This document together with the Engagement Terms & Conditions and Accounting Service Guide and, where applicable, any subsequent written communication with you, form the Contract between EKNIK Pty Ltd (referred to as 'Company', 'EKNIK Chartered Accountants', 'We', 'Us' and 'Our') and our client (referred to as "you" or "your"). The terms defined in the Engagement Terms & Conditions have the same meaning in these Terms and Conditions. The Terms and Conditions supplement the Engagement Terms & Conditions and/or Accounting Service Guide. In the absence of Engagement Terms & Conditions and/or Accounting Service Guide, these Terms and Conditions shall provide the terms and conditions for the Services provided by EKNIK Chartered Accountants. These Terms and Conditions constitute the entire terms of the Agreement, expressed or implied (the "Agreement"), which is governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Engagement Terms & Conditions would be provided for large clients or SMSF clients, and an Accounting Service Guide is only provided for small clients. EKNIK Pty Ltd reserves the discretion to determine whether a client is classified as a large or small client.
Terms & Conditions
EKNIK PTY LTD (EKNIK Chartered Accountants)
1. PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES
EKNIK Pty Ltd will provide accounting and taxation services or any other services we have communicated to provide to you and will use all reasonable commercial efforts to provide the services in an efficient and timely manner, using the necessary skill and expertise to an appropriate professional standard.
The scope of Services performed is either listed in our Engagement Terms & Conditions or communicated to you in detail by email. Our work will be based solely on the information provided, the circumstances made known to us, and the assumptions set out in our email correspondence. Services provided do not constitute tax advice, financial advice, nor legal advice. We rely on you bringing to our attention any changes in the information as originally presented, as it may affect our advice to you. Changes in the law and in interpretations may take place before our advice is acted upon, or may be retrospective in effect. Unless specifically stated in the Engagement Terms & Conditions, we accept no responsibility to inform you of changes in the law or interpretations affecting advice previously given by us. Any advice provided by us during this assignment is only our opinion based on our understanding of the current law, administrative practice and our knowledge of your particular circumstances. Thus, any advice and any income tax return themselves will not necessarily be beyond challenge by the taxation authorities. During the course of the assignment and subsequent to it, we may give oral advice in meetings and over the telephone. After a more detailed consideration of the matters discussed, we may amend the view we expressed, but are under no obligation to inform you of this. Accordingly, if we provide any oral advice, we suggest you should seek from us written confirmation of the same.
2. INFORMATION
To perform the Services successfully, we require your timely cooperation, including:
(a) Providing EKNIK Chartered Accountants promptly with all accurate information and documents (including bank records) that we reasonably require to enable us to provide the Services.
(b) Providing access to third parties where applicable; and
(c) Ensuring that appropriate back-up, security and virus-checking procedures are in place for any computer facilities and files you provide.
(d) Ensuring that you keep all receipts and tax invoices to substantiate your expenses in accordance with ATO record-keeping requirements.
(e) Notifying us of any changes in your information, e.g. postal address, home address, email address, contact details, or change in group structure. We will not be responsible for correspondence sent to the wrong address if there has not been a notification.
You will ensure that information supplied by you or on your behalf, to the best of your knowledge and belief, is not false or misleading and does not omit material particulars. We have not audited or independently verified the accounting records or information that you have provided to us. While we do rely on all materials you have provided, we will not verify the accuracy and completeness of such documentation or information. The preparation of your income tax return or Business Activity Statement does not constitute a tax review nor tax audit and cannot be relied upon as such. The onus is on you, the taxpayer, to self-assess, and there are substantial penalties for incorrect returns. You should carefully review the income tax return or BAS to ensure that items shown are accurately stated and inform us of any amendments that are required. Where we are engaged to compile financial information in respect of general purpose or special purpose financial statements, you are responsible for the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the accounting records and disclosure to us of all material and relevant information. While we shall endeavour to identify potential issues to the best of our ability, we shall not accept responsibility for matters not reasonably identifiable from the information provided to us as part of this Engagement. In addition to the reasons outlined in the schedule to the Engagement Terms & Conditions, EKNIK Chartered Accountants collects, holds, uses and discloses your personal information for the following reasons:
- To review your ongoing needs;
- To enhance customer service and product options;
- To provide information and opportunities that we may believe are relevant to your financial needs;
- To respond to your requests or queries;
- To maintain contact with you;
- To notify you of seminars and other events;
- For administrative purposes;
- To conduct surveys and seek your feedback; and
- To meet any regulatory requirements.
