impose a surcharge of 50% in addition to our standard fees if you request and we agree to expedite work to ensure your compliance obligations are met.
15. Force Majeure
15.1. Neither Party will be liable to the other party for any delay or failure to fulfil obligations to the extent that such delay or failure arises from significant and unforeseen causes beyond its control, having taken reasonable precautions, including fire, floods, acts of God, terrorism, strikes, lock out, war, riot or any governmental act or regulation.
16. Qualifications on our services
16.1. To the extent our services involve the performance of services established by law, nothing in the Engagement Letter or these terms reduce our obligations under such law.
16.2. You must not act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without first confirming with us that the advice is still valid.
16.3. Our services are limited exclusively to those you have engaged us to perform. Unless otherwise specified in the Engagement Letter, our services cannot be relied upon to disclose irregularities and errors, including fraud and other illegal acts, in your affairs. Neither an audit nor a review will be conducted and, accordingly, no assurance will be expressed.
16.4. Our advice and information is for your sole use, and we accept no responsibility to any third party, unless we have expressly agreed in the engagement letter that a specified third party may rely on our work.
17. Reliance on advice
17.1. Advice given verbally is not intended to be relied upon unless confirmed in writing. If we provide verbal advice (for example during a meeting or telephone conversation) that you wish to rely on, you must ask us to confirm the advice in writing.
17.2. Any advice given to you is only an opinion based on our knowledge of your particular circumstances.
18. Investment and financial advice
18.1. We will not provide you with investment or financial advice regulated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) unless we have expressly agreed to do so in writing, specifying an applicable Australian Financial Services Licence number.
19. Limitation of Liability
19.1. Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Further information on the scheme is available from the Professional Standards Council’s website: https://www.psc.gov.au/.
19.2. You agree not to bring any claim against any of our principals, employees or contractors in their personal capacity.
19.3. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable to you for:
• indirect, special or consequential losses or damages of any kind; or
• liability arising due to the acts or omissions of any other person or circumstances outside our reasonable control, or your breach of these terms.
20. Ownership of documents
20.1. You own all original materials given to us.
20.2. We own the copyright and all other intellectual property rights in everything we create in connection with this engagement. Unless we agree otherwise, anything we create in connection with this agreement may be used by you only for the purpose for which you have engaged us.
20.3. All working papers prepared by us (in any form whatsoever, including physical and electronic) remain our property. We will retain these papers in accordance with our normal record keeping practices in accordance with our professional and legal obligations.
20.4. You agree we can use your logos and trade marks for the sole purpose of providing services to you in connection with the engagement, unless you tell us otherwise.
21. Termination
21.1. For project-based engagements, advisory engagements and engagements with a defined end date, the Engagement will automatically terminate upon completion of the services as specified in the Engagement Letter.
21.2. For recurring engagements, either party may terminate the Engagement by giving not less than 21 days’ written notice before the Renewal Date. The minimum notice period under this subclause may be waived or reduced by mutual agreement of the parties.
21.3. Either party may terminate the Engagement immediately in the event of bankruptcy or the appointment of a liquidator, receiver or an administrator of the other party.
21.4. Either party may terminate the Engagement immediately if the other Party commits a material or persistent breach of its terms.
21.5. To the extent permitted by law, we may terminate the Engagement immediately in any of the following circumstances:
a) where a conflict of interest has arisen and no remedy can be put in place to effectively manage it;
b) if we have a reason to believe that you have intentionally or negligently provided us or any other person with misleading or factually inaccurate information;
c) where we have advised you to correct a false or misleading statement made to a government body, and you refuse or fail to do so, and we have reasonable grounds to believe that the false or misleading nature of the statement resulted from:
i. a failure to take reasonable care in connection with the preparation or making of the statement; or
ii. recklessness as to the operation of a taxation law; or
iii. intentional disregard of a taxation law;
d) if we suspect you are involved in money laundering, fraud, tax evasion or other serious crime-related activity;
e) if we have a reason to believe that continuing providing services to you may adversely impact the reputation of our firm;
f) if it becomes apparent to us that for whatever reason we will be unable to discharge our obligations under the agreement;
g) if we have reasonable grounds to believe that continuing the provision of the Services is not commercially feasible.
21.6. Variations to the scope of work will not automatically result in the termination of the Engagement.
21.7. Termination of the Engagement will not affect any accrued rights.
21.8. If the Engagement is subject to a fixed fee and is terminated as a result of your failure to comply with your legal or contractual obligations under these terms, you will be required to pay the remaining balance of fees payable for the Services we have undertaken to provide for the Period of Engagement.
21.9. If the Engagement is terminated for any other reason, you will be required to pay fees for any accrued work in progress and for any expenses incurred up to the date of termination together with our reasonable costs and expenses incurred in connection with the termination.
22. Non-solicitation
22.1. While the agreement is in force, and for twelve (12) months after it terminates, you agree not to directly or indirectly solicit for employment or contract work arrangement purposes, any Prism Accounting employee or contractor who was involved in the provision of services, without our prior written consent.
22.2. If you breach this provision, you agree to pay a recruitment fee to us, calculated as 30% of the relevant employee’s or contractor’s gross annual salary package (including superannuation) in his or her new position.
