Last revised: January 8, 2020
Your privacy and trust is important to us. We collect personal information from our customers in the regular course of business. This Privacy Policy explains how Accord Professional Corporation, CPA collects, uses, and protects your personal information in connection with our website, our client portal, and the provision of our services.
This Privacy Policy is designed to meet the standards prescribed by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”), the Personal Information Protection Act of Alberta, and the confidentiality rules governed by the CPA Alberta Rules of Professional Conduct.
From time to time we may make changes to this Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy is current as of the “last revised” date that appears above.
Who we are
Our website address is: https://www.accordcpa.com.
All comments, questions, concerns, or complaints regarding your Personal Information or our Privacy Policy and practices, should be forwarded to our Chief Privacy Officer as follows:
Cyndy Packard Osode, CPA, CA, CPA (TX, USA), CGMA
Accord Professional Corporation, CPA
#115, 1925 18 Avenue NE
Calgary, Alberta, T2E 7T8
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (403) 776-7438
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
We try to limit the amount of personal information we collect from you to only what is reasonable, relevant, and really need to complete the provision of the services you have engaged us to provide.
We will ensure that your Personal Information is kept as accurate, complete and up-to-date as possible. We will not routinely update your Personal Information, unless such a process is necessary (for example, obtaining basic Personal Information each tax season). However, we expect you, from time to time, to supply us with written updates to your Personal Information, when required.
Personal information
In the course of providing our services, we collect personal information that is identifiable with you. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Name
- Mailing address
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Social Insurance Number / Social Security Number / Business Numbers
- Date of birth / Age
- Gender
- Marital status
- Household income
- Other personal information pertaining to tax preparation, such as health information
- Investment and/or banking information
- Payment card information, including numbers, expiry dates, and CVV
- Internet Protocol (“IP”) address
Cookies
Cookies are small text files placed on your hard drive that assist us in providing a more customized website experience. For example, a cookie can be used to store registration information so that a user does not need to re-enter it on subsequent visits to that area. It is Accord Professional Corporation, CPA’s policy to use cookies to make navigation of our websites easier for visitors and to facilitate efficient registration procedures.
If you are concerned about cookies, most browsers permit individuals to decline cookies. In most cases, a visitor may refuse a cookie and still fully navigate our website and/or the client portal.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Log Files and Analytics
In order to properly manage our website and client portal, we may anonymously log information on our operational systems, and identify categories of visitors by items such as domains and browser types. These statistics are reported in the aggregate to our webmasters and are generally non-identifiable.
To gather visitor statistics and manage cookies, we use electronic images called a “single-pixel GIF” or “web beacon”. These images allow our third-party tracking tools such as Google Analytics to gather information such as the IP address of your computer, the time the material was viewed, and the type of Internet browser used to access the page. This information is tracked on the third party tracking tools’ servers and reported in aggregate to our webmasters. If you are concerned about the use of web beacons you can turn off your browsers’ cookies. This action will prevent the tracking of your specific activity; however, a visit from your IP address may still be recorded.
How do we collect your Personal Information?
We will always collect your Personal Information by fair and lawful means. For example, we would collect your information when you engage us to provide services, use our client portal, use our website, or speak with an Accord Professional Corporation, CPA staff member or representative. We collect Personal Information directly from you, or indirectly from third party sources (for example, the Canada Revenue Agency) as otherwise permitted by applicable law.
From time to time, you may voluntarily provide Accord Professional Corporation, CPA with unsolicited Personal information (for example, by providing information through our website, our client portal, or through receipts). If you do wish to provide such information for any reason, you consent to Accord Professional Corporation, CPA to use that information in the ways described in this Privacy Policy or as described at the point where you choose to disclose the information. When providing unsolicited information, we kindly ask that you not provide any sensitive information (for example, Personal information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic or bio-metric data, etc.) unless you provide us with explicit consent to collect this information from you.
How do we use your Personal Information?