3. PURPOSE, SCOPE AND OUTPUT OF THE AGREEMENT
We will provide professional services which will be conducted in accordance with the relevant professional and ethical standards issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited (APESB). 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, unless specifically detailed in the terms of Services provided. However, we will inform you of any such matters that come to our attention.
Any advice given to a client is only a general opinion based on the member's knowledge of the client's particular circumstances and is provided in good faith. By engaging our service, you agree to release EKNIK Chartered Accountants from any liability (both financial and non-financial), whether a direct or indirect result of general advice provided. If a client wishes to engage us for specific taxation advice or research, this will be charged at our standard consulting rate.
a. Compliance Services
Financial Reports & Income Tax Returns may be prepared for distribution to Directors or Trustees for the agreed purpose. There is no assumption of responsibility for any reliance on our report by any person or entity other than yourself and those parties indicated in the report, or where you expressly request in writing that we provide the financial information to a specific party. The report shall not be inferred or used for any purpose other than that for which it was specifically prepared. Accordingly, our report may include a disclaimer to this effect.
For regular compliance work, we reserve the right to undertake the work on a regular basis to meet the ATO's lodgement deadlines as soon as complete information is available, e.g. quarterly BAS or annual financial statements and tax returns. We shall conduct this service at the same fee as the previous financial year (adjusted for inflation and other reasonable costs) unless otherwise expressly provided. Should you wish to vary the scope of service provided, you must give sufficient notice to EKNIK Chartered Accountants (at least one month in advance).
For lodgement of a BAS, payment of the related invoice constitutes authorisation for the BAS to be lodged with the ATO.
For the lodgement of an income tax return, EKNIK Chartered Accountants will only rely on one person in the family group, or one of the directors of the company, who can validly exercise authority to lodge income tax returns. This would be the trustee for trust lodgements and a director for company lodgements.
EKNIK Chartered Accountants is not responsible for incorrect award classification, award rate selected by the client's employee, incorrect classification of full-time, part-time or casual employees, or the employee-versus-contractor or Personal Services Income ("PSI") distinction. We rely on the information the client provides in relation to classification for all of the above purposes.
b. Taxation Services
A taxpayer is responsible under self-assessment to keep full and proper records in order to facilitate the preparation of a correct return. Whilst the Commissioner of Taxation will generally accept claims made by a taxpayer in an income tax return and issue a notice of assessment without adjustment, the return may be subject to later review. Under taxation law, such a review may take place within a period of up to four (4) years after tax becomes due and payable under the assessment. Furthermore, where there is fraud or evasion, there is no time limit on amending the assessment. Accordingly, you should check the return before it is signed or authorised to ensure that the information in the return is accurate.
Where the application of a taxation law to your particular circumstances is uncertain, you also have the right to request a private ruling, which will set out the Commissioner's opinion about the way a taxation law applies, or would apply, to you in those circumstances. You must provide a description of all the facts (with supporting documentation) that are relevant to your scheme or circumstances in your private ruling application. If there is any material difference between the facts set out in the ruling and what you actually do, the private ruling is ineffective, as it is only effective for the facts of the case.
If you rely on a private ruling you have received, the Commissioner must administer the law in the way set out in the ruling, unless it is found to be incorrect and applying the law correctly would lead to a better outcome for you. Where you disagree with the decision in the private ruling, you can lodge an objection against the ruling. Your time limit for lodging an objection will depend on whether you have been issued an assessment for the matter (or period) covered by the private ruling.
c. Other Services
Other services may be performed in accordance with the scope of services discussed with you in advance, as detailed under the Performance of Services clause above.
