Annual Accounting and Taxation Services - Terms of Engagement

Welcome to Accountants Hawkes Bay Limited. We thank you for your instructions to act on your behalf and following our discussions with you, we have set out our terms of engagement and our understanding of what is required by us.

Accountants Hawkes Bay Limited will be responsible for:

·   Compilation of annual financial statements for        prepared in accordance with Service Engagement Standard No.2 (SES-2) issued by the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).

·   The financial statements will be prepared in accordance with the Income Tax Administration Act, the Companies Act and this will be disclosed as part of the financial information. Any known departures from

    CAANZ will be disclosed within the financial statements and referred to in our compilation report.

·   Taxation Returns of Income for:

    Name and IRD Number

·   To send out tax payment notices, check tax assessments and respond to Inland Revenue Department queries.

·   To keep taxation files for the statutory period (currently 7 years).

·   To prepare Department of Statistics returns as required.

·   To prepare GST returns (if required) on a two monthly basis.

·   Provide assistance with the preparation of GST, FBT and Wage reconciliation and other taxation matters when requested to do so.

·   To prepare Company Annual returns and maintain Company Statutory Records.

·   Provide such other accounting, taxation, business and computer advice as necessary. We may send out amended engagement letters as required.

·   We will exercise all due care and skill in preparing the financial statements and return of income, based upon information provided by you.

You will be responsible for:

·   To provide accurate and complete records and information requested by us in order to attend to your affairs in a timely manner.

·   We send out a checklist to help you collate the information we require and will contact you for any further information or explanations required.

·   To prepare Company annual returns and maintain Company statutory records.

·   Advise us of any changes in your personal details – address, marital status etc

·   You will attach any disclaimers when duplicating any financial statements or other documents to third parties.

·   By law, ultimate responsibility for any penalties or interest arising from any error in your return of income or financial statements (or failure to pay tax when it is due) will rest with you. It is important that          you carefully review the financial statements and return of income.

·   PLEASE NOTE:  Please ensure that if you have a husband and wife involved in the entity or a partnership, that both sign; if a Company, that all Shareholders sign, if a Trust that all Trustees sign. All adults          should be signing.

·   Notify us of any changes to Trustees and/or Directors.

Information and Disclosure

The conduct of this engagement is in accordance with the professional standards, rules and ethical requirements of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ). Information we obtain in the course of this engagement is subject to confidentiality requirements, in addition to our obligations under the Privacy Act 1993. We will not disclose that information to other parties, without your express consent, except as required by law or professional obligations.

However, as members of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, we are subject to and bound by the disciplinary procedures and rules of the Institute under which compliance with professional standards by members is monitored. These procedures and rules require us to disclose to the Institute, its reviewers and/or its disciplinary bodies our files and workpapers including client information.

By allowing us to undertake this engagement (whether or not you sign this letter), you acknowledge that, if requested, our files relating to this engagement will be made available to the Institute, its reviewers and/or its disciplinary bodies. We assure you that the same ethical standards regarding confidentiality that we adhere to apply equally to the Institute’s reviewers.

Inland Revenue Department Authorisation

As an individual you authorise Accountants Hawkes Bay Limited to act on behalf of the individuals listed for all tax types (except Child Support) until further notice.

As Directors of the Company we give authority to Accountants Hawkes Bay Limited to act on behalf of non individuals as listed for all tax types.

As Trustees we authorise Accountants Hawkes Bay Limited to act on behalf of the Trust listed for all tax types.

This includes obtaining information through all Inland Revenue media and communication channels.

Accident Compensation Corporation Authorisation

You authorise Accountants Hawkes Bay Limited to act as your Agent for ACC levy purposes for all of your listed entities. This allows us to query and change information on your ACC levy accounts, and when required support any ACC claims applications and access claims compensation information.

Anti-Money Laundering and Foreign Account Tax Compliance

Compliance: We must comply with all laws binding on us in all applicable jurisdictions, including (but not limited (but not limited to):

(a)         The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act); and

(b)         The United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the intergovernmental agreement between the United States and New Zealand relating to it, and relevant provisions of the Tax                            Administration Act 1994 (together referred to as FATCA).

Due Diligence and Assistance: Where required by the AML/CFT Act, FATCA or any other law binding on us (in any applicable jurisdiction):

(a)         We will perform Client due diligence and account monitoring, keep records, and report any unusual or suspicious transactions; and we may be required to assist any bank or other entity with whom                we transact as your agent, or with whom we deposit money on trust for you, to comply with that entity’s legal obligations in any jurisdiction, and we may require you to promptly provide information              and documents for these purposes from time to time. These may relate to you, any other relevant person (for example, any beneficial owner), the source of funds, the transaction, the ownership                  structure, tax identification details and any other relevant matter. We may retain the information and documents, provide them to a bank or other entity (where applicable) to deal with in                        accordance with their terms and disclose them to any law enforcement or regulatory agency or court as required by law.