23. Communication
23.1. We use email and other electronic communication channels to communicate with you and third parties in the course of provision of services to you. Electronic communications carry inherent risks, including risk of contamination, breach or corruption of data, non-delivery or inadvertent misdirection.
23.2. The email address you provided on registration will be used to send you correspondence in connection with the provision of services, including correspondence that may contain private or confidential information, documents, attachments, or links where such information can be accessed from. It is your responsibility to prevent unauthorised access to your email and to ensure you have adequate security measures in place to prevent interception, corruption or loss of data.
23.3. You must advise us of any changes to your email or other contact details.
23.4. From time to time, we may send you additional information, news and updates if we believe such information is relevant to your circumstances in connection with the Services we provide to you.
24. Applicable Law
24.1. Our engagement is governed by New South Wales state law. The courts sitting in that state will have non-exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any dispute between us.
25. Severability
25.1. If any provision of these terms is void or otherwise unenforceable, that provision will be severed and the remainder will continue to apply.
26. Third party services
26.1. Cloud computing
26.1.1. We may utilise cloud computing service providers to store and process client data, including:
• Acuity Scheduling (Appointment scheduling), US;
• Cognito Forms (Data collection), US;
• GoCardless (Payment processing), EU;
• Karbon (Client portal, data storage, client communication), US;
• Microsoft (Email communication, data storage), Australia, US;
• Stripe (Payment processing), US;
• Xero (Cloud accounting), US;
• Zapier (Data synchronisation), US;
• Zoom (Web conferencing), Australia, US.
26.1.2. Your data will be stored in servers physically located in Australia (unless otherwise specified) and in accordance with the security practices of the third party service provider and our Privacy Policy.
26.2. Third party service providers
26.2.1.Our firm may from time to time engage third party contractors to perform various work as part of our services to you. These services may include, but are not limited to, auditing, entity formation, SMSF accounts preparation, and bookkeeping. You agree that we may provide these third parties with access to your data to the extent this is required to perform the services.
26.2.2.Where we are required to share your information with third parties, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your information is secure, is treated with confidentiality and in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.
26.2.3.We do not outsource accounting and taxation work to contractors located offshore.
26.3. Related entities
26.3.1. To offer you a comprehensive and holistic range of services, including financial planning, wealth advisory, insurance advisory, and lending services (Financial Services), we can refer you to the following related entities, which together with Prism Accounting comprise the Prism Group:
• Prism Financial Services Pty Ltd (ACN 674 723 089)
26.3.2. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will assume that you consent to us sharing your information with other entities within our group to the extent reasonably necessary to facilitate the delivery of the Financial Services.
26.3.3. Each entity within the Prism Group is a separate legal entity. While we may work together to deliver coordinated services, each entity is responsible solely for the services it provides.
26.3.4. If you agree to proceed with one or more services offered by a Prism Group entity, the provision of those services will be governed by the engagement terms of that entity. No entity within the group is responsible or liable for the services provided under another entity’s engagement terms.
26.4. Commission and referral fees
26.4.1. Where we refer you to a third party (whether related or unrelated), we may receive income in the form of commission or a referral fee as a result. Where this occurs, the basis on which any referral fee, commission, or similar arrangement is calculated will be disclosed to you.
27. Tax Practitioner Board (TPB) Register
27.1. The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) maintains a register with details of registered, suspended and deregistered tax and BAS agents. It also includes any breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct and sanctions imposed that are on the public record, if applicable. This register is available to the public and can be accessed via the TBP website: https://www.tpb.gov.au/public-register.
27.2. The TBP Register website provides a search function to enable you to find a tax practitioner and check their registration details. To search a practitioner, enter their name or their registration number (if known) and click on the Find button. You can narrow down the results by completing additional fields, such as practitioner type, state or territory, suburb and registration status, if known. Tax practitioner results are displayed in a table below the search fields. To view more registration details of any tax practitioner shown in the results, click on the information icon on the right-hand side of the search result.
27.3. Our Tax Agent registration details can be found at https://myprofile.tpb.gov.au/public-register/practitioner/?ran=25634974.
28. Complaints and disputes
28.1. We have a complaints resolution process in place and will use our best endeavours to resolve a complaint or dispute to the mutual satisfaction of the parties involved. We may ask that you provide your complaint in writing to allow us to fully investigate the issues your raise.
28.2. Either party to a dispute can request that the complaint or dispute is managed through external dispute resolution or mediation service. We and you agree that an external dispute resolution will be undertaken before any legal claim is formally commenced. This does not override the rights of either party to seek legal action to enforce contractual rights under this Engagement.
28.3. Where your complaint concerns a tax agent service that has been provided by us, you also have the right to make a complaint to the TPB in writing. Further information on how to make a complaint to the TPB, including the TPB’s complaints process, can be found on its website https://www.tpb.gov.au/complaints.
29. Changes to the Terms and Conditions
29.1. We reserve the right to change or update our Terms and Conditions from time to time. Any material changes affecting your rights and obligations under the engagement contract will be communicated to you. If you do not accept such changes, you must notify us promptly, in which case you may terminate this agreement in accordance with clause 21, and those amendments will not apply prior to such termination.