Our advice will cover income tax and Goods and Services Tax. It will not cover any other taxes such as stamp duty, land tax, or payroll tax, nor advice regarding Fair Work Australia and employment law, government incentives (including COVID-19 incentives), any other government grants or incentives, threshold-level Fringe Benefits Tax calculations, matters relating to Centrelink, or any other services you have not engaged us to provide. The scope of our engagement will be limited to the performance of the services listed above unless otherwise agreed.
Standard Turnaround Time
Not-on-Spot Income Tax Return — 5 to 10 business days (depending on complexity)
Business Activity Statements — 10 business days
Annual Year-End Tax Work — 15 to 20 business days (depending on complexity)
SMSF Tax Return — 30 to 60 business days (depending on complexity; excludes auditor turnaround time)
SMSF Audit — 10 days (depending on complexity)
Entity Setup — 2 to 3 business days
This does not take into account any further queries about the information provided, which may extend the standard turnaround time depending on the type of missing information and complexity of the query.
It is the client's responsibility to send information ahead of the statutory deadline to avoid late ATO lodgement fees or other unforeseen circumstances. We expect clients to understand when ATO deadlines fall, and you are encouraged to ask us if you are unsure about your lodgement obligations.
Please allow an extra 5 business days in addition to the standard turnaround time during our peak busy season, from 15 July to 30 November and 1 April to 31 May.
Lodgement Turnaround Time
Individual Tax Return: 2–5 business days
Company or Trust Tax Return: 7 business days
SMSF Tax Return: 10 business days
We always endeavour to lodge your income tax return as soon as possible. Lodgement occurs after payment for the service has been confirmed. To make this process easier, please always include your name or invoice number on the payment reference and send the receipt to ekta@eknik.com.au.
Note that there could be a slight delay in lodgement during peak busy periods: 15 July to 31 August, 1 October to 30 November, and 1 April to 31 May.
4. CONFIDENTIALITY
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 or permitted by law, or with your express consent.
We wish to draw your attention to our firm's system of quality control, which has been established and maintained in accordance with the relevant APESB standard.
5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual property rights in all documentation, systems, materials, methodologies and processes brought to the scope of work, or created in the course of providing the Services, shall remain vested in EKNIK Chartered Accountants.
6. OUR FEE SCHEDULE AND ARRANGEMENT
How Fees Will Be Calculated
Our service is mainly built around upfront pricing, as opposed to hourly rates (unless stated otherwise), and offers you access to the accumulated intellectual capital of the firm at an agreed fixed price or price range, provided prior to work being performed on your behalf.
While the ongoing retainer entitles you to a reasonable amount of consultation with us regarding general compliance work, if your question or issue requires additional research and analysis beyond the initial consultation and general advice, that work will be subject to an additional fee, with payment terms and scope to be agreed upon before the service is performed.
Fees for the Services will be charged on the basis set out in the Engagement Terms & Conditions or in written correspondence between us. Our fees will reflect time spent and other factors such as complexity, the monetary values involved, specialist input required, and the urgency of the matter. Goods and Services Tax ("GST") at the prevailing rate will be added to, and forms part of, our fees.
Any fee estimate is given in good faith but is not contractually binding.
Payment of Invoices
EKNIK Chartered Accountants reserves the right to issue an interim invoice or progress payment for unfinished work over a period of one month. An upfront retainer invoice and progress payment may also be requested for large work (over $3,000 total value for year-end compliance work or a special project).
Your obligation to pay us fees and expenses to which we are entitled arises when we have issued an Engagement Terms & Conditions to you and/or when a fee account is issued to you. Where you have not signed the Engagement Terms & Conditions but continue to instruct us, you will be taken to have accepted the terms and conditions of the Engagement Terms & Conditions.
