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Covisory C&A LP Terms of Business

Last Update: 7th February 2023

These terms of Business apply to Covisory C&A LP and it's related entities.

Thank you for engaging Covisory C&A LP to provide your accounting services for you and your related entities.

1. Agreement to the Terms

    • These terms will apply to our relationship with you.
    • You do not need to sign these this Agreement to accept them. We will accept your instructions to carry out work for you as acceptance of these terms and any changes to the terms which are either emailed to you or posted on our website, www.covisory.com.
    • We will post any changes to the terms on our website, https://www.covisory.com/terms-of-business.

2. Changes to these Terms

    • We may modify, alter, or otherwise update these terms from time to time, with or without notice. It is your responsibility to regularly check our website to determine if there have been changes to these terms and to review such changes.
    • You agree to check the website before each new instruction to us and agree to be bound by the terms which are in effect at the time at which you provide an instruction. We will include the date of the terms at the top of each page to help you identify whether or not these terms have changed. Your continued use of our services constitutes your acceptance of these and any new terms.

3. Services

    • The team at Covisory C&A LP will be responsible for managing and co-ordinating your work and ensuring that it is done for you in the most relevant, cost-effective and timely manner. If you have any concerns about any aspect of our work for you, please contact [Manager] to discuss.
    • This work will be conducted in accordance with the relevant professional and ethical standards issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited (APESB), including the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code). The extent of our procedures and services will be limited exclusively for this purpose only. As a result, no audit or review will be performed and, accordingly, no assurance will be expressed.
    • Our engagement cannot be relied upon to disclose irregularities including fraud, other illegal acts and errors that may exist. However, we may, as part of our responsibilities as a Member in Public Practice, take steps and actions as set out in Section 225 of the Code, “Responding to Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations”. These include but are not limited to the following.
      • During the course of our engagement, if we identify or suspect that non-compliance with laws or regulations has occurred or may occur, which may have a direct effect on material amounts or disclosures in the financial statements or compliance with which may be fundamental to the operating aspects of your business, to your ability to continue its business or to avoid material penalty, we will discuss the matter with the appropriate level of management, those charged with governance or the internal auditor, as appropriate, to enable you to rectify, remediate or mitigate the consequences of the identified or suspected non-compliance or deter the commission of the non-compliance where it has not yet occurred.
      • We will consider whether to communicate the non-compliance or suspected noncompliance with your external auditor, unless prohibited by law or regulation.
      • We will also consider, based on materiality and/or significance of the matter, whether further action is needed in the public interest.
    • Further action may include disclosing the matter to an appropriate authority even when there is no legal or regulatory requirement to do so or withdrawing from the engagement and the professional relationship where permitted by law or regulation. Where appropriate we will inform you of our intention to disclose the matter to an appropriate authority before disclosing the matter. However, if we have reason to believe that the actual or intended conduct would constitute an imminent breach of a law or regulation that would cause substantial harm to investors, creditors, employees or the general public, we may immediately disclose the matter to an appropriate authority in order to prevent or mitigate the consequences of such imminent breach of law or regulation.
    • 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.

4. Responsibilities

    • You or your staff 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.
    • Our 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 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 seven (7) years.
    • Any information acquired by us in the course of our engagement, including any information relating to your affairs whether 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 CPA Australia 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 1993 NZ (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.

 

5. Anti-Money Laundering

    • This Act requires our firm to take steps to assess the risk of money laundering and financial terrorism with respect to the services we provide. To do this, we need to undertake due diligence with our clients before providing a service, and we also need to receive updating information from our clients at other times.
    • In order to comply with the Act (and other legislation), we will need to:
      • Obtain your contact details;
      • Sight and copy your photo identification documents (Passport or NZ Driver’s Licence);
      • Sight and copy a letter containing your residential address that is less than 3 months old and issued by a bank, government department, or utility provider; and
      • If a trust or company is involved, then we will need to receive information about beneficiaries and shareholders.
    • We are required to obtain this information from new and existing clients. If this information is unable to be provided by you, then it is likely we will be able to act for you.

 

6. Involvement of Others

    • Where, as part of our engagement, the services of an external consultant or expert are required, an estimated cost and timeframe and involvement will be provided to you for your approval.

 

7. Outsourced 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 C & A Accounting Services Limited will be required to take reasonable steps to ensure that the Privacy Act is complied with by the overseas recipients of the Personal Information.

 

8. Storage of Personal Information

    • By signing this letter and accepting these services you acknowledge and agree that your personal information may be stored overseas.

 

9. Fees

    • Our fees, which will be billed as work progresses, are based on the time required by the individuals assigned to the engagement plus direct out-of-pocket expenses.
    • Any additional fee for an additional service not covered in the scope of this engagement will be the subject of a separate engagement letter under separate fee arrangements.
    • Accounts for services provided will be forwarded to you on a monthly basis. Payment of any account is required to be made within by the 20th of the month following unless special alternative arrangements are made with us prior to the due date.