“Client” or “you” means the entity, acquiring goods or services from Pacific accounting “Services” means the scope of the services specified in your Proposal, Engagement Letter, or as varied in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
Pacific Accounting 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 your 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.
Your engagement starts on your proposal commencement date and is valid until it’s terminated or superseded by a newer engagement. We will not deal with earlier periods unless you specifically ask us to do so, and we agree.
Pacific Accounting will always stand behind the quality and professional nature of the services that we offer. If at any point you are not satisfied with the services we have performed, we encourage you to bring this to our attention immediately. We welcome the opportunity to address your concerns and allow us to prevent similar problems from happening in the future.
Our advice and information are 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 the engagement shall remain the property of the client. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable number of copies of the original documents for our records.
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 and 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.
You agree that we are entitled to rely on the accuracy and completeness of any information you provide us under your agreement to provide our services to you. Pacific Accounting 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 all such liability.
You agree to pay Pacific Accounting the Fees in accordance with the Billing Schedule set out in your agreement.
You warrant that you have not relied on any representations or warranties made by Pacific Accounting in respect of the Services which have not been expressly set out in this agreement.
We may involve third party contractors or outsourced service providers in providing various aspects of your accounting work. These services may include:
Acceptance of our services in conjunction with your engagement document indicates your acceptance of the use of outsourced services as described above. Where the outsourced service requires the disclosure of personal information to an overseas recipient, a consequence of your consent is that Pacific Accounting will be required to take reasonable steps to ensure that Australian Privacy Principles are complied with by the overseas recipients of the Personal Information.
Pacific Accounting has taken all available measures to ensure the security and privacy of your data is protected and follows the notifiable data breaches scheme as outlined in the Privacy Act 1988.
In preparing Financial Statements, we do not undertake an audit of the transactions comprising such accounts. We will process the financial information as presented to us with a view to submitting the completed financial statements for the use of Shareholders and Directors only and to prepare the Annual Tax Returns for relevant entities.
We will endeavour to ensure minimal errors through good practices, systems, and checks. Should a material error occur; we will attempt to rectify this as soon as we become aware of the error and will also alert you. You indemnify us against further action relating to the error.
You agree that none of our Directors or staff shall be personally liable in respect to their obligations or any liabilities under this agreement. Pacific Accounting personnel shall be released from all and any liability that may arise.
From time to time, it may be necessary to update or change our Business Terms and Conditions. Any changes that significantly affect our service or fees will be brought to your attention.
Subject to any statutory provisions that apply to the Services, and unless otherwise outlined in this Terms document, either party may terminate the engagement at any time by giving 28 days written notice to the other. Either party may terminate the engagement immediately if the other commits any material or persistent breach of its obligations under the 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 with 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 the engagement is without prejudice to any rights that may have accrued before termination. The Terms and Conditions of the agreement which expressly or by implication are intended to survive its termination or expiry will survive and continue to bind the parties.
Lien – Where there is a termination by either party of this arrangement, you agree that we are entitled to retain all documents and software we are in possession of, including refund cheques, until payment is made of any outstanding fees payable on any account you have with us.
The Client agrees not to directly or indirectly solicit, engage, or employ any current or former employees, contractors, or other personnel of Pacific Accounting without the prior written consent by our director. This restriction shall apply during the term of this engagement and for a period of 12 months following the termination or conclusion of this engagement.
In the event of a breach of this clause, the Client agrees to pay Pacific Accounting a fee equivalent to 100% of the annualised amount that would have charged for the services of the employee, contractor, or other personnel concerned. This fee is agreed to as a reasonable estimate of the damages and costs that we would incur as a result of such breach, and not as a penalty.
This clause is intended to protect our legitimate business interests, including but not limited to the investment made in the recruitment, training, and retention of its personnel.
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 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, messaging platforms 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. We and you each recognise these hazards and so each of us will be responsible for protecting our own systems and interests and 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.
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, 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.
All fees are payable within 7 days from the invoice date.
We reserve the right to suspend our services or to withdraw from this engagement if any of our invoices are deemed delinquent. If action is required to collect unpaid balances due to us, you agree to reimburse us for our costs of collection, including lawyers’ fees.
Any set-fee billing will be reviewed periodically with regards to the amount of time spent on your file. Should the amount of work undertaken be significantly different from our expectations, we will discuss different ways of working and/or a revised pricing schedule with you.
All software licensing fees are payable by the client. If the license is held by Pacific Accounting, the fee will be invoiced to the client at RRP. All fees are billed in advance and payable within 7-days.
If a fee estimate is provided, it is given in good faith but is not contractually binding.
The above work is undertaken Monday to Friday (excluding NSW public holidays), during business hours. If the client requests work to be carried out outside of these hours additional fees may be charged. We are available on e-mail, video call or telephone to discuss any matter or process any urgent request which you may have.
We will charge you for any additional costs or disbursements we incur in relation to your matter, including such items as travel costs, software, stationery, couriers and ASIC charges.
All quoted fees are subjected to CPI increase determined at the anniversary of the engagement each year.
Late payment may result in additional fees and/or interest of 10% p/a being charged.
Only the services which are listed in your engagement schedule are included within the scope of our instructions. If there is additional work that you wish us to carry out which is not listed in the schedule or the below List Price, a quote will be supplied to you before the commencement of said additional work. This quote may take the form of either a fixed price or a number of hours to be billed at our list price of hourly rates.
Once the scope of the additional work is agreed upon, we may issue an additional or updated letter of engagement via our online proposal system and ask you to sign the new agreement before we commence the new work. If we choose not to issue an additional or updated letter of engagement, you agree that your verbal or emailed acceptance of our proposal will be sufficient to proceed with Unanticipated Services requested.
You agree that if an unanticipated need arises (such as an audit, an amended tax return or a personal financial statement required as part of a loan agreement), this additional work will be performed at additional cost.
Additional charges for Unanticipated Services that are not quoted as a fixed-price task, will be billed as per our current List Price of charges set out below. NB Prices are excluding GST and are for basic or non-complicated services.
If you ask us to provide services to another entity, you agree that these engagement terms will also apply to that other entity.
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 the Privacy Act.
Tax & accounting services 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 will be limited exclusively for this purpose. 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 will inform you of any such matters that come to our attention.
For the provision of tax return preparation services, a taxpayer is responsible under self-assessment to keep full and proper records to facilitate the preparation of a correct return. Whilst the Commissioner of Taxation will accept claims made by a taxpayer in an income tax return and issue a notice of assessment, usually without adjustment, the return may be subject to later review. Under the 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 to ensure that the information in the return is accurate.
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 your 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.
Our advice and/or services will be based on Australian taxation law in force at the date of the provision of the advice and/or services. It is your responsibility to seek updated advice if you intend to rely on our advice at a later stage. We note that Australian taxation laws are often subject to frequent change and our advice will not be updated unless specifically requested by you at the time of the change in law or announced change in law.
You understand that you are required by Australian Taxation Law to keep full and accurate records for a 7-year period relating to your tax affairs.
The failure, delay, or omission by a party to exercise any power or right conferred upon it by this agreement will not operate as a waiver of such power or right, nor will any single exercise of any such power or right preclude any other future exercise of the power, or the exercise of any other power or right under this agreement.
This agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties in respect of the matters dealt with in this agreement and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, undertakings, and negotiations in respect of the matters dealt with in this agreement.
This agreement is governed by and is to be construed and take effect in accordance with, the laws of New South Wales. Each party irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales.
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Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation
