Terms
Engagement Document
This document sets out the terms of our engagement.
Purpose, Scope and Output of the Engagement
This firm will provide Accounting and Taxation Services which will be conducted in accordance with the relevant professional and ethical standards issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited (APESB), with the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Commonwealth) and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Commonwealth).The scope of our engagement will include:Preparation and lodgement of income tax return(s) for the client(s) as agreed by negotiation;Preparation and lodgement of Business Activity Statements as negotiated;Review of financial data, including preparation of special purpose financial reports;Advice in relation to income tax legislation, obligations and compliance;Communicating with the Australian Taxation Office in relation to client(s) related lodgements and accounts of the client(s); andOur advice will cover income tax and Goods & Services Tax. It does not cover any other taxes such as stamp duty, land tax or payroll tax.The scope of our engagement will be limited to performance of the services listed above.The scope of our engagement will exclude the following:Offering a formal opinion on the financial statements; and orAny Service or Good outside of the scope of this engagement.If the scope does not meet your requirements or you would like to discuss the scope with us further, please let us know.We consider that we have the necessary expertise to perform the services covered by our engagement. However, any changes to the scope of our engagement may require us to reconsider the terms of our engagement and/or make new arrangements with you.If you wish to change the scope of our engagement please contact Mark Grayston.Our Professional Services are completed in relation to the specific role of advising for tax purposes, the completion of engagements can result in special purpose financial reports, income tax returns, various ATO forms and other assisting materials. These documents are specifically for distribution to the relevant specific organisation or party for the purpose specified in the report or as agreed. We disclaim any assumption of responsibility for any reliance on our professional services to any party other than as specified or agreed, and for the purpose which it was prepared, as all information is specifically prepared for the client to understand their tax obligations it may not be appropriate for third party use. Where appropriate, our report will contain a disclaimer to this effect to ensure third parties are aware of the clause.
Background
We understand that:The client(s) intends to engage with Grayston Tax for tax related services.Client(s) facts that may be relied upon include (but are not limited to); Legal Name, Date of Birth, Address Details, Bank Details, Occupation Details, Taxable Income Details, Allowable Deduction Details, Relevance of Deduction to Income Details, Tax Offset Claim Details, Private Health Insurance Details, Director Declarations and Client Substantiation Declarations.Verification of claims made by the client(s) may be requested at any time, these include (but are not limited to); receipts, bank statements, third party confirmations and client declarations.
Team
The following persons will be engaged on your matter:Mark Grayston – Registered Tax AgentThe following persons will have access to your information for administrative purposes:Terence Grayston – AdministrationCourtney Scott – Administration
Your Disclosure and Record Keeping Obligations
You are required by law to keep full and accurate records relating to your tax affairs including all substantiation requirements.It is your obligation to provide us with all information that you reasonably expect will be necessary to allow us to perform work contemplated under this engagement within a timely manner or as requested. This includes providing accurate and complete responses to questions asked of you by us within a reasonable timeframe. Inaccurate, incomplete or late information could have a material effect on our services and/or our conclusions and may result in additional fees. We will not verify the underlying accuracy or completeness of information you provide to us.You are also required to advise us on a timely basis if there are any changes to your circumstances that may be relevant to the performance of our services. Specifically, if any subsequent event results in the information you provided to us being inaccurate, incomplete or misleading, then you are obliged to advise us as soon as possible. We take no responsibility to the extent that our advice is inaccurate, incomplete or misleading because it is based on inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information being provided to us.By accepting the terms of this document, you will be taken to have agreed that the performance of our services is dependent on the performance of your obligations relating to disclosure and record keeping.The Taxation Administration Act 1953 contains specific provisions that may provide you with “safe harbours” from administrative penalties for incorrect or late lodgement of returns if, amongst other things, you give us “all relevant taxation information” in a timely manner. Accordingly, it is to your advantage that all relevant information is disclosed to us as any failure by you to provide this information to us may affect your ability to rely on the “safe harbour” provisions and will be taken into account in determining the extent to which we have discharged our obligations to you.You are also required to advise us if you become aware of any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest. Generally, a conflict of interest is any event which may result in us becoming unable to remain objective in the performance of our services to you. Some examples of events which could give rise to a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest during this engagement are changes to your business circumstances, events affecting your family (eg. death and/or marriage breakdown) or a legal action commencing against you.
