Fees

Fees are payable in monthly instalments by standing order, or on completion of work as agreed. All fees must be paid for submission to Companies house and HMRC where applicable. If you require any additional services to the ones stated in the “Nature of Services”, there will be an additional charge prior to carrying out to the work.

Term and termination of contract

The contract will be for a period of 12 months unless it states otherwise. If you wish to terminate the contract early, then 30 days’ notice is required. It may be possible to reduce the annual cost, if the contract is severed early, in line with a reviewed level of services required but to ensure that our costs are covered.

Anti-Money Laundering Legislation

All accountants must comply with onerous duties imposed by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (the “Anti Money Laundering Legislation”), which are intended to inhibit the activities of terrorists and other criminals by denying them access to technical expertise. If we fail to perform these duties, we risk imprisonment..

Letter of Engagement

Before we accept your instructions, we need to confirm your identity, usually in the form of photo I.D. and address verification. In certain circumstances, we may need to obtain evidence confirming the identities of third parties, the source of any funds or other property, the purpose of any instructions or any other matter. We may also need to obtain such evidence after we have begun to act on your instructions.

We assume that our clients are honest and law abiding. However, if at any time, there appears to be grounds to suspect (even if we do not actually suspect) that your instructions relate to ‘criminal property’, we are obliged to make a report to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (“SOCA”), but we are prohibited from telling you that we have done so.

In such circumstances, we must not act on your instructions without consent from SOCA. If SOCA do not refuse consent within 7 working days, we may continue to act. If SOCA issue a refusal within that time, we must not act for a further 31 days from the date of the refusal. ‘Criminal property’ is property in any legal form, whether money, real property, rights or any benefit derived from criminal activity. It does not matter who carried out the criminal activity or how removed the property is from the original crime. Even if you are honest in your dealings, if your property represents a benefit from someone else’s crime, we must still make a report. Activity is considered ‘criminal’ if it is a crime under UK law, no matter how trivial. For example, tax evasion is a criminal offence, but an honest mistake is not. We will assume that all discrepancies are mistakes unless there is contrary evidence.

Your responsibilities

You are legally responsible for making correct returns by the due date and for payment of tax on time. Failure to meet deadlines may result in automatic penalties, surcharges and/or interest.

To enable us to carry out work you agree:

a) That all returns are made on the basis of full disclosure of all sources of income, charges, allowances and capital transactions.

b) To provide full information in a timely fashion necessary for dealing with your affairs; we will rely on the information and documentation being true, correct and complete and we will not audit the information or those documents.

c) To forward any copies of HMRC correspondence when received.

d) To keep us informed of any significant changes which may affect your tax position.

Payment terms

Our terms relating to payment of amounts invoiced and not covered by standing orders, where appropriate, are strictly 14 days. We reserve the right to charge interest on all overdue debts at the rate stated on the invoice, which is currently 8% per annum or, at the rate for the time being applicable under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, whichever is the higher.

Ownership of Records

In the event of non-payment of our fees for services rendered, we may exercise a particular ‘right of lien’ over the books and records in our possession and withhold the documents until such time as payment of our invoice is received in full.

GDPR

We hold only the personal data that we need in order to provide you with the services you require and to enable us to assist you to meet your legal obligations.

We do not pass your details on to any third party, unless:

you specifically ask us to do so

there is a legal obligation for us to do so

to gather information to enable us to carry out our obligations on your behalf

We keep personal data for a period of up to 2 years from the date that you cease to be a client or longer where there is a legal obligation to do so.

Company data

Whilst certain documents may legally belong to you, unless you tell us not to, we intend to destroy correspondence and other papers that we store on your behalf that are more than 7 years old, other than documents which we think may be of continuing significance. If you require the retention of any document, you must notify us of that fact in writing.

Ethical Guidelines

We will observe the ethical guidelines of our profession and accept instructions to act for you on the basis that we will act in accordance with those guidelines. A copy of these guidelines will be supplied to you on request.

Professional Status

We are a member of and regulated/licensed by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and governed by their code of professional ethics, details of this can be made available by request. We have PII with cover and again details can be made available by request.

Customer Service

We are committed to providing a high standard of customer service. If you have any ideas as to how our service to you could be improved, or if you are dissatisfied with the service you receive, please let us know. In the event that you have a complaint, we will look into this carefully and promptly and do all we can to explain the position to you or address your concerns.

Applicable Law

This Letter of Engagement is governed by, and construed in accordance with, English law. The Courts of England will have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference concerning this engagement letter and any matter arising from it. Each party irrevocably waives any right it may have to object to any action being brought in those courts, to claim that the action has been brought in an inappropriate forum, or to claim that those courts do not have jurisdiction.

Disclaimer

We will not be liable for any loss suffered by you or any third party as a result of our compliance with the Anti Money Laundering Legislation or any UK law or at all.

Agreement of Terms

Once agreed, this Letter of Engagement will remain effective from the date of signature until it is replaced. Either party may vary or terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time without penalty. Notice of termination must be given in writing.

Kanopi Accounting Services Ltd would ask you to please confirm your agreement to the terms set out in this letter by signing and returning the enclosed copy. If anything is unclear to you or you require any further information, please let us know.

We are also required to write to your previous accountants (if applicable) to allow us to act as your representative out of professional courtesy. A copy of the letter we will send is available to you by request. By signing this agreement, you have confirmed that we have your authority to gather the necessary information we require before undertaking your accountancy services.