We recognize the trust you place in us when you share your personal information with us.
At CompassTAX LLP, we are committed to maintaining the accuracy, confidentiality and security of your personal information. CompassTAX LLP’s Privacy Policy applies to the personal information of our current, former and prospective clients.
It is CompassTAX LLP’s policy to comply with the privacy legislation within the jurisdiction in which we operate. This Privacy Policy covers only those activities that are subject to the provisions of Canada’s federal and provincial privacy laws, as applicable.
This Privacy Policy has a limited scope and application. Consequently, the rights and obligations contained in this Privacy Policy may not be available to all individuals or in all jurisdictions. If you are unsure if or how this Privacy Policy applies to you, please contact our Privacy Officer for more information.
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is any information about an identifiable individual, other than the person’s business title or business contact information when used or disclosed for the purpose of business communications.
We collect and maintain different types of personal information in respect of our current, former and prospective clients. The nature and extent of the personal information collected will depend on the nature of the products and services that we provide to you. For example, where you have retained us to:
In addition, to establish and manage your client relationship with us we may collect your contact information, such as your name, address, business or home telephone numbers, your billing information, such as methods and preferences for billing and payment, your business or other relationship information, such as information related to your agreements, preferences, advisors and decision-makers, and your feed-back and any other information that you may voluntarily disclose to us.
Generally, we prefer to obtain your information directly from you, however, we may also collect your information from other sources provided that you have consented to have them provide the information to us.
From time to time, we may utilize the services of third parties in our business and may also receive personal information collected by those third parties in the course of the performance of their services for us or otherwise. Where this is the case, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such third parties have represented to us that they have the right to disclose your personal information to us.
We collect your personal information so that we can manage, maintain and develop our business and operations, including so that we may establish and manage our relationship with you and so that we may provide you with the products and services that have been requested (such as personal or business tax preparation, audit, review, bookkeeping or budgeting services, estate or tax planning, transactional and corporate restructuring advice, valuations or consulting services). In addition, we may collect personal information:
We may use or disclose your personal information for the purposes described in this Privacy
Policy and/or for any additional purposes for which we have obtained your consent to the use or disclosure of your personal information. Further, your personal information may be used and disclosed:
We may share your personal information with our employees, contractors, consultants and other parties who require such information to assist us with managing our relationship with you and providing our products and services to you. For example, we may disclose your personal information to third parties that provide services to us or on our behalf or to third parties that assist us in the provision of products and services to you.
We will not disclose your information to third parties to enable them to market their products or services to you without your consent.
In addition, personal information may be disclosed or transferred to another party during the course of, or completion of, a change in ownership of or the grant of a security interest in, all or a part of CompassTAX LLP through, for example, an asset or share sale, or some other form of business combination, merger or joint venture, provided that such party is bound by appropriate agreements or obligations and required to use or disclose your personal information in a manner consistent with the use and disclosure provisions of this Privacy Policy, unless you consent otherwise.
Generally, your knowledge and consent are required for the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information. Depending on the sensitivity of the personal information, your consent may be implied, deemed (using an opt-out mechanism) or express. Express consent can be given orally, electronically or in writing. Implied consent is consent that can reasonably be inferred from your action or inaction.
For example, when you retain us to provide products or services to you, we will assume your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information for purposes related to the provision of such products or services and for any other purposes identified to you at the relevant time.
Typically, we will seek your consent at the time that we collect your personal information. In certain circumstances, your consent may be obtained after collection but prior to our use or disclosure of your personal information. If we plan to use or disclose your personal information for a purpose not previously identified (either in this Privacy Policy or separately), we will endeavor to advise you of that purpose before such use or disclosure.
We assume, unless you advise us otherwise, that you have consented to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy.
You may change or withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual obligations and reasonable notice, by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact information set out below. All communications with respect to such withdrawal or variation of consent should be in writing and addressed to our Privacy Officer. Withdrawal of consent may, however, affect our ability to continue to provide products or services to you.
We may collect, use or disclose your personal information without your knowledge or consent where we are permitted or required to do so by applicable law or regulatory requirements.
We endeavor to maintain physical, technical and procedural safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information in question. These are designed to protect against loss and unauthorized access, copying, use, modification or disclosure.
We endeavor to ensure that the personal information retained by us remains accurate, complete, and relevant for the purposes identified. If your personal information changes please let us know so that we may update our records. When requesting a change to your personal information, we may request specific information from you to enable CompassTAX LLP to confirm your identity and right to update or change the personal information that we hold about you. In some circumstances we may not agree with your request to change your personal information and will instead endeavor to append an alternative text to the record in question.
You may ask to review your personal information held by us. If you want to review your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer. Please note that any such communication must be in writing.
When requesting access to your personal information, we may request specific information from you to enable CompassTAX LLP to confirm your identity and right to access, as well as to search for and provide you with the personal information that we hold about you. We may charge you a fee to access your personal information; however, we will advise you of any fee in advance. If you require assistance in preparing your request, please contact our Privacy Officer.
Your right to access the personal information that we hold about you is not absolute. There are instances where applicable law or regulatory requirements allow or require us to refuse to provide some or all of the personal information that we hold about you. In addition, the personal information may have been destroyed, erased or made anonymous in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices.
In the event that we cannot provide you with access to your personal information, we will endeavor to inform you of the reasons why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions.
We have designated a Privacy Officer to oversee our compliance with our privacy policies. Should you have any questions about this policy, including any complaints, our Privacy Officer may be reached:
We endeavor to monitor compliance with our privacy policies and procedures on a regular basis. Should you have a concern, please contact our Privacy Officer. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may be entitled to make a written submission to the Privacy Commissioner in your jurisdiction.
We may make changes to this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our legal or regulatory obligations or in the manner in which we deal with your personal information. We will post any revised version of this Privacy Policy on our website www.Compasstax.ca and we encourage you to refer back to it on a regular basis. This Privacy Policy was last updated on January 2017.
Any interpretation associated with this Privacy Policy will be made by our Privacy Officer. This Privacy Policy includes examples but is not intended to be restricted in its application to such examples, therefore where the word ‘including’ is used, it shall mean ‘including without limitation’. This Privacy Policy does not create or confer upon any individual or CompassTAX LLP any rights or obligations outside of, or in addition to, any rights or obligations conferred or imposed by Canada’s federal and provincial privacy laws, as applicable.