Your Rights and Obligations under the Taxation Laws
You have certain rights under the taxation laws, including the right to seek a private ruling from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or to appeal or object against a decision made by the Commissioner. As relevant, we will provide further information to you concerning your rights under the Australian taxation laws during the conduct of the engagement contemplated by this document.The ATO may impose penalties on your accounts, you may have a right to request remittance of these penalties. You have the right to appeal or object against the decision about penalty remittance.You also have certain obligations under the Australian taxation laws, such as the obligation to keep proper records and the obligation to lodge returns by the due date.
Our Obligation to Comply with the Law
We have a duty to act in your best interests. However, the duty to act in your best interests is subject to an overriding obligation to comply with the law even if that may require us to act in a manner that may be contrary to your interests. For example, we could not lodge an income tax return that we knew to be false or misleading.We also have an obligation to ensure that we manage conflicts of interest as they arise. In this regard, we have arrangements in place to ensure that we manage potential or actual conflicts of interest. The effective operation of these arrangements depend, in part, on you complying with your obligation to disclose any potential conflicts of interest to us.Unless otherwise stated, this opinion is based on the Australian tax law in force and the practice of the ATO applicable as at the date of this letter. 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.
Confidentiality
We will not disclose any information relating to your tax affairs to any third party without your consent, unless required by law. You may provide us with permission to disclose your confidential information in certain circumstances, or place conditions on the disclosure of certain confidential information. If so we will disclose the relevant information accordingly, in the performance of our services, unless you instruct us otherwise in writing or we are enacting our legal right of lien over said documents. We are subject to audits and reviews by the Australian Taxation Office and the Tax Practitioner’s Board of Australia, your documents may be reviewed in this process by the relevant authority.
Fees
- As you may appreciate, it is difficult to predict our costs for this matter given that our estimates depend on the nature and complexity of the matter and any taxation issues that arise.
- Following are the starting fee structures for the different services offered by Grayston Tax (GST Inclusive), please note these are starting fee structures and may be increased by negotiation depending on the work involved.
- We will provide you with a quote specifically tailored for your situation, please note this quote is based on the information you have currently made available. If we become aware that the above estimates will change, or your instructions or other circumstances change, we will contact you as soon as practicable to discuss a new quote.
Ownership of Documents
All original documents obtained from you arising from this engagement will remain your property. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable number of copies of the original documents for our records, we may hold original copies of your documents on your request.Depending on our quote our engagement could result in the production of income tax returns, special purpose financial reports, financial statements, BAS statements and GST reports. These documents may be transferred electronically, personally or via the post. Ownership of these documents will vest in you. All other documents produced by us in respect of this engagement will remain our property.We have a policy of exploring a legal right of lien over any of your documents in our possession in the event of a dispute between us. We have also established dispute resolution processes, details of which are available on request.
Timetable
Our services will be performed in accordance with a timetable agreed with you.
Your Acceptance of these Terms
This document sets out the basis on which we will act for you. In the event you request a letter please sign where indicated and return a copy of the signed letter to us to indicate your acceptance of its terms. Acceptance of our services in conjunction with this information document and/or payment of our invoice indicates that you understand and accept the arrangements. Acceptance of the Disclosure, Privacy Policy and Terms box section of the Grayston Tax website booking site indicates that you understand and accept the arrangements. This information will be effective for future engagements unless we advise you of any change.If you wish to discuss any of the terms of this document please contact Mark Grayston.
Copies of these Terms
Copies of these Terms of Engagement are available from www.graystontax.com.au/terms or upon request from our office.This document is updated annually.
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