Payment of invoices can be made by cheque, EFT or direct debit. A debt collection cost will be payable by you where the account is not paid within the trading terms. Our terms are payment in advance or upon receipt of an invoice. We may, at our discretion, also charge a commercial rate of interest of 12% per annum on accounts (compounded monthly) that are overdue by more than a month
Clients should ensure clear identification of name and invoice number when making payments against our invoices. EKNIK Chartered Accountants will not be held responsible if we fail to identify the client and, as a result, do not lodge the BAS or income tax return due to non-payment.
Payment of Fees
EKNIK Chartered Accountants' payment terms are strictly 14 calendar days from the date of the invoice. By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions and our Fee Engagement, you agree to adhere to these payment terms.
It is EKNIK Chartered Accountants' policy that we do not generally lodge an Income Tax Return or Business Activity Statement until our invoice is paid in full. In the event of a lodgement delay due to non-payment or late payment of our invoice, we are not responsible for any losses incurred as a result of the non-lodgement.
EKNIK Chartered Accountants reserves the right to suspend all services (with or without notification) until all payments are brought up to date. If we have been taking care of your ATO correspondence, failure to pay for our services may prompt us to redirect all correspondence back to your home or business address. EKNIK Chartered Accountants holds no responsibility as a result of the above-mentioned mail redirection. In the event of default on fee payment, EKNIK Chartered Accountants may withhold part or all information from your new accountant until all outstanding invoices are paid in full.
Expenses and Disbursements
All charges are exclusive of expenses unless the Engagement Terms & Conditions states otherwise. We will charge you for out-of-pocket expenses such as reasonable travel, subsistence and document-handling costs (photocopying, printing, fax and courier, etc.) incurred by us (net of any applicable GST input tax credit to which we are entitled), plus GST as applicable. Any special expense arrangements will be agreed and set out in the Engagement Terms & Conditions.
You agree that all necessary and proper out-of-pocket expenses (known as disbursements) incurred by us on your behalf shall be paid immediately upon request, plus any GST. Disbursements may include, but are not limited to, filing fees, subscription fees (e.g. Xero or other cloud accounting software fees), search fees, freight, and postage, whether foreseen or unforeseen.
Additional Fees
If particular circumstances require us to charge extra — particularly for specific advice or tax planning, or work beyond what we consider reasonable for a complimentary phone call or meeting — this will be communicated to you.
Furthermore, the parties agree that if an unanticipated need arises (such as, but not limited to, an audit by the ATO or a State Revenue Office, or any other service not anticipated by this agreement) EKNIK Chartered Accountants agrees to perform this additional work at a mutually agreed price. This service will be priced separately and communicated to you.
Debt Collection
If EKNIK Chartered Accountants is required to refer any unpaid debt to a third-party debt collection agency, we reserve the right to on-charge to you any fees payable to that agency for collection of your outstanding fees. We also reserve the right to charge interest of 12% per annum on outstanding debts (compounded monthly).
Standard Fee
Our fixed price or price range will be communicated to you at the initial meeting and remains in place unless stated otherwise. We also reserve the right to increase our fee by up to 15% each year to account for general inflation and price increases in software, labour costs and other miscellaneous products or services required to perform our accounting and taxation services on your behalf.
Year-End Taxation Work
The above term covers both financial statements and income tax returns for all business entities, as well as the preparation of individual tax returns for everyone in the group. The minimum charge is determined on a case-by-case basis; however, the minimum is from $2,000 (which typically involves one business entity and two individuals in the group, plus one meeting per year, either face-to-face or via Zoom). This includes a reasonable consulting retainer that may be needed from time to time. The cost varies depending on the client's individual requirements and scope of service.
