Terms of Business

1. Purpose, Scope and Output of the Engagement

This firm (Annette Ferguson Scotland Ltd t/a Annette & Co.) will provide Accounting Services, which will be conducted in accordance with the relevant professional and ethical standards issued by theInstitute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and in accordance with Scottish Law.

The extent of our procedures and services will be limited exclusively for this purpose only.

We shall compile the financial statements in accordance with Companies Act 1985 based on the accounting records maintained by you and the information and explanations provided to us. In carrying out our engagement we will make enquiries of management and undertake any procedures that we judge appropriate but are under no obligation to perform procedures that may be required for assurance engagements such as audits or reviews.

Our work will not be an audit of the financial statements in accordance with Auditing Standards.  Accordingly, we shall not seek any independent evidence to support the entries in the accounting records, or to prove the existence, ownership, or valuation of assets, or the completeness of income, liabilities or disclosures in the accounts. Nor shall we assess the reasonableness of any estimates or judgements made in the preparations of the accounts.  Consequently our work will not provide any assurance that the accounting records are free from materials misstatements, whether caused by fraud, other irregularities or error. 

We shall report, with any variations that we consider may be necessary, that in accordance with your instructions and in order to assist you to fulfil your responsibilities, we have compiled, without carrying out an audit, the accounts from the accounting records of the company and from the information and explanations supplied to us. (Accountants’ Report).

We have a professional responsibility not to allow our name to be associated with accounts which we consider may be misleading. Therefore, although we are not required to search for such matters, should we become aware, for any reason, that the account may be misleading, and the matter cannot be dealt with by means of adjustments to the accounts, we shall withdraw from the engagement, and shall notify you in writing of the reasons. 

We will prepare from the financial statements and other information and explanations provided by you the company’s corporation tax computations and tax returns. We will file the tax returns together with the financial statements to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after you have approved them. 

We will advise as to amounts of corporation tax to be paid and the dates by which the company  should make the payments and if appropriate we will initiate repayment claims when tax appears to have been overpaid.

We will agree with the HM Revenue and Customs the company’s liability to corporation tax and attend to notices of assessment, lodging appeals against incorrect assessments as appropriated.  We will deal with all communications relating to the company’s tax return addressed to us by theHM Revenue and Customs or passed to us by the company.  We will help you in preparing the tax provisions and disclosures to be included in the company’s financial statements.

We will provide our professional services with reasonable care and skill.

However, we will not be responsible for any losses, penalties, surcharges, interest or additional tax liabilities arising from the supply by you or others of incorrect or incomplete information, or your or others’ failure to supply any appropriate information or your failure to act on our advice or respond promptly to communications from us or the tax authorities.

We will request you to complete a Form 64-8 to authorise the HM Revenue and Customs to deal directly with us in connection with your tax affairs.

VAT will be charged at the prevailing rate

2. Period of Engagement

This engagement will starts on agreement of these T&Cs.

3. 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 firm's system of quality control which has been established and maintained in accordance with the relevant ICAS standard. As a result, our files may be subject to review as part of the quality control review program of ICAS 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. The Client is responsible for the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, particulars and information provided and disclosure of all material and relevant information. 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.

Any advice given to the Client is only an opinion based on our knowledge of the Client's particular circumstances.  A taxpayer is responsible under self assessment to keep full and proper records in order to facilitate the preparation of a correct return. Whilst the Commissioner of Taxation will accept claims made by a taxpayer in an income tax return and issue a notice of assessment, usually without adjustment, the return may be subject to later review.

Under the taxation law such a review may take place within a period of up to 7 years after tax becomes due and payable under the assessment. Furthermore, where there is fraud or evasion there is no time limit on amending the assessment.

Accordingly, you should check the return before it is signed to ensure that the information in the return is accurate.

Where the application of a taxation law to your particular circumstances is uncertain you also have the right to request a private ruling which will set out the Commissioner's opinion about the way a taxation law applies, or would apply, to you in those circumstances. You must provide a description of all of the facts (with supporting documentation) that are relevant to your scheme or circumstances in your private ruling application. If there is any material difference between the facts set out in the ruling and what you actually do the private ruling is ineffective.  If you rely on a private ruling you have received, the Commissioner must administer the law in the way set out in the ruling, unless it is found to be incorrect and applying the law correctly would lead to a better outcome for you. Where you disagree with the decision in the private ruling, or the Commissioner fails to issue such a ruling, you can lodge an objection against the ruling if it relates to income tax, fuel tax credit or fringe benefits tax. Your time limits in lodging an objection will depend on whether you are issued an assessment for the matter (or period) covered by the private ruling. 

