New-Client-Information

By submitting this form, you agree to our terms of engagement:

Re: Letter of engagement

We are bound to comply with professional quality standards of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) and the Tax Practitioner Board (TPB). Accordingly, this is a formal document and confirms our understanding of the terms of our engagement and the nature and limitations of the services that we provide.

Purpose, Scope and Output of the Engagement


This firm will provide accounting and tax compliance services. No audit 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.

This engagement includes attending to preparation of the Individual Tax Return; this includes but is not limited to the following: Collection of information and conducting interview, verifying ATO Tax Agent Portal reports, reconciling and preparation of tax estimate and tax return including all relevant schedules, reviewing tax return, attending to queries and correspondence, publishing tax return to client portal for signing, rendering invoice to client portal, lodgement of tax return to ATO, processing refund/payable assessment from ATO and where necessary depositing credits to bank accounts, general care and attention.

All records will be stored digitally and paper copies of prepared reports where applicable will be prepared for distribution to the relevant parties (for example ATO) for the agreed purpose. There is no assumption of responsibility for any reliance on our report by any person or entity other than you and those parties indicated in the prepared documents. Accordingly, our report may include a disclaimer to this effect.

Time Frame


The first period for which we will be responsible is the current tax year unless otherwise stated.


Our expected time to process the agreed engagement is fourteen (14) days from the time any Request for Information (RFI) has been fully responded to by you.

Delays with work completion are the responsibility of the client as well as Shah Legacy and if documents are not supplied by the client in a timely manner the delays will be the responsibility of the client solely. All parties (client & Shah Legacy) need to take responsibility for the lateness of any returns. If there are any penalties for lateness the client needs to acknowledge that they are responsible for ensuring all tax work is completed in a timely manner and by sending reminders if necessary.

If the agreed engagement is to take priority over other clients to meet a deadline, this can be achieved but normally for a premium fee as we will need to arrange for afterhours work.

When information has been requested from you, the above timeframe recommences from the time all the relevant information is supplied.

At the same time, Shah Legacy acknowledges that all tax work will be completed in a professional manner as per the below engagement.

Responsibilities


Strict confidentiality requirements will be met by us with no disclosure by us to other parties without your consent. You accept that our files may be made available for audits by Chartered Accountants Australian and New Zealand (CAANZ) and TPB and you will be advised in advance.

You are responsible for the reliability, accuracy and completeness of the accounting records and information provided and to provide access for five years. Any advice is only an opinion based on our knowledge of your particular circumstances.

In addition, 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 a 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 5 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.

Fees

The fee arrangement is based on the expected amount of time and the level of staff required to complete the accounting and tax compliance services as agreed.

You agree to pay our fees by signing the engagement letter. Our rates are:

Accounting work at $250 per hour (excl. GST)


Admin work at $80 per hour (excl. GST)


If major issues are identified during the job which may lead to excessive bills, you will be notified. After receipt of all tax records if we determine that the complexity of the job is outside our normal scope we reserve the right to cease work and renegotiate a revised fee to your satisfaction.

We anticipate issuing fee invoice(s) upon completion of providing the agreed services.


Limitation of Liability


Our liability is limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. Further information on the scheme is available from the Professional Standards Councils’
website: http://www.professionalstandardscouncil.gov.au .


Ownership of Documents


All original documents 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 a Tax Return and ownership of this document will vest in you. All other documents produced by us in respect of this engagement will remain the property of the firm.

We look forward to your confirmation of the above engagement. These terms will be effective for future years unless we advise you of any change.


By submitting this form, I authorize Shah Legacy to act as my Tax Agents under their terms of engagement listed above.