New Entity Setup
– Company Setup (including TFN / ABN) — from $1500
– Trust Setup (including TFN / ABN) — from $1500
– Trust Setup with Corporate Trustee (including TFN / ABN Setup) — from $200
Self-Managed Superannuation Fund ("SMSF") Work
-Preparation of SMSF Financial Statements and Income Tax Return (no property) — from $1,200
-Preparation of SMSF Financial Statements and Income Tax Return (with property) — from $1,800
-External Auditor Fee — from $330 or more, depending on complexity
Miscellaneous Work (inclusive of GST)
-Partner Consulting Rate — $550 per hour
-Manager Consulting Rate — from $300 per hour
-Standard Admin Rate — $100 per hour
-Non-Profit Organisation — from $1500 per annum
-Sole Trader ABN Application — $100 per application
-GST and PAYGW Registration — $100 per application
-Representing the company as ASIC Agent and handling all ASIC correspondence — $80 per annum
-Making changes in the ASIC system (without us being ASIC Agent) — $60 to $120 per change, depending on complexity
-Managing your ATO correspondence — $100 per annum
-Providing income verification letters or documents for finance or other purposes — from $150 to $550, depending on complexity
We reserve the right to vary our fees and will communicate any change to you promptly.
We will provide a reasonable amount of consultation, based on what we consider reasonable for the scope of work provided, but this does not include excess or unlimited consultation. We are entitled to charge a variation of 5–15% on the original fee quote, or alternatively an hourly rate, for excess queries and multiple amendments by the client that are not the fault of EKNIK Chartered Accountants. All income tax returns are subject to examination by the Australian Taxation Office ("ATO"). You may be requested to provide further materials to the ATO or other legal body in the event of an audit. In the event of an examination, this will be charged as a separate fee, for which we will provide a quote.
7. TERM AND TERMINATION
Duration of Engagement
Your engagement will apply from the commencement date stated in the Engagement Terms & Conditions.
To ensure that our arrangement remains responsive to your needs, as well as fair to both parties, we will review it throughout the year, or at least at the end of the financial year, and, if necessary, revise or adjust the scope of Services to be provided and the prices to be charged in light of mutual expectations.
Termination
Either party may terminate the provision of Services at any time, for any reason, with 14 days' written notice to the other party. Any unpaid Services outstanding at the date of termination are to be paid in full within 7 days of the date of termination.
EKNIK Chartered Accountants may terminate an agreement at any time with immediate effect, by giving written notice to you, if you:
(a) Fail to have funds available for payment via direct debit/credit card on three (3) consecutive occasions;
(b) Have an invoice outstanding for over 30 days from the date of the original invoice;
(c) Have consistently neglected your tax obligations and failed to respond to our requests for information;
(d) Breach our agreement or these terms and conditions, and fail to remedy that breach within fourteen (14) days of receiving written notice requiring you to do so; or
(e) Go into liquidation, or have an external controller, administrator, receiver, or receiver and manager appointed, or, if you are an individual, become insolvent or bankrupt, or enter into a scheme of arrangement with creditors.
Rights on Termination
Where a monthly or quarterly service agreement exists over a 12-month period and is terminated prior to the anniversary date, EKNIK Chartered Accountants reserves the right to charge a final invoice for services performed that have not yet been invoiced under the agreement. EKNIK Chartered Accountants will provide a detailed invoice, if requested, setting out such services.
Any termination of the Engagement Terms & Conditions is without prejudice to the rights of either party against the other in respect of any acts or omissions under the Engagement Terms & Conditions prior to termination, or in respect of any sums outstanding at the time of termination. For the avoidance of doubt, EKNIK Chartered Accountants reserves the right to invoice you, and you are obliged to pay, for any Services performed prior to the termination of this Contract.
8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, INDEMNITY
EKNIK Chartered Accountants will use reasonable skill and care in the provision of the Services to you as set out in the Engagement Terms & Conditions and Accounting Service Guide. The liability of EKNIK Chartered Accountants, its directors, employees, associates and contractors is limited by a scheme approved under the Professional Standards Legislation. Further information on the scheme is available from the Professional Standards Councils' website: www.professionalstandardscouncil.gov.au.
The preparation of your income tax return does not constitute a prudential tax audit and cannot be relied upon as such. The onus is on you, as a self-assessor. You should carefully review the income tax return to ensure that items shown are true and correct.
