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PRIVACY
POLICY
Of PORTNEY &
COMPANY
CERTIFIED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS & CONSULTANTS
Your privacy is
important to us. At Portney & Company, we are committed to your
privacy and to retain your trust. We respect your right to keep your
personal information confidential and to avoid unwanted
solicitations.
Please read
this to learn how we handle your personal information.
Types
Of Information We Collect:
We collect nonpublic personal information about you that is provided
by you or obtained by us with your authorization to prepare your
personal income tax returns and provide personal financial planning
to you.
Examples
Of Sources From Which We Collect Information:
·
CLIENT INTERVIEWS, TAX
RETURN ORGANIZERS, FINANCIAL PLANNING ORGANIZERS, AND FINANCIAL
HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRES
To properly prepare your income tax return or provide financial
planning services, we receive information from you to complete your
tax return or financial plan. This information is collected from you
in written form, by phone, on line, by mail and in personal
interviews and consultations
conducted by us, as well as by information we collect from others
with your authorization.
·
TRANSACTION
INFORMATION. This is information about your transactions with us and
includes information necessary for billing and payment for our
income tax preparation and financial planning services, as well as
all correspondence between you and us. Transaction information would
also include your payment history with us, billing records and any
collection
effort engaged in by us for payment of services rendered to you.
Parties
To Whom We Disclose Information:
We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our
clients or former clients to our affiliates or to nonaffiliated
third parties except as permitted by law, the Code of Professional
Conduct of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA)
and Ethics Rulings of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants (AICPA). Nonpublic Personal Information about you and
our former clients may be disclosed to both our affiliates and
nonaffiliated third parties as permitted by law, our Code of
Professional Conduct, and Ethics Rulings of the AICPA, as follows:
- Complying with a
validly issued and enforceable subpoena or summons,
- In the course of a
review of our firm's practices under the New Jersey State Board
of Accountancy authorization.
- Initiating a complaint
or responding to an inquiry made by the Professional Conduct
Committee of the NJSCPA, the ethics division or trial board of
the AICPA or duly constituted investigative or disciplinary body
of another State CPA Society or Board of Accountancy.
- A review of a
professional practice in conjunction with a prospective
purchase, sale, or merger of all or part of our practice,
provided that we take appropriate precautions (for example,
through a written confidentiality agreement) so the prospective
purchaser does not disclose information obtained in the course
of the review.
- Participating in
actual or threatened legal proceedings or alternative dispute
resolution proceedings either initiated by or against us,
provided we disclose only the information necessary to file,
pursue, or defend against the lawsuit, and take reasonable
precautions to ensure that the information disclosed does not
become a matter of public record.
- Providing information
to affiliates of the firm and nonaffiliated third parties who
perform services or functions for us pursuant to a contractual
agreement which prohibits the third party or affiliate from
disclosing or using the information other than for the purposes
for which the information was disclosed: for example, using an
outside service bureau to process clients' tax returns, or using
a records-retention agency to store clients' records.
General
Restrictions on Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information to
Affiliates and Nonaffiliated Third Parties
As tax preparers, we are prohibited by Internal Revenue Code Section
7216 from disclosing your income tax return information without your
consent, other than for the specific purpose of preparing, assisting
in preparing or obtaining and providing services in connection with
the preparation of an income tax return for you. Furthermore, as a
member of the NJSCPA engaged in income tax preparation or financial
planning, we are generally prohibited from disclosing confidential
client information about you to affiliates and nonaffiliated third
parties without your specific consent. (See exceptions under heading
"Parties to whom we disclose information").
Confidentiality
and Security of Nonpublic Personal Information
We restrict access to Nonpublic Personal Information about you to
those employees and other parties who must use that information to
provide services to you. Their right to further disclose and use the
information is limited by (our employee code of conduct if
applicable), applicable law, our Code of Professional Conduct and
nondisclosure agreements where appropriate. We also maintain
physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in compliance with
applicable laws and regulations to guard your Nonpublic Personal
Information.
Sincerely,
Portney & Company
Certified Public Accountants & Consultants
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