1) PREPARATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

We will prepare Financial Statements in accordance with standards and guidelines issued by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and XRB.  Where required by legislation or requested by you, we will prepare annual accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand.  If necessary, we will provide additional explanations to give a true and fair view.  We will comply with the Financial Reporting Act 2013, or other applicable statute or reporting frameworks such as Special Purpose Financial Reporting.  We will prepare other annual accounts in compliance with the applicable legislation.  Periodic accounts for management are not governed by legislation and will be prepared on the basis you request.

As required by the Engagement Standards, we will include an "Accountants Statement of Disclaimer" with the Financial Statements, similar to the following:

“We have compiled the financial information based on information provided to us which has not been subject to an audit or review engagement. Accordingly, neither we, nor any of our employees accept any responsibility for the reliability, accuracy or completeness of the compiled financial information nor do we accept any liability of any kind whatsoever, including liability by reason of negligence, to any person for losses incurred as a result of placing reliance on the compiled financial information.”

The Accountants Statement does not diminish our professional obligations and duties. It advises third parties of the duties we have performed.

It is understood and agreed that you will provide us with accurate and complete information necessary to compile your Financial Statements.

The responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the assertions in the Financial Statements remains with you.

Where EPA Business Limited is not acting as trustee for a client trust, it is the trustee’s obligation to meet the requirements of the Trusts Act 2019 (not EPA Business Limited).

You acknowledge and accept responsibility for all records and information supplied. You also acknowledge and accept responsibility for any failure to supply all relevant records and information.

You authorise us to communicate with bankers, solicitors, finance companies and all government agencies to obtain such information as we may require in order to complete your Financial Statements.

Our compilation services will not result in the expression of an audit or review opinion or provide any other form of assurance on the Financial Statements.

It is not intended that our engagement be relied upon to prevent or detect fraud and error. Responsibility for such prevention and detection remains with you/your management.

Outsourcing and Third Party Providers

To provide our services to you, we may need to access and use services and products that are owned by third parties.  We may provide your information to these third parties solely as required to perform our work for you and not for any other purpose.  This requires information being sent to our service provider in accordance with our privacy policy.  Such third parties include the cloud-based software platforms CCH, Xero or other providers, email and collaboration platforms such as Microsoft, and batch mail house services.  If you have any concern about our use of third party and cloud-based services, please speak to us.

In accepting this engagement, you provide us with your express consent to disclose your information to:

·        Our service providers or regulatory bodies to the extent required to provide our services to you;

·      Our professional advisor or insurers to the extent required to protect our interests regarding this engagement

Certain third party providers will require a direct authority in order for your information to be provided to us for use in completing the engagement.  If we require a direct authority from you, we will advise you and provide you with express instructions on completing.

We will take reasonable steps to ensure any such recipient (other than a regulatory body) keeps such information confidential on the same basis we maintain regarding your information.

We may retain your information during and after our engagement:

·        To comply with legal requirements

·        As part of our regular IT back-up and archiving practices

·        To perform our work for you under this engagement

·        To comply with our professional and ethical obligations

We will continue to hold all such information confidentially.

If we want to mention that you are a client for promotional purposes, we will seek your permission before doing so.

2) INCOME TAX RETURNS/TAX INFORMATION

We are responsible for the preparation and filing of Income Tax Returns with the Inland Revenue Department. Your acceptance of this engagement letter is written authorisation allowing EPA Business Limited to obtain, as required from the Inland Revenue Department, information regarding any tax type available. This may be obtained via telephone, internet, fax, e-services or in writing. This information will assist in ensuring you have fulfilled your obligations with respect to any of the available tax types.

3) BENEFIT OF ADVICE

Unless stated in the Engagement Letter, any advice or opinion relating to the services is provided solely for your benefit and may not be disclosed in any way, including publication on any electronic media, to any other party and is not to be relied upon by any other party.

4) COMPANY MINUTES / DIRECTORS REPORTS

We will prepare Company Minutes and Directors' Reports as required.