You shall indemnify and hold harmless EKNIK Chartered Accountants, its directors, employees, associates and contractors from and against any loss, expense, damage or liability (or actions asserted by any third party) resulting from any third-party claims arising out of, or in relation to, the provision of the Services or any use by you of any deliverable under this engagement, and will reimburse EKNIK Chartered Accountants for all costs and expenses (including legal fees on a solicitor-client basis) incurred in connection with any such action or claim.
In the event of late lodgement due to your failure to provide information within the standard turnaround time, or due to delay or non-payment of our invoice, EKNIK Chartered Accountants is not liable for any ATO late lodgement penalty, general interest charge, or other penalty imposed by the ATO as a result of late lodgement. In such cases, EKNIK Chartered Accountants also does not accept responsibility, financial or otherwise, for any direct or indirect result of late lodgement, e.g. missing a loan application finance date or a Centrelink family tax benefit deadline — this list is not exhaustive.
9. OWNERSHIP OF DOCUMENTS
For the purpose of these Terms and Conditions:
(a) Information means any information, whether contained in documents or other materials, provided to us by you, or by your agent, representative, officer, employee or anyone else at your request;
(b) Work means any advice or materials in any form, including documents, that we produce for the purpose of providing the Services, but excludes our Working Papers; and
(c) Working Papers means any files or working papers created by us as our record of providing the Services, in any form, whether or not incorporating the Information directly or indirectly. Our Working Papers include, but are not limited to: internal memos; file notes; reconciliations; summaries, reviews and analyses of your Information prepared by us which do not form part of the deliverables under the engagement; records of our calculations, accounting, projections and other workings; records of progress checks; progress and status reports; records of any discussions, including meeting minutes; and any other record or document ancillary to our Work.
All original documents obtained from you arising from an engagement remain your property. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable number of copies of original documents, including electronic copies, for our records. We are entitled to retain any copies of the Information you provide to us, or which forms part of the Work or Working Papers.
Our engagement will result in the production of Financial Reports and an Income Tax Return. Ownership of these documents, in respect of the provision of the Service, will vest in you. To the extent permitted by law, all other documents we produce in respect of the provision of the Service will remain our property. We have a policy of exploring a legal right of lien over any client documents in our possession in the event of a dispute. The firm has also established dispute resolution processes.
It is our practice to destroy documents belonging to us once they are more than five years old. Your acceptance of these terms includes your consent for us to destroy any documents that strictly belong to you but have been filed amongst our own papers.
Any physical document you leave with us may be archived in a storage area after 3 months. We will notify you to collect the document before it is archived. If you have not collected the physical file within 3 months of the first notification, we have the right to destroy the document and are not responsible for any losses, damages or liabilities incurred by you as a result.
EKNIK Chartered Accountants may use an electronic document management system. All documents received from clients are scanned and stored electronically. Your acceptance of these terms includes your consent for EKNIK Chartered Accountants to destroy any hard-copy documents received from you.
10. DISCLOSURE
The Taxation Administration Act 1953 contains specific provisions that may provide you with "safe harbour" protection from administrative penalties for incorrect or late lodgement of returns if, amongst other things, you give us "all relevant taxation information" in a timely manner. Accordingly, it is to your advantage that all relevant information is disclosed to us, as any failure to do so may affect your ability to rely on the "safe harbour" provisions and will be taken into account in determining the extent to which we have discharged our obligations to you.
In relation to your financial records, you will specifically be responsible for :
1. Transaction entries into your business computer records;
2. Coding all deposits and payments in accordance with the agreed Chart of Accounts;
3. Reconciling the bank accounts on a monthly basis (unless you specifically direct us to do so);
4. Maintenance and reconciliation of your business wage records;
5. Maintenance and reconciliation of your Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable listings;
6. Obtaining and retaining sufficient records to substantiate claims made for income tax deductions;
7. Retaining copies of all financial records for a period of 5 years;
8. Providing us with all financial information requested within 10 working days of our request.
11. RECORD KEEPING
All records relevant to the preparation of an income tax return must be retained by a taxpayer for a period of five years from the relevant date, and must be available for examination by the Commissioner of Taxation upon request.
