Sims & Company CPAs LLP recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. As accountants we have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information we receive. We are committed to protecting any personal information we hold. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy.
Privacy Policy
Your Privacy Rights
From January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information protection and Electronic Documents Act (“Act”) and the “Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which it incorporates. These obligations extend to accountants and accounting firms, including Sims & Company CPAs LLP. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.
Sims & Company CPAs LLP is responsible and accountable for the personal information we collect and hold. To meet our obligations to our clients, we have developed this policy, and informed our accountants and support staff about our policies and practices.
Why Does Sims & Company Need Personal Information?
We use the information collected under this Policy to perform services within the scope of our engagement. We also use it to enable us to provide you through various channels with information that we believe will be of interest to you. This includes such matters as: — new services we provide, — conferences and other professional development courses we hold, — notice of changes in the law or accounting practices that may be of interest to you, and — other professional or business developments. If you do not wish to receive such information, you may opt out by sending an email to or by advising your Sims & Company CPAs LLP contact and we will discontinue sending you information other than in regard to your account.
If we did not collect and use your personal information we could not provide you with financial services.
Types of Information We Collect
Sims & Company CPAs LLP collects certain personal information about you – but only when that information is provided by you or is obtained by us with your authorization. We use that information to prepare your personal income tax returns and to provide various tax and financial planning services to you at your request.
Examples of sources from which we collect information include:
- Interviews and phone calls with you
- Letters or e‑mails from you
- Tax return or financial planning organizers
- Financial history questionnaires
- Government agencies
- Your lawyer
- Your investment advisor or broker
Consent
In most cases, we shall ask you to specifically consent, if we collect, use, or disclose your personal information. Normally, we ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, we may accept your oral consent. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct with us.
If we did not collect and use your personal information we could not provide you with financial services.
Use of Your Information
Sims & Company CPAs LLP, as a general rule, does not disclose personal information about our clients or former clients to anyone. However, to the extent permitted by law and any applicable code of Professional Conduct, certain nonpublic information about you may be disclosed in the following situations:
- To comply with a validly issued and enforceable subpoena or summons.
- In the course of a review of our firm’s practices under the authorization of a personal or national licensing board, or as necessary to properly respond to an inquiry or compliant from such a licensing board or organization.
- In the event of a prospective purchase, sale, or merger, provided that we take appropriate precautions (for example, through a written confidentiality agreement) so the prospective purchaser or merger partner does not disclose information obtained in the course of the review.
- As a part of any actual or threatened legal proceedings or alternative dispute resolution proceedings either initiated by or against us, provided we disclose only the information necessary to file, pursue, or defined against the lawsuit and take reasonable precautions to ensure that the information disclosed does not become a matter of public record.
- To provide information to affiliates of the firm and nonaffiliated third parties who perform services or functions for us in conjunction with our services to you, but only if we have a contractual agreement with the other party that prohibits them from disclosing or using the information other than for the purposes for which it was disclosed. (Examples of such disclosures include engaging a records-retention agency to store prior year records.)
Sims & Company CPAs LLP does not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services.
Is My Personal Information Secure?
Except as otherwise described in this notice, we restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to employees of our firm and other parties who must use that information to provide services to you. Their right to further disclose and use the information is limited by the policies of our firm, applicable law, our Code of Professional Conduct, and nondisclosure agreements where appropriate. We also maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in compliance with applicable laws and regulations to guard your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, or premature destruction.
Access to Your Personal Information
You may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you.
Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees.
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute.
If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why.
Correcting Errors
If Sims & Company CPAs LLP holds information about you and you can establish that it is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, will take reasonable steps to correct it.
Credit Bureaus
To help us make credit decisions about clients, we may on occasion request information about you from the files of consumer reporting agencies.
Communicating With Us
It is important to remember that whatever you transmit or disclose online can be collected and used by others or unlawfully intercepted by third parties. No data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot warrant the security of any information you transmit to us over the Internet.
hCaptcha
We use the hCaptcha anti-bot service (hereinafter “hCaptcha”) on our website. This service is provided by Intuition Machines, Inc., a Delaware US Corporation (“IMI”). hCaptcha is used to check whether the data entered on our website (such as on a login page or contact form) has been entered by a human or by an automated program. To do this, hCaptcha analyzes the behavior of the website or mobile app visitor based on various characteristics. This analysis starts automatically as soon as the website or mobile app visitor enters a part of the website or app with hCaptcha enabled. For the analysis, hCaptcha evaluates various information (e.g. IP address, how long the visitor has been on the website or app, or mouse movements made by the user). The data collected during the analysis will be forwarded to IMI. hCaptcha analysis in the “invisible mode” may take place completely in the background. Website or app visitors are not advised that such an analysis is taking place if the user is not shown a challenge. Data processing is based on Art. 6(1)(f) of the GDPR (DSGVO): the website or mobile app operator has a legitimate interest in protecting its site from abusive automated crawling and spam. IMI acts as a “data processor” acting on behalf of its customers as defined under the GDPR, and a “service provider” for the purposes of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). For more information about hCaptcha and IMI’s privacy policy and terms of use, please visit the following links: https://www.hcaptcha.com/privacy and https://www.hcaptcha.com/terms.