We all have a job to do 

It goes without saying, but both We and You have a job to do. 

We agree to: 

• Follow the rules and guidelines, including the Code of Ethics and Professional Engagement Standards of CAANZ. 
• Maintain the confidentiality of your information, subject to and with the exception of where we’re required or requested to make certain disclosures legal requirements such as under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009; requests for information from other service providers that you have engaged; peer reviews as required by CAANZ; practice reviews conducted by CAANZ; or where we’re required to pass information onto public authorities under the non-compliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR) standard. 
• Take instruction from you or others who by reason of their role or normal practice can be regarded as acting with your authority, for example your spouse, directors, trustees, CFO or manager, unless advised otherwise. 
• Advise you of any potential conflict of interest we identify and work with you to determine a solution. This may involve you or another party needing to seek independent advice. Acting for others in your industry is not normally a conflict of interest. 
• In the sad event you move on we will handover electronic copies of your records. This may be delayed where there are outstanding fees. We maintain ownership of all workpapers, checklists and other records created by us while working with you. 
• Uphold your rights under the Privacy Act 1993. We may collect personal information about you and those associated with you as part of our services. You have the right to access and correct that personal information. We may use the information to send you communications or offer services which we consider may benefit you.

You agree to: 

• Reimburse us for expenses incurred on your behalf such as Companies Office charges or your Xero subscription. 
• Acknowledge that advice or opinions we provide are not binding on the Inland Revenue Department or other regulatory bodies. 
• Rely only on our finalised advice, not on verbal, draft or interim advice or reports. 
• Maintain tax non-disclosure rights by not providing Inland Revenue or third parties copies of our advice without first obtaining professional assistance. 
• Be responsible for the safety of our people and indemnify us for any costs we incur in relation to health and safety and accident compensation legislation resulting from events that occur on your premises. 
• Read and understand the work we present you with, and if you don’t understand it you agree to let us know
• Respond to any requests we make of you in a reasonable period of time (a maximum of 3 days) you accept that we won’t continually chase you in relation to our requests, and acknowledge that the quality of our work may be reduced by delays in us receiving information from you. 
• Indemnify us for all losses, including costs we incur and our time at our normal rates, arising from any breach by you of these Terms.
• Meet all Companies Act 1993 and Financial Reporting Act 2013 obligations, including Company Registries and Minutes/Resolutions, and accept that we undertake all work in a professional capacity and are not acting as a director, deemed or otherwise, under the Companies Act 1993. 
• Provide us with all identification, records, and explanations as required under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.
• Store all financial records in New Zealand as required by the Tax Administration Act 1994. 
• Authorise us to file tax returns for all tax types with the Inland Revenue Department on your behalf, and indemnify us for any loss suffered as a result of us filing that tax return. 
• Provide complete and accurate information in a timely fashion and to accept responsibility for all records and information supplied to us, and for any failure to supply us with all relevant records and information. You also accept that the quality of our work is determined by the accuracy and completeness of information you provide. 
• Maintain all supporting documentation required by tax and other laws, including bank statements, receipts, tax invoices, cashbooks, payroll records, workpapers and investment documentation. 
• Meet all tax obligations including taking “reasonable care” in interpreting tax laws, in keeping required records, ensuring tax returns are true and correct, filing your tax returns on time and meeting your tax payment obligations. A breach of these obligations may result in Inland Revenue imposing interest and/or penalties. 
• Accept responsibility, review and approve for reasonableness and correctness all financial information prepared by us, including tax returns, annual financial statements, tax returns, management reports, budgets and projections, and understand the risks of signing all documents. 
• Listen to any advice we offer, and we acknowledge your right to reject that advice. 
• Accept that we work to a materiality threshold, meaning we’re aiming to get everything sufficiently correct so not to put you at risk of IRD audit and help you make informed business decisions, rather than making sure everything is 100% correct 100% of the time. 
• Ensure that all tax payments are made on time, and while we will endeavour to remind you of all payment dates and amounts, you are ultimately responsible for meeting all your tax payment obligations. 

To clear up any doubt, we will not: 

• Be liable for losses resulting from computing services provided by third parties, including cloud accounting (e.g. MYOB and Xero), online computing (e.g. Microsoft, Dropbox, Evernote, Inland Revenue, Companies Office, ACC, online banking) and from viruses and similar. 
• Accept any responsibility for inaccurate or incomplete accounting or other records or for maintaining adequate internal control systems or appropriate accounting policies within your organisation. 
• Carry out specific procedures to detect internal control weaknesses, errors, illegal acts or fraud, nor audit, review or otherwise attempt to verify the accuracy or completeness of financial statements or information you provide to us.

Authority to ensure compliance with the Privacy Act 1993

To comply with the Privacy Act 1993, you authorise us:

1. To contact your bank, and any other third party where necessary, to obtain further information not supplied by you whilst carrying out the engagement.
2. To act as your agent with the Inland Revenue Department on your behalf in connection with all tax types except child support.  To link yourselves (and associated entities listed in this letter) to our tax agency list and obtain information from IRD through all channels, including electronic ones.  You must inform us in writing to request any tax type delinking.

Limitation of Liability

At all times, we will use reasonable skill and care in providing our services to you.  However, our liability to you for any loss or damage or expenses suffered or incurred directly by you as a direct result of any act or omission by us in providing our services, shall be limited to a maximum amount equal to the fee (excluding GST and disbursements) paid to us by you in respect of the services in question.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless this firm, its director and employees from and against any and all costs, expenses, losses, claims, demands, actions or any other proceedings whatsoever incurred by us in respect of any claim by a third party arising out of, or in any way related, to any breach arising out of, or in connection with, this engagement.

Our Fees

Our fees of the engagement are due and payable by the 20th of the month following the date of the invoice unless otherwise noted. We reserve the right to charge interest at a rate of 1.5% monthly on accounts remaining unpaid 30 days after the account is issued.

If you are on a monthly fee arrangement, these reflect the on-going nature of accounting and tax service provision, and are not refundable if the engagement is terminated part-way through a financial year.