Taxpayers must satisfy minimum standards of reasonable care and demonstrate "reasonably arguable positions" in relation to contentious issues in order to minimise penalty exposure. The Australian Taxation Office does not require documents to be lodged with an income tax return; however, any work papers and research papers prepared to support amounts documented in the return must be sufficiently documented.
In the case of capital gains tax (CGT), you are required to retain records not only until five years after a CGT event happens, but also for five years after any further relevant CGT event that would be relevant to determining whether you have made a capital gain or loss from the event. You will also need to keep those records to substantiate any carry-forward capital loss intended to be applied to a future capital gain.
Where you are required to maintain records and fail to do so, penalties may be imposed under taxation law.
12. COMMUNICATIONS
We will communicate with you electronically, including sending Commercial Electronic Messages (as defined in the Spam Act 2003). You consent to us sending Electronic Communications to you.
Electronically transmitted information cannot be guaranteed to be secure, virus-free, or error-free, and consequently such information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or otherwise be adversely affected or unsafe to use. We will not be liable to you in respect of any error, omission or loss of confidentiality arising from or in connection with the electronic communication of information to you.Where messages are sent by email, we will adopt the following procedures and require you to do likewise:
(a) If sending a confidential email message, the sender will indicate if a response is not wanted in electronic form. All risks connected with sending commercially sensitive business information by email are borne by you and are not our responsibility. If you do not accept this risk, you should notify us in writing that email is not an acceptable means of communication.
(b) Both parties will carry out procedures to protect the integrity of data; in particular, it is the recipient's responsibility to carry out a virus check on any attachments before opening any documents, whether received by disk or otherwise.
13. PRIVACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We will not disclose any information relating to your affairs to any third party without your consent, unless required by law or disclosed under these Terms and Conditions. You may provide us with permission to disclose your confidential information in certain circumstances, or place conditions on the disclosure of certain confidential information.
Disclosure by you of personal information to us in the course of our engagement is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 ("the Privacy Act"). Accordingly, the Services are provided on the basis that you will only disclose personal information about an individual to us:
(a) for a purpose related to the performance of the Services;
(b) provided you have made all disclosures required under the Privacy Act;
(c) provided you have obtained any consents required under the Privacy Act; and
(d) provided that doing so would not otherwise breach the Privacy Act.
As we rely on you to fulfil these obligations, you will indemnify EKNIK Chartered Accountants, its contractors and staff against any claim, loss or expense resulting from your failure to make any required disclosure, obtain any required consent, or otherwise comply with the Privacy Act.
If the performance of the Services requires a third party to supply personal information to us at your request, it is your obligation to ensure that the third party complies with the points above, and you will indemnify us against any claim, loss or expense resulting from that party's failure to do so, or to otherwise comply with the Privacy Act.
14. NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE
Marketing or Referral Fee
From time to time we may receive a marketing/referral fee from third parties in relation to work referred to them by our office. If a third party has referred you to us, we may pay that person or organisation a marketing/referral fee.
From time to time we may receive a marketing fee from third parties in relation to work we refer to them. Those external parties have an obligation to notify you of this if you are not a sophisticated investor; alternatively, we are able to provide the details to you upon request.
Previous Accountant (if applicable)
As a matter of professionalism, we will inform your previous accountant that we have been engaged as your new accountant, and request from them any outstanding matters and files. You may decline to authorise this, but doing so may cause delays in the efficient transfer of your files.
In some cases, the previous accountant may decline to cooperate, or may not respond to our request for the necessary information to smooth the transition. By engaging us as your new accountant, you agree to release EKNIK Chartered Accountants from any liability, financial or non-financial, arising directly or indirectly from a lack of cooperation from your previous accountant.
15. GUARANTEE
Where you are a corporate entity, each director who executes the Engagement Terms & Conditions shall also be a guarantor (the "Guarantor") and, if more than one, shall jointly and severally guarantee your performance of your obligations under the Engagement Terms & Conditions to EKNIK Chartered Accountants.
