Welcome to Spencer Accountants!

We are very pleased to welcome you and trust that you will be happy with your choice of accounting practice. Our firm brings together a wealth of accounting, management and business experience through its partners, team members and associates. Our goal is to assist clients achieve their desired business and personal success.

Centro Tax Pty Ltd ATF Spencer Accountants Unit Trust ABN 97 349 751 996 will act as your tax agent in preparation of those services you engage us for.

• We will comply with all legal requirements of the Tax Agents Services Act and we will keep your information confidential and not disclose this to other parties, except where you request in writing or where we are legally obliged to do so.
• We will prepare your tax return and financial statements based on information you have provided to us. We rely on this information being true, complete and correct at the time of you asking us to prepare your return.
• We are not validating or auditing your affairs. It is your responsibility to furnish us with (and retain for at least 10 years after lodgement), all records supporting your tax return in accordance with the law.
• This engagement does not include assistance in the event of an ATO audit which will incur additional charges where requested by you, or the ATO
• Upon the ATO processing your lodgement, your notice of assessment or statement of account will be posted to you direct from the ATO or will be sent to you via your myGov access. We will review any differences between our software estimation and the ATO’s assessment notice where you have advised us of this occurrence.
• Any refund will be directly deposited into your nominated Australian bank account by the ATO.
• We only offer fee from refund options in certain circumstances and under certain conditions. A fee will apply and the fee remains payable even if the refund is first absorbed by the ATO for existing debts such as centrelink, debts on hold, or child support.
• Where you are a company and have elected for us to act as your registered ASIC agent, once we have a Form 362 signed authority, we will prepare the annual solvency declaration and provide your annual statement only. Any changes/updates outside of this period will incur additional charges.

• Our fee is a result of the time taken to complete the taxation services, the use of our technical knowledge, and the administration services and software required to prepare and process your lodgement.
• Our fee is always payable prior to lodgement unless you have established a Trade Account with us or we have agreed to a fee from refund election in writing. 
• Our fee may also include any miscellaneous expenses which are incurred to complete the engagement.
• We may, upon request, provide you with an estimated fee after reviewing what is required to complete your taxation services and after your completion of our checklist and queries. Where additional work is required or delays are incurred due to supply of incorrect, or incomplete information, additional charges may apply.
• Our fees may be payable upfront in certain circumstances and are payable regardless of the refund result.
• Your tax invoice will be issued upfront where required, or upon completion. We accept payment via EFT, Cash, Credit Card or online.
• Where you are on a Trade Account, a monthly account fee of $5 and interest charges of 6% for accounts outstanding longer than 30 days will be payable in accordance with these terms.
• Where you have agreed to be referred to one of our referral parties, we may receive a referral fee (up to 20%) if you proceed to utilise their services. A referral fee (up to 20%) may also be paid to someone if you have been referred to us.
• If you believe you will have difficulty with making any payments, please discuss this with us and a payment arrangement can be established. 

• You must provide full disclosure of all financial transactions that may affect your tax return and financial statements and to avoid additional charges, you should check that you have supplied everything relevant by reviewing the information you have provided to us PRIOR TO requesting completion to ensure it is an true reflection of your affairs. For your convenience, you may provide this to us either via interview, website, drop off, mail or telephone.
• You have read and understood the substantiation requirements in accordance with the substantiation declaration for your business income and expenses.
• You must respond to queries promptly.
• For your convenience, we will accept a digital signature, or signed documents that have been scanned, emailed, mailed or signed in person.
• Any tax payables must be paid by the due date on the assessment notice. Where payment is not possible, it is your responsibility to contact the ATO and request a payment plan. As a general rule, we do not offer assistance with debt collection queries or payment plan administration.
• Should you become aware of any errors or omissions, it is your responsibility to advise us immediately in writing. Amended income tax returns and financial statements after they have been signed and lodged will incur additional charges.

We believe in giving our clients a choice in the services they would like from us. 

We think it is important now to set up those expectations so that we are all on the same page and to perhaps pick and choose which elements you think you need and which elements you might want to do yourself. 

There is no right or wrong answer, each person and business is different, but this helps us work out the time and costs that may be involved and to try and ensure we are providing you with everything that you have asked for. 

You can always change your mind later, but it's important to think about this now to get us off on the right foot so to speak. 

Our time is entered into timesheets for the performance of tasks and invoiced either monthly or at the completion of the relevant task. 

Accordingly, please let us know how you want us to engage with you and the tasks we are engaged for on the following pages.

The primary purpose of the services you are engaging us for is compliance with the relevant tax legislation. The extent of our procedures and services will be limited exclusively for this purpose only. We do not undertake an audit or a complete review 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.

Entity Terms Of Engagement

 

Purpose, Scope and Output of the Engagement

Where elected, this firm will provide the following services, which will be conducted in accordance with the relevant professional and ethical standards issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited (APESB).