5) MAINTENANCE OF STATUTORY RECORDS

We are responsible for the maintenance of the following statutory records, as a requirement of the Companies Act 1993 unless instructed otherwise by you:

1. Register of Directors

2. Register of Directors Interests

3. Register of Shareholders

4. Share Register

5. Register of Directors Certificates and Resolutions

6. Register of Registered Office

7. Register of Address for Service

6) FILING OF RETURNS WITH REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES

We are responsible for the preparation and lodgement of all Returns when we are appointed as the Registered Office for the Company, unless instructed otherwise by you.

7) TAX ASSESSMENTS

Our address may be used by Inland Revenue for service of tax assessments and notices and in this instance it will be our responsibility to check these tax assessments.

We will endeavour to advise the amounts and due dates of tax as payments. However the responsibility for paying the correct tax and paying on time rests with you.

Any penalties arising from lateness, errors, wrong estimation or any other reason are payable by you.

We will provide you every assistance in meeting your obligations, but any advice on payments or reminder letters received from us should be reviewed by you to check that the payment appears reasonable and that the date of payment is correct.

8) GOODS AND SERVICES TAX

You are responsible for the preparation and filing of GST Returns (if applicable) by the due dates unless you have specifically requested EPA Business Limited (in writing) to complete GST Returns on your behalf. If we are requested to complete GST Returns, we will prepare GST Returns in accordance with legislation applicable at the time, from information supplied by you. It is understood that you will provide all the necessary information and records at least seven days prior to the due date for filing of Returns to enable Returns to be prepared that are both true and correct. We will request that you sign the GST Return to be filed with the Inland Revenue Department.

We will endeavour to reconcile your GST Returns to your Financial Statements and advise you of any apparent discrepancy.

9) FRINGE BENEFIT TAX

You are responsible for the preparation and filing of all Fringe Benefit Tax Returns (if applicable) unless you have specifically requested us (in writing) to complete FBT Returns on your behalf. If we are requested to complete FBT Returns, we will prepare FBT Returns in accordance with legislation applicable at the time based on information supplied by you. It is understood that you will provide all the necessary information and records at least seven days prior to the due date for filing of Returns to enable Returns to be prepared that are both true and correct. We will request that you sign the FBT Return to be filed with the Inland Revenue Department.

10) WORKPLACE ACCIDENT INSURANCE / ACCIDENT COMPENSATION COMMISSION LEVIES

You are responsible for the payment of all Workplace Accident Insurance and Levies by the due date (if applicable).

You may nominate us as your authorised ACC Agent, enabling us to review invoices received and attend to ACC related matters on your behalf.

11) CONSULTANCY AND ADVISORY

We can assist you with various Consultancy and Advisory services, including (but not limited to) business valuations, acquisitions, mergers, financing, forecasting, business planning and trust administration services.

12) ACCOUNTANCY FEES

To ensure that there is no misunderstanding, we find it helpful to set out for our clients the basis upon which our fees and charges are calculated and our terms of payment.

Fees and Charges

Our fees are based on a number of considerations. These include the time spent on the job, its complexity and its importance to you, the degree of skill, knowledge and responsibility involved, and the result we achieve for you. Therefore, our hourly rate is only a guide to our final fee, and is not the only factor we take into account in fixing the amount we charge you.

You will be sent an account either on completion of the job, or if work is likely to take some time, interim accounts will be sent to you. As we are sometimes required to make payments on your behalf during the course of your work, you may be asked, before we spend money on your behalf, to let us have sufficient funds to meet these expenses.

Commission

We may receive commission or a share of fees on services we organise, facilitate or recommend.  These services include, but are not limited to audit insurance services, banking and financial services, services relating to the buying and selling of businesses, seminar events, and accounting software or subscriptions.

Authorisation under Privacy Act

Under the terms of the Privacy Act (1st July 1993) you irrevocably authorise any person or company to provide us with such information as we may require in response to our credit inquiries.

Client Due Diligence

EPA Business Limited must comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act).  Our work for you may be captured under the Act in conducting certain activities, including acting as a formation agent, acting as a nominee shareholder or trustee, managing client funds, or engaging in transactions for buying or selling land or a business or other legal entity/arrangement.  If you request us to perform any of these captured activities, we will only perform such work after we have conducted customer due diligence required under the AML/CFT Act and satisfied ourselves that we can proceed with the work.

