Dear ,
This letter is to confirm your understanding of the terms of our engagement and the nature and the nature and limitations of the service we provide.
Purpose, Scope and Output of the Engagement
The firm will provide Accounting Services which will be conducted in accordance with the relevant professional and ethical standards issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Boards Limited.
The extent of our procedures and services will be limited exclusively for this purpose only. As a result, no audit review will be performed and, accordingly, no assurance will be expressed.
Our engagement cannot be relied upon to disclose irregularities including fraud, other illegal acts and errors that may exist. However, we will inform you of any such matters that come to our attention.
Responsibilities
In conducting this engagement, information acquired by us in the course of the engagement is subject to strict confidentiality requirements. That information will not be disclosed by us to other parties except as required or allowed for by law, or with your express consent.
We wish to draw your attention to our firms system of quality control which has been established and maintained in accordance with the relevant APESB standard. As a result, our files may be subject to review as part of the quality control review program of the ICAA which monitors compliance with professional standards by its members. We advise you that by accepting our engagement you acknowledge that if requested, our files relating to this engagement will be made available under this program. Should this occur we will advise you.
Clients are required to arrange for reasonable access by us to relevant individuals and documents and shall be responsible for both the completeness and accuracy of the information supplied to us.
Fees
The fee arrangement is based on the expected amount of time and the level of staff required to complete the accounting services as agreed excluding miscellaneous expenses which are incurred to complete the engagement.
Ownership of Documents
All original documents obtained from the client arising from the engagement shall remain the property of the client. However we reserve the right to make a reasonable number of copies of the original documents for our records.
Our engagement will result in the production of Income Tax Returns and Financial Statements if required. Ownership of these documents will vest in you. All other documents produced by us in respect of this engagement will remain the property of the firm.
Limitation of Liability
Our firm’s services may be limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Income Tax Returns
The firm has been engaged to prepare and lodge tax returns for your Group.
This firm will not be responsible for reviewing or verifying any financial records or statements provided to it either via manual cashbooks or prepared on accounting software such as MYOB or QuickBooks. Correct coding or classification of accounts is outside the scope of this engagement. If assistance is required on how to correctly code or review how you currently do so, please discuss this with us. This will entail work which is outside the scope of this engagement and will be charged as additional services.
Also please ensure that you have all source documentation available to allow this firm to analyses the income tax implications of any transaction, if we request to see it. Whilst we will not as a matter of course be looking at these documents, the ATO will expect you to have them available before any claim is made in your income tax return.
It is also expected that, in respect of individual income tax returns, each person will have the necessary documents so as to comply with the substantiation provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act.
We will not be reviewing your log book or any calculations or information you provide us such as a rental property schedule whether prepared by you on a spread sheet or by a property manager. If you require assistance in completing a log book or preparing any calculations, or would like us to review such work, please discuss this with us. This will entail work which is outside the scope of this letter and will be charged as additional services.
Each client in the group agrees that we can bank into our trust account tax refund amounts received on behalf of that client, and can deduct from those amounts any fees owed to us either by that client or by any other member of the Group.
Income Tax Returns
Onus of proof falls on the taxpayer
It is important to be aware that in any disputed assessment before the court in the AAT the onus of proof is placed on the taxpayer. In other words, if the Commissioner asserts that your income should include a certain amount or that a deduction claimed in a return is not allowed, it will be up to you to establish that the Commissioner’s view is incorrect.
Superannuation advice
We do not hold an AFS license and are not an authorized representative of such a license holder.
As a result we are generally prohibited from providing you with any advice, recommendation or opinion that is intended to influence you in making any decision in relation to superannuation. We are able to provide you with superannuation advice that is of a factual nature only.
Confirmation of Terms
Please sign and return the attached copy of this letter to indicate that it is in accordance with your understanding of the arrangements. This letter will be effective for future years unless we advise you of any change. We are unable to perform any work until we receive a signed copy of this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Texhno
