Privacy Policy

GAB Chartered Accountants Limited is a company registered in New Zealand. We provide accounting, tax, business advisory and related services.

This Privacy Policy describes how we deal with personal information we collect from you, our clients, and demonstrates our commitment to the protection of your privacy.

By providing personal information to us, you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any of the terms of this Privacy Policy, please get in touch prior to submitting any personal information to us.

Our Privacy Policy may periodically be updated. Any changes will be uploaded to our website. By  continuing to deal with us and use our services, products and sites, you accept these changes and this  Privacy Policy as it applies from time to time.

What personal information do we collect and hold?

  • your contact details such as name, title, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses; 
  • personal details such as date & place of birth, gender, spouse or partner details, IRD number etc; 
  • all information and documentation required to be collected and held by us under anti-money  laundering legislation and international tax reporting agreements;  
  • financial and tax information collected during the process of delivering our services to you; 
  • your interactions with our website, social media sites or other internet based products; 
  • records of your communications and other interactions with us. 

Methods of collection

Collection can occur through personal contact, interaction through telephone, email or text, or if you  visit our website or social media sites. We may also collect information from other sources such as  public databases, regulators, Government agencies, third parties with whom we liaise on your behalf  or from third parties that provide us with marketing leads.  

Why we collect your personal information 

  • to verify your identity and address; 
  • to enable us to provide the accounting, tax, business advisory and other services for which you  have engaged us; 
  • to facilitate our compliance with statutory obligations and obligations arising from our  membership of professional bodies;
  • to periodically provide you with information we believe may be of interest to you – for instance  newsletters;
  • to send you marketing materials about our products and services or those of our third-party  partners.

You have the right to opt out of receiving newsletters or direct marketing materials at any time by  contacting us. 

What happens if we can’t collect your personal information

The provision of your personal information is voluntary. But if you don’t provide us with the personal  information we reasonably require, and/or you fail to notify us of changes in your personal  information in a timely manner, we may not be able to efficiently provide the services you have  engaged us to perform, or to contact you when required.  

Your access to and correction of personal information  

You may request access to your personal information and request the correction of any personal  information which is inaccurate. Please make any such requests in writing, giving as much  information as possible about the information you want to access or correct.  

There are certain circumstances where we might not be able to fulfill your request. For example,  where providing access may have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals, or  where providing access would be unlawful, or be likely to prejudice enforcement related activities  conducted by us or an enforcement body.  

In very rare circumstances, we may be prevented by law from providing you with access to personal  information we hold – e.g. under anti-money laundering legislation.  

Our use of and disclosure of your personal information  

We do not use your personal information or disclose it to other agencies unless:  

  1. it is reasonably necessary for one of the purposes described above; 
  2. having regard to the nature of the information or the circumstances of collection we believe you  would expect us to use the information or make the disclosure;  
  3. we are required or authorised by law or court or tribunal; or  
  4. you have provided your consent.  

We will never sell your personal information. 

But we may disclose your personal information and a broad business profile to:-  

  1. Government agencies, statutory authorities and industry regulators;
  2. our auditors, insurers, consultants, lawyers or other financial or professional advisers;
  3. our staff or subcontractors;
  4. our associated companies or subsidiaries including those established in the future;
  5. third party service providers that facilitate our ability to provide our products and services to you, such as cloud based software providers, backup and archiving providers, email platforms and batch mail providers;
  6. debt collection agencies for the purpose of recovering outstanding fees from you;
  7. other third parties where necessary to the operation of our business; or
  8. third parties that participate in joint marketing schemes with us.

Each of these third parties are carefully selected, and in utilising their services, your personal  information is given solely to enable them to provide their products and services to us, and thereby to  enable us to provide our products and services to you. Your personal information is not to be used by  any of these providers for any other purpose.  

How long do we keep your personal information?  

We only retain your personal information for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which that  personal information was collected, and to the extent permitted or required by law.  

When records are no longer required to be retained they are erased from our computer systems and  or destroyed using a secure document destruction service unless you ask us to send the information  to you.  

If you cease to be a client, we will return all personal information we hold for you back into your  possession or forward to a third party if specifically requested by you to do so.  

Security of your personal information  

We use appropriate security safeguards to protect your personal information which we hold from  unauthorised access, use or alteration. If a third party is given access to your personal information for  the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the information is  held securely by them and used only for the purpose of providing the relevant service or activity for  which they have been engaged.  

Please note that we can’t guarantee the security of the internet as a whole. No data transmission  over the internet or online data storage system is 100% secure. If we or you use email, text or online  file storage/transfer systems, to send and receive your personal information, please be aware that  the information may be less secure.  

Unique Identifier  

We may assign a unique identifier to you for use in our operations to enable us to carry out our  functions and to efficiently provide the services requested by you.  

Changes to this Privacy Policy  

If you have any concerns about the privacy of your personal information, wish to limit our use of your  personal information or have questions regarding our Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy  Officer on 04 298 5028, 0800 344 944 or by email to gabca@xtra.co.nz.  

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 10 September 2021. 

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