Each Guarantor gives a guarantee and indemnity in favour of EKNIK Chartered Accountants in consideration of you agreeing to enter into the Engagement Terms & Conditions.
Each of the Guarantors acknowledges receipt of valuable consideration from EKNIK Chartered Accountants for incurring obligations and giving rights under this guarantee and indemnity.
Each Guarantor unconditionally and irrevocably guarantees to EKNIK Chartered Accountants the due and punctual performance and observance by you of your obligations (including obligations to pay money) pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Engagement Terms & Conditions. As a separate undertaking, the Guarantors unconditionally and irrevocably indemnify EKNIK Chartered Accountants against all liability or loss arising from, and any costs, charges or expenses incurred in connection with (including any loss resulting from a breach of the obligation to pay money), your breach of the Engagement Terms & Conditions.
16. CLIENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION
EKNIK Chartered Accountants prides itself on delivering excellent customer service, and we have an established system in place for handling client disputes and complaints.
If you are not satisfied with the services provided by our staff, please contact Ekta on 0451 736 172 or ekta@eknik.com.au, and we will endeavour to resolve the matter to your satisfaction.
17. DISCLAIMER
Please note that we do not give any financial product recommendations or financial advice, and this includes any product or service recommendation made by a referral partner. You are strongly encouraged to seek independent advice (financial and legal) and consider your own circumstances before deciding to use the services of any referral partner.
General and SMSF Investment — Disclaimer
We are strictly a "no financial advice" firm, and we may recommend an independent financial planning firm to our clients. Alternatively, you could engage your own financial planner. Any recommended financial planner is an independent firm, separate from us, and you are responsible for assessing their suitability and expertise for your needs, and for paying their fees directly.
We do not provide any investment or product recommendation advice in relation to SMSF investment or personal investment. You are strongly encouraged to engage your own financial adviser and obtain a Statement of Advice (SOA) and Investment Strategy from them.
Ongoing Application of these Terms of Service
You acknowledge and agree that these Terms of Service apply to all work performed by us on your behalf, unless otherwise mutually agreed in writing.
Should you not sign these Terms, but nonetheless continue to instruct us to act on your behalf, you will be deemed to have accepted these Terms as applying to that work.
18. GENERAL
Entire Agreement
This Agreement, comprising the Engagement Terms & Conditions or Accounting Service Guide, forms the entire agreement between us relating to the Services. It replaces and supersedes any previous proposals, correspondence, understandings or other communications, whether written or oral.
Engagement Terms & Conditions or Accounting Service Guide to Take Precedence
In the event of any conflict between these Terms and Conditions and the Engagement Terms & Conditions or Accounting Service Guide, the Engagement Terms & Conditions will take precedence.
Assignment
Neither party may, nor has the power to, assign or otherwise deal with its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party, except that EKNIK Chartered Accountants may, without consent, assign or novate this Contract to a successor of the business of EKNIK Chartered Accountants to which this Contract relates.
Auditor Independence
Should circumstances change such that we are no longer permitted to provide a service to you because of auditor independence rules or legislation, we reserve the right to vary our Engagement Terms & Conditions, with your agreement, so that neither party is in breach of such rules or legislation, or to terminate the relevant services. Where an engagement is terminated for these reasons, you will pay for all services provided up to the date of termination.
Notices to Produce Documents
If we receive any legally enforceable notice or demand issued by a third party — including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Securities Exchange, any government statutory body or instrumentality, or any court or tribunal — in relation to or in connection with the Services, you agree to pay our reasonable professional costs and expenses (including solicitor-client expenses) in complying with or challenging any such notice or demand, to the extent that our costs and expenses are not recovered or recoverable from the party issuing the notice or demand.
19. CONFIRMATION OF TERMS
By engaging our services, you agree to the Terms and Conditions contained herein and the scope of services discussed with you (with or without an Engagement Terms & Conditions or Accounting Service Guide).
