This is to confirm our understanding of the terms and objectives of our engagement and the nature and limitations of the services we will provide.
Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd will provide professional services at your request. We will provide the Services to you in accordance with the relevant professional and ethical standards. The details of the services provided in this agreement are detailed herein.
Unless otherwise stated herein, the Services covered by this engagement do not include audit or review services, therefore, no assurance will be provided. Unless agreed with you, the Services will not include specific identification of fraud or other illegal acts. If we do identify such acts or omissions, we will inform you. Before doing so, we will notify you as soon as practicable that we have identified any instances of fraud or illegal acts/omissions.
Any additional services requested by the client will be at a commercial hourly rate dependent on the level of expertise required. If the client would like a quote for any additional work, this should be requested prior to Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd beginning these services.
This engagement starts on the date this proposal is signed and is valid until it is ended by mutual agreement or superseded by a newer engagement. We will not deal with earlier periods unless you specifically ask us to do so and we agree. You or we may agree to vary or terminate this agreement at any time without penalty. Notice of variation or termination must be given in writing. Please note that this agreement includes any work completed backdated to when you became a client of Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd.
Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd will always stand behind the quality and professional nature of the services that we offer. If at any point you are not completely satisfied with the services we have performed, we encourage you to bring this to our attention immediately. We’d love the opportunity to correctly address your concerns, win your trust back, and prevent similar problems from happening in the future.
If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of our services, we will work towards a mutual agreement regarding the payment for services completed. As an example, we may agree to either forgive the related payment or accept a portion of the originally agreed price that reflects your level of satisfaction.
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.
All original documents obtained from the client arising from this engagement shall remain the property of the client.
In conducting this engagement, information acquired by us during the engagement is subject to strict confidentiality requirements. That information will not be disclosed by us to other parties except as required to provide the Services; as allowed for by law; or with your express written consent.
The Client is responsible for the reliability, accuracy, and completeness of the accounting records, particulars, and information provided, as well as the disclosure of all material and relevant information. Clients are also responsible for providing us with such materials and relevant information in a timely manner so that we may provide our Services to you in a timely manner. Clients are required to arrange for reasonable access by us to relevant individuals and documents and shall be responsible for both the completeness and accuracy of the information supplied to us. Any advice given to the Client is only an opinion which is based on our knowledge of the Client’s particular circumstances and is informed by the information, materials, account records, and particulars provided to us by the Client.
It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to ensure all deadlines are met, and any penalties relating to deadlines (including Director Penalty Notices as a result of late lodgements) are the responsibility of the client and not Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd.
You agree that we are entitled to rely on the accuracy and completeness of any information you provide us under this agreement and in order to provide our services to you. Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd accepts no liability or responsibility for any loss, damage, claim, or expense that you may suffer as a result of you providing us with inaccurate, incomplete, incorrect, out-of-date, or untimely accounting records, particulars, or information, and you waive and release us from any and all such liability.
You agree to pay Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd the Fees in accordance with the Billing Schedule set out in this agreement.
You warrant that you have not relied on any representations or warranties made by Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd in respect of the Services which have not been expressly set out in this agreement.
We may involve third-party contractors, software platforms, or outsourced service providers (both locally and from overseas, specifically India) in providing various aspects of your accounting work. These services may include:
Acceptance of our services in conjunction with this engagement document indicates your acceptance of the use of outsourced services and third-party software as described above. Where the outsourced service or third-party platform requires the disclosure of personal or financial information to an overseas recipient, Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd takes reasonable steps to ensure that privacy is maintained by the recipients of the information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
To deliver our Services efficiently and competently, we utilise various modern technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), automated machine-learning tools, and AI integrations embedded within our core accounting and administrative software (such as Xero, QuickBooks, Microsoft 365, and tax research databases).
By signing this engagement, you explicitly acknowledge and agree to the following in relation to AI:
We are committed to securing your data. All client data, including copies of your accounting files, financial records, tax documentation, and personal information, is stored using secure, industry-standard cloud storage and third-party servers.
Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Further information on the scheme is available from the Professional Standards Councils’ website: psc.gov.au.