• Centro Tax Pty Ltd ATF Spencer Accountants Unit Trust ABN 97 349 751 996 will act as your tax agent in preparation of your income tax return and financial statements where applicable.
• We will comply with all legal requirements of the Tax Agents Act and we will keep your information confidential and not disclose this to other parties, except where you request in writing.
• We will prepare your tax return and financial statements based on information you have provided to us. We rely on this information being true, complete and correct at the time of you asking us to prepare your return. We are not validating or auditing your affairs. It is your responsibility to furnish us with (and retain for at least 10 years after lodgement), all records supporting your tax return in accordance with the law. This engagement does not include assistance in the event of an ATO audit which will incur additional charges where requested by you, or the ATO
• Upon the ATO processing your lodgement, your notice of assessment or statement of account will be posted to you direct from the ATO or will be sent to you via your myGov access. We will review any differences between our software estimation and the ATO’s assessment notice where you have advised us of this occurrence.
• Any refund will be directly deposited into your nominated Australian bank account by the ATO.
• We only offer fee from refund options in certain circumstances and under certain conditions. A fee will apply and the fee remains payable even if the refund is first absorbed by the ATO for existing debts such as centrelink, debts on hold, or child support. 
• We provide a free newsletter to your email address which you can unsubscribe from at any time. This contains timely updates and information.
• Where you are a company and have elected for us to act as your registered ASIC agent, once we have a Form 362 signed authority, we will prepare the annual solvency declaration and provide your annual statement only. Any changes/updates outside of this period will incur additional charges.

The primary purpose of these services is compliance with the relevant tax legislation. The extent of our procedures and services will be limited exclusively for this purpose only. As a result, no audit or 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.

There is no assumption of responsibility for any reliance on our report by any person or entity other than yourself and those parties indicated in the above paragraph. The report shall not be inferred or used for any purpose other than for which it was specifically prepared. Accordingly, our report may include a disclaimer to this effect.

 

Your Responsibilities

• You must read, understand and accept our terms of engagement prior to us commencing work on your affairs. You have read and understood the substantiation requirements in accordance with the substantiation declaration.
• You must provide full disclosure of all financial transactions that may affect your tax return and financial statements and to avoid additional charges, you should check that you have supplied everything relevant by reviewing the information you have provided to us PRIOR TO requesting completion to ensure it is an true reflection of your affairs. For your convenience, you may provide this to us either via interview, website, drop off, mail or telephone.
• You must respond to queries promptly.
• For your convenience, we will accept a digital signature, or signed documents that have been scanned, emailed, mailed or signed in person.
• Any tax payables must be paid by the due date on the assessment notice. Where payment is not possible, it is your responsibility to contact the ATO and request a payment plan. As a general rule, we do not offer assistance with debt collection queries or payment plan administration.
• Should you become aware of any errors or omissions, it is your responsibility to advise us immediately in writing. Amended income tax returns and financial statements after they have been signed and lodged will incur additional charges.

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.

In this regard, you confirm your permission for your personal information to be made available to, and between the Spencer group and where appropriate.

Further, 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 APESB standard. As a result, our files may be subject to review as part of the quality control review program of the Institute of Chartered Accountants 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

• Our fee is a result of the time taken to complete the taxation services, the use of our technical knowledge, and the administration services and software required to prepare and process your lodgement.
• Our fee is always payable prior to lodgement unless you have established a Trade Account with us or we have agreed to a fee from refund election in writing. 
• Our fee may also include any miscellaneous expenses which are incurred to complete the engagement.
• We may, upon request, provide you with an estimated fee after reviewing what is required to complete your taxation services and after your completion of our checklist and queries. Where additional work is required or delays are incurred due to supply of incorrect, or incomplete information, additional charges may apply.
• Our fees may be payable upfront in certain circumstances and are payable regardless of the refund result.
• Your tax invoice will be issued upfront where required, or upon completion. We accept payment via EFT, Cash, Credit Card or online.
• Where you are on a Trade Account, a monthly account fee of $5 and interest charges of 6% for accounts outstanding longer than 30 days will be payable in accordance with these terms.
• Where you have agreed to be referred to one of our referral parties, we may receive a referral fee (up to 20%) if you proceed to utilise their services. A referral fee (up to 20%) may also be paid to someone if you have been referred to us.

If you believe you will have difficulty with making any payments, please discuss this with us and a payment arrangement can be established. 

 

Limitation of Liability

Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Further information on the scheme is available here.

 

 

Ownership of Documents

All original documents obtained from you or arising from the engagement shall remain the property of you, 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 an income tax return and financial statements where applicable. Ownership of these documents will vest in you and should be kept for up to 10 years, or the length of ownership of any CGT assets, plus 10 years, whichever is the greater.

All other documents produced by us in respect of this engagement will remain the property of the firm including our workpapers.

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.

 

Confirmation of Terms

By signing on behalf of the entity listed you,

• Indicate that it is in accordance with your understanding of the arrangements. The engagement will be effective for future years unless we advise you of any change.
• Provide a personal guarantee that our fees will be paid by yourself in the event of default of the entity and as acceptance of the terms and conditions mentioned above. 

Should you have any further queries in relation to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact the office on 9452 0071, or via email at tax@spenceraccountants.com.au.

 

 

Please complete this form for each relevant entity

Please complete this form for each relevant individual