When we conduct customer due diligence required by the AML/CFT Act, the information we request from you will differ depending on the entity (for example, individuals, companies, and trusts are subject to different requirements) and the level of assessed risk.  Information required may include passports, address verification by way of recent utility bill, bank statement, or government agency letter, Certificates of Incorporation or Registration, Trust Deeds or Partnership Agreements, proof of authority of person acting for you, and proof of source of funds.

As well as our obligations to undertake due diligence, the AML/CFT Act requires us to report suspicious activity reports or prescribed transactions to the relevant authority.

Under such circumstances, we may not disclose information to you about suspicious activity reports or prescribed transactions, in accordance with FIU Suspicious Activity Reporting Guidelines.

We may appoint a third party to conduct the required customer due diligence on our behalf and you authorise the collection and provision of information by any such third party.

Payment of Accounts

Our payment options are as follows:

1. Payment by monthly instalment over a 12 month period. If we also complete your GST returns, the fees charged would be incorporated in the monthly payment.

2. Payment within 14 days from the date of the invoice. If payment is not made after 60 days, interest will be charged at 18% p.a.

Accounts are due for payment on your receipt of the invoice/statement and may be paid by cash, cheque or direct credit.

Any accounts queries must be bought to the attention of EPA Business Limited in writing within 7 days of receipt of invoice/statement.

Interest on Overdue Accounts

We reserve the right to charge interest on all accounts for fees and charges remaining unpaid 60 days after the date the account is issued.

Guarantee

If you are a corporate client (ie. a company or incorporated society) our practice is to require personal guarantees for payment of our fees and expenses from appropriate directors and/or shareholders. Please have the directors or shareholders or officers of the organisation sign and return the duplicate copy of this letter in the envelope provided to confirm their agreement to personally guarantee payment of our fees and charges in accordance with these terms of engagement (including the standard compilation terms of engagement).

Costs of Collection

You agree to be liable for any costs incurred by us in relation to the collection of any debt.

13) PRACTICE REVIEW

Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand requires Practitioners to be subject to review from time to time in order to ensure that professional standards are being maintained. Reviews are based on a sample of files and specific client files may be selected by the reviewer for examination. The reviewer is officially appointed by Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand, and is bound by declarations of secrecy, meaning utmost confidentiality is maintained. The reviewer is the only person from Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand who has access to your records, and no copies are made. The review could however, include anonymous reference to a client’s information.

14) STAFF

You agree that during the provision of Services, and for a period of six months thereafter, you will not make any offer of employment to any of our directors or employees involved in the provision of the Services, without our prior consent.

15) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

We may communicate with you by e-mail or other electronic means including facsimile transmissions from time to time in the interests of expediency. You acknowledge that you may only rely on electronically transmitted advice or documents when that advice is confirmed by letter signed by a Director. You also acknowledge that we cannot ensure delivery by e-mail and that unauthorised access and faults in computer networks can occur which may result in the corruption, alteration or non-delivery of electronically transmitted materials.

We do not represent or warrant that any document or letter sent by e-mail is free from computer viruses or other defects. They are provided, and may only be used, on the basis that you assume all responsibility for any loss, damage or consequence resulting directly or indirectly from their use.

In light of the acknowledgements and issues referred to above you waive any claim against us arising out of these electronic communications.

16) OWNERSHIP OF DOCUMENTS

It is agreed that ownership of all documents supplied by you to assist in the performance of our professional services shall remain your property. All documents produced by us in the performance of our services, such as work papers, shall remain our property. It is agreed that the above has no effect on our rights to claim a particular lien over your books, records and other documents.

17) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

You acknowledge and agree that the maximum liability of EPA Business Limited (including its directors, employees and agents) to you for any loss arising in connection with this engagement shall not exceed three times the fee paid by you to us for this engagement.

18) INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless EPA Business Limited against any and all losses, claims, actions, demands, expenses, damages, liabilities or any other proceedings whatsoever incurred by us in respect of any claim by a third party arising out of or in any way related to any breach by you or your obligations under this Agreement.

19) GENERAL

We can provide general advice on business structures and day-to-day operation.