Non-compliance with Laws and Regulations (NOCLAR)

During the performance of our work under this engagement, we may detect conduct or a transaction that is considered to constitute NOCLAR, which has a material effect on any documents or information that might be required to be provided to a regulatory authority (RA), such as the IRD.

If we detect any NOCLAR, we may have an ethical requirement to make a disclosure to a RA. We will follow a formal process which will include advising you of our concerns, and if necessary, seeking legal advice. If we do seek legal advice we reserve the right to ask you to pay or reimburse us for our reasonable costs. 

If we are required to make a disclosure to a RA, you agree to forever release us from any claim for costs or losses you incur in responding to or dealing with anything that arises from our disclosure.

Fees and Charges

You agree to pay the specified fee in our Agreement for Services. If a fixed fee is not specified in the Agreement or additional services are required for which a fixed fee has not been agreed then fees for our services are based on actual time expended and at the standard hourly rates for the staff performing those services. The factors taken into account when determining those fees which we charge are:

1.          Time and labour expended.

2.          The skills, specialised knowledge and responsibility required to properly perform the services.

3.          The importance of the work to you and the results achieved.

4.          The urgency and circumstances in which the work is undertaken and any imposed time limitations, including those imposed by you.

5.          The complexity and/or novelty of the work.

6.          The experience, reputation and ability of personnel carrying out the work.

7.          The reasonable costs of running the firm.

8.          The fee customarily charged in the market and locality for similar accounting services.

Accounts

All invoices are payable 10 days after the date of invoice, only exception:

Please note annual accounting will be billed at 60% on commencement of work and must be paid prior to any work being undertaken.

If an account is not paid within 30 days, interest will be charged on the outstanding balance at the rate of 1.5% per month from the date upon which payment is due and you will be responsible for any reasonable debt collection costs that we incur in recovering the outstanding amounts due to us.

If your account remains outstanding after 60 days, no further work will be undertaken by any staff member of Accountants Hawkes Bay until appropriate arrangements are made to bring the account back into good standing. You will be informed in writing that work has ceased.

If you are a corporate Client and the Directors of the Company you will personally guarantee the performance of your obligations under these terms.

Accountants Hawkes Bay reserve the right and with your authority to credit check Client businesses and Directors alike.

You should be aware that like all other providers of services we are entitled to retain possession of your records that have been used in relation to this engagement until outstanding fees are settled. Material that you provide to us remains yours and will be returned to you when the engagement is completed and fees paid. Work papers that we create remain our property.

Payments

Methods of payment provided to our Clients will include:

Eftpos (taking major credit and debit cards), direct debit facilities, SmartAR loans, set monthly subscriptions and internet banking.

  Monthly subscriptions for software, i.e. Xero, MYOB and BankLink will be paid by DD.

Office Hours

Our general office hours are 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday. 

Audit

You do not require us to carry out an audit of your records or business affairs. As we will be unable to express an independent professional opinion, we will include a clear “Disclaimer of Liability”.

Client Satisfaction

Achieving client satisfaction is a major priority at Accountants Hawkes Bay Limited. Feedback is taken very seriously and considered to be extremely important in our pursuit of delivering excellent accounting, taxation and other business services. If you are not completely satisfied with any aspect of our work please contact the responsible Manager.

General

Any arrangements agreed to in our Terms of Engagement will continue except where we otherwise agree with you.

Paperless Office

Accountants Hawkes Bay is moving towards a paperless office so we will be using email communications as a primary method of keeping in touch with you.

Please advise us directly if you wish to continue using the written form. We will make arrangements so that you do not notice any change in the service we provide.

Our Commitment to You

·     We are committed to doing our best to ensure that your accounting needs are met in this matter.

·     Protect and promote your interests and act for you free from compromising influences or loyalties.

·     Discuss with you your objectives and how they should best be achieved.

·     Act competently, in a timely manner and in accordance with instructions received.

·     Provide you with information about the work to be done, who will do it and the way the services will be provided.

·     Protect your privacy and ensure appropriate confidentiality.

·     Treat you fairly, respectfully and without discrimination.

·     Give you clear, informative advice.

·     Keep you informed about the work being done and advise you when you will be billed.

·     Let you know how to make a complaint and deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.

Agreement

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns relating to any matters outlined in this letter and the new ‘Terms of Engagement’. We do value our relationship with you and encourage you to talk to us with any queries you may have. 

We look forward to working with you and shall always use our best efforts on your behalf.