Subject to any statutory provisions that apply to the Services, and unless otherwise outlined in this Terms document, either party may terminate this engagement at any time by giving 28 days’ written notice to the other. Either party may terminate this engagement immediately if the other commits any material or persistent breach of its obligations under this agreement, in particular the Terms and Conditions set out in the Engagement Letter (which, in the case of a breach capable of remedy, has not been remedied within 7 days of discovery by the party in breach), or if the other becomes insolvent.
In addition, we may terminate this engagement on reasonable notice if any of the following circumstances occur:
In addition to our other rights, upon termination you will be required to pay our charges for work done, and for any expenses incurred up to the date of termination together with our reasonable costs and expenses incurred in connection with the early termination of this engagement.
Termination of this engagement is without prejudice to any rights that may have accrued before termination. The Terms and Conditions of this agreement which expressly or by implication are intended to survive its termination or expiry will survive and continue to bind the parties.
Neither party will be liable to the other for any delay or failure to fulfil their obligations under this agreement if that delay and/or failure arises from causes beyond their control, including but not limited to fire, floods, acts of God, acts or regulations of any government or supranational authority, war, riot, terrorist activities, strikes, lockouts, and industrial disputes.
You agree that we will communicate with each other by electronic means such as e-mail, SMS, client portal, etc. We and you each recognise that e-mail and the internet are inherently insecure and that emails and data can become corrupted, are not always delivered promptly (or at all), and that other methods of communication may be appropriate. In addition, the internet is prone to viruses.
We and you each recognise these hazards, and so each of us will be responsible for protecting our own systems and interests. Neither you nor we will be responsible to the other on any basis for any loss or damage in any way arising from the use of electronic communication, including any data breaches or cyber security incidents, provided that we have implemented reasonable cyber security protocols in accordance with professional industry standards.
Services may be billed on a fixed rate or hourly billing rate, as indicated herein. Where we cannot provide a fixed rate quote, we will quote an hourly rate in cases of project work where it is difficult to define the scope of the service required. In the case where you have been quoted an estimate based on an hourly rate, Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd will inform the client of the amount of time used before we issue the final bill and collect payment. Our professional fees will be based on our regular billing rates, plus direct out-of-pocket expenses and applicable GST, and are due when rendered. Fees for additional services will be established separately.
We will submit our bill(s) as indicated herein. If an extension of our services is requested, we will discuss our fee arrangements at that time. Plan implementation, as well as plan monitoring and updating, if needed, are separate engagements. If you choose one of these additional services, a separate engagement letter will be provided. These services will be billed separately.
We reserve the right to suspend our services or to withdraw from this engagement in the event that any of our invoices are deemed delinquent. In the event that any collection action is required to collect unpaid balances due to us, you agree to reimburse us for our costs of collection, including lawyers’ fees.
We may collect Personal Information about 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 our Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act.
If at any time you as the client believe we may have a conflict of interest, you should immediately be in contact with Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd in writing so that the matter of conflict can be resolved.
As a registered tax agent, we are bound by the Code of Professional Conduct under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009. This includes obligations to:
As at the date of updating this Terms of Engagement:
Should any such matters arise in the future, this disclosure will be updated within 30 days in accordance with our obligations under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.
If you have any concerns about our costs or services, please speak to the person responsible for this engagement, who is identified in our engagement letter. To resolve your concerns, we have policies and procedures in place to deal appropriately with complaints and will use best endeavours to resolve a complaint or dispute to the mutual satisfaction of the parties involved. We may require you to detail your complaint in writing to allow us to fully investigate any concerns that you raise. You can contact us using the information below:
If your concerns remain unresolved, you are entitled to lodge a formal complaint with the Tax Practitioners Board. Further information is available at tpb.gov.au/complaints.
The Tax Practitioners Board maintains a register of tax agents and BAS agents. You can verify our registration on the TPB public register.
Please review this letter below to indicate that it is in accordance with your understanding of the arrangements. Reading and understanding of these updated terms of engagement will be taken as your acknowledgment, unless otherwise stated to us. This letter will be effective for future years unless we advise you of any change.
Yours sincerely,
Ethique Accounting Pty Ltd
PO Box 462, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.