As directors of the company, you are responsible for ensuring that the company maintains proper accounting records and for preparing accounts which give a true and fair view and which have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985.  In preparing the financial statements you are required to select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

You are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and for ensuring that the financial statements comply with the Act.

You are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

You are also responsible for determining whether, in respect of each financial year, the company meets the conditions for exemption from an audit of the accounts set out in section249A of the Act, and for determining whether, in respect of the year, the exemption is not available for any of the reasons set out in section 249B.

You are responsible for ensuring that the company complies with laws and regulations applicable to its activities, and for establishing arrangements designed to prevent any non-compliance with laws and regulations.

You have undertaken to make available to us, as and when required, all the company’s accounting records and related information necessary for the compilation of the financial statements.

4. Fees

There is no minimum contract period or 'tie-in'.

Please note if you leave Annette & Co. part way through the year and have not come to your company year end we will not refund you what you have paid each month as we will have advised you and acted on your behalf during that time and the monthly work will have already been done and returned to you.

Fees are payable monthly, in advance, by direct debit.

Default on fees will cause us to cease work until payments are reinstated.

5. Limitation of Liability

The advice that we give to you is for your sole use and does not constitute advice to any third party to whom you may communicate it. We will provide the professional services agreed with reasonable care and skill. However, we will not be responsible for any losses, penalties, surcharges, interest or additional tax liabilities arising from the supply by you or others of incorrect or incomplete information, or from the failure by you or others to supply any appropriate information or your failure to act on our advice or respond promptly to communications from us or the tax authorities.

The Courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference concerning the engagement letter and any matter arising from it.  Each party irrevocably waives any right it may have to object to an action being brought in those Courts, to claim that the action has been brought in an inconvenient forum, or to claim that those Courts do not have jurisdiction.

We will observe the Bye-laws, regulations and ethical guidelines of our professional institute and accept instructions to act for you on the basis that we will act in accordance with these guidelines. In particular you give us authority to correct HMRC errors.

6. Ownership of Documents

All original documents obtained from the client arising from the engagement shall be scanned, in accordance with HMRC guidelines, and securely destroyed. 

Our engagement will result in the production of financial statements and tax returns.

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.  The firm has a policy of exploring a legal right of lien over any client documents in our possession in the event of a dispute. The firm has also established dispute resolution processes.

7. Electronic Communication

Email will be used to enable us to communicate with you. As with other means of delivery this carries with it the risk of inadvertent misdirection or non-delivery. It is the responsibility of the recipient to carry out a virus check on any attachments received. All risks connected with sending commercially sensitive information relating to your business are borne by you and are not our responsibility.

We also use electronic document signing software for approval of documents.

8. Data Protection Act 1998

The processing of personal data is regulated in the UK by the General Data ProtectionRegulation EU 2016/679 as supplemented by the Data Protection Act 2018 together with other laws which relate to privacy and electronic communications.

In this clause, we refer to these laws as "Data Protection Law". 

In providing our services, we act as an independent controller and are, therefore, responsible for complying with Data Protection Law in respect of any personal data we process in providing our services to you.

Our privacy statement (which can be accessed at https://www.annetteandco.co.uk/privacy-policy) explains how we process personal data.

You are also an independent controller responsible for complying with Data Protection Law in respect of the personal data you process and, accordingly, where you disclose personal data to us you confirm that such disclosure is fair and lawful and otherwise does not contravene Data Protection Law.

Terms used in this clause bear the same meanings as are ascribed to them in Data Protection Law.

The Data Controller in relation to personal data supplied about you is  Annette Ferguson.

9. Money Laundering

We have a duty under section 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to report to the SeriousOrganised Crime Agency (SOCA) if we know, or have reasonable cause to suspect, that you, or anyone connected with your business, are or have been involved in money laundering.

Failure on our part to make a report where we have knowledge or reasonable ground for suspicion would constitute a criminal offence.

The offence of money laundering is defined by section 340(11) of the Proceeds of Crime Act and includes the acquisition, possession or involvement in arrangements for concealing the benefits of any activity that constitutes a criminal offence in the UK.

This definition is very wide

and would include:

a) tax evasion through deliberate understatement of income or overstatement of expenses or stock; or

b) deliberate failure to inform the tax authorities of known underpayments.

We are obliged by law to report to SOCA without your knowledge and consent and in fact we would commit the criminal offence of tipping off under section 333 of the Proceeds of Crime Act were we to inform you of any suspicions or that a report had been made.

We are not required to undertake work for the sole purpose of identifying suspicions of money laundering. We shall fulfill our obligations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in accordance with the guidance published by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

10. Dissengagement

Should for any reason, either party, wish to terminate our agreement this should be done in writing, with 30 days notice.