We generally use your Personal Information for the following reasons:
- To provide you with professional accounting, tax, or advisory services;
- To invoice and collect payment for the professional services provided by us to you;
- To develop and maintain our relationship with you and to communicate with you;
- To register you for our client portal;
- To develop and improve our professional services;
- To improve our operational efficiency and customer service efforts through the use of data analytics;
- To process your application for employment and resume;
- To advise you about new products and services that may be of interest to you (subject to the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation consent); and
- Such other uses as may be permitted or required by applicable law.
We identify the purpose(s) for which we use your Personal Information at the time we collect such information from you, and obtain your information, freely given and unambiguous consent prior to each specific use. When you provide us with your consent to use your Personal Information, your consent covers all processing activities carried out for the same purpose(s).
Who we share your data with
We identify to whom, and for what purposes, we disclose your Personal Information, at the time we collect such information from you and obtain your consent to such disclosure. For example, we may transfer your Personal Information to third party service providers with whom we have a contractual agreement that includes appropriate privacy standards, where such third parties are assisting us with the Purposes, such as service providers that provide data storage, data processing, electronic return submission processing, etc.
We ensure that all affiliates and other third parties which are retained to perform services on our behalf and are therefore provided with Personal Information are contractually required to observe the intent of this Privacy Policy and Accord Professional Corporation, CPA’s privacy and data security policies and practices.
We may also provide your Personal Information to taxation authorities such as the Canada Revenue Agency or the Internal Revenue Service as required pursuant to tax laws and regulations. Prior to providing any information to these taxation authorities we would contact you to obtain your consent to such disclosure.
How do we obtain your consent?
We generally obtain your consent prior to collecting, and in any case, prior to using or disclosing your Personal Information for any purpose. You may provide your express consent to us either orally, electronically, or in writing.
You may also consent to Accord Professional Corporation, CPA’s collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information by voluntarily providing us with Personal Information through a clear, affirmative active (for example, by submitting an information request, by providing tax information, etc.).
Accord Professional Corporation, CPA may also rely on your implied consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your Personal Information where implied consent is permitted under applicable law.
We will not, as a condition of providing our professional services, require you to consent to the collection, use, disclosure, or protection of information beyond that which is required to fulfill the specified and legitimate purposes for which the information is being collected.
How we protect your data
We have implemented physical, organizational, contractual, and technological security measures to protect your Personal Information from loss or theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification. The only employees who are granted access to your Personal Information are those with a business “need-to-know” basis, or whose duties reasonably require access to such information.
How long we retain your data
We may keep a record of your Personal Information, correspondence, and other notes in a file specific to you. We will use, disclose, or retain your Personal Information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which that Personal Information was collected, or as permitted or required by law.
What rights you have over your data
You may access your Personal Information that we have collected, utilized, or been disclosed by making a written request to review such information. Upon receipt of said written request, we will provide you with any such Personal Information to the extent required by law.
To submit a written access request, or to obtain further information with respect to your access rights, you may contact our Chief Privacy Officer as indicated above.
We will respond to each of your written requests not later than thirty (30) days after receipt of such request(s). We will advise you in writing if we cannot meet your request(s) within this time limit. You have the right to make a complaint to the federal Privacy Commissioner in respect of this time limit.
We will not charge any costs for you to access your Personal Information in our records or to access our Privacy Policy or practices without first providing you with an estimate of the approximate costs, if any. You may withdraw your request(s) for access to information by notifying us within the thirty (30) day notice period disclosed on the estimate. If you do not notify us within such thirty (30) day notice period, we will send you a further notice indicating that you will be deemed to have withdrawn your request for access unless you advise us otherwise within thirty (30) days. If, after the expiry of this second thirty (30) day period, you have not so advised us, we will deem your request to have been withdrawn and provide you with written notice to that effect.
We may request that you provide sufficient identification to permit access to the existence, use, or disclosure of your Personal Information. Any such identifying information shall be used only for this purpose.
