Privacy Policy

Employment candidates will also be advised of the purposes for which their personal information is being collected and you will be provided an opportunity to consent to the collection, use and disclosure as described.

What happens if you choose not to give us your consent? What if you withdraw your consent at a later date?

You always have the option not to provide your consent to the collection, use and distribution of your personal information, or to withdraw your consent at a later stage. Where a client chooses not to provide us with permission to collect, use or disclose personal information, we may not have sufficient information to provide you with our services. Where a candidate for employment chooses not to provide us with permission to collect, use or disclose personal information we may not be able to employ you.

Principle #5 – LIMITING COLLECTION
The firm collects only that personal information required to perform its professional services and to operate its business, and such information is collected by fair and lawful means.
The staff involved in an engagement need access to some or all of the types of personal information, noted under principle 3 above, to obtain evidence to support the firm’s opinion on the company’s financial statements or to facilitate the completion of special projects as engaged by the client. Such personal information will be a significant component of various transactions and events affecting the financial statements that may be subjected to confirmation, testing, and analysis.

Principle #6 – LIMITING USE, DISCLOSURE & RETENTION
The firm uses or discloses personal information only for purposes for which it has consent, or as required by law.
We may also disclose personal information without consent:
• to comply with a subpoena, a warrant or an order made by a court or other body with appropriate jurisdiction or to comply with rules of conduct required by regulatory bodies. It is important to note that accounting firms are not protected by client/solicitor privileges.
• to a government institution that has requested the information, identified its lawful authority, and indicates that disclosure is for the purpose of enforcing, carrying out an investigation, or gathering intelligence relating to any federal, provincial or foreign law; or suspects that the information relates to national security or the conduct of international affairs; or is for the purpose of administering any federal or provincial law.
• to an investigative body or government institution on our initiative when we believe the information concerns a breach of an agreement, or a contravention of a federal, provincial, or foreign law, or we suspect the information relates to national security or the conduct of international affairs.
As required by professional standards, rules of professional conduct and regulation, the firm documents the work it performs in records, commonly called “working paper” files. Such files may include personal information obtained from a client. Working papers are safeguarded against inappropriate access, as discussed under Principle “8”.

We also use it to enable us to provide you through various channels with information that we believe are of interest to you. This includes such matters as:
• new services we provide,
• conferences and other professional development courses we hold,
• notice of changes in the law or accounting practices that may be of interest to you, and
• other professional or business developments.

If you do not wish to receive such information, you may opt out by sending an email to info@compass-cpa.com or by advising your Accounting contact and we will discontinue sending you information other than in regard to your account.

The firm retains personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill its purposes.

Working paper files and other files containing, for example, copies of personal tax returns are retained for the time period required by law and regulation or for the time period as specified in the firm’s retention of client information policy.

The personal information collected from a client during the course of a professional service engagement may be:
• shared with the firm’s personnel participating in such engagement;
• disclosed to team members within the firm to the extent required to assess compliance with applicable professional standards and rules of professional conduct, and the firm’s policies, including providing quality control reviews of work performed;
• provided to members of the organization’s board of directors, and others in the company that might not otherwise have access to the information; and
• provided to external professional practice inspectors (e.g., representatives of the Canadian Public Accountability Board, or the Chartered Professional Accountants of Manitoba), who by law, professional regulation, or contract have the right of access to the firm’s files for inspection purposes.

Principle #7 – ACCURACY
The firm endeavours to keep accurate, complete, and up-to-date, personal information in its possession or control, to the extent required to meet the purposes for which it was collected.
Individual clients are encouraged to contact the firm to update their personal information.

Principle #8 – SAFEGUARDS
The firm protects the privacy of personal information in its possession or control by using security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
Physical security (e.g., restricted access, locked rooms and filing cabinets) is maintained over personal information stored in hard copy form. Authorization to access personal information is based on client assignment and quality control responsibilities.
Encryption may be used to prevent unauthorized access to personal information received or sent over the Internet.

For files and other materials containing personal information entrusted to a third party service provider (e.g., a provider of paper based or electronic file storage), the firm obtains appropriate assurance to affirm that the level of protection of personal information by the third party is equivalent to that of the firm.

Principle #9 – OPENNESS
The firm is open about the procedures it uses to manage personal information.
Up-to-date information on the firm’s privacy policy can be obtained from the firm’s Privacy Officer (see contact information under principal 1).

Principle #10 – INDIVIDUAL ACCESS
The firm responds on a timely basis to requests from clients about their personal information which the firm possesses or controls.
Individual clients of the firm have the right to contact the firm and obtain access to their personal information. Similarly, authorized officers or employees of organizations that are clients of the firm have the right to contact the firm and obtain access to personal information provided by that client. In certain situations, however, the firm may not be able to give clients access to all their personal information. The firm will explain the reasons why access must be denied and any recourse the client may have, except where prohibited by law.

Principle #11 – CHALLENGING COMPLIANCE
Clients may challenge the firm’s compliance with its Privacy Policy.

To challenge the firm’s compliance with its Privacy Policy, clients are asked to provide an email message or letter to the firm’s Privacy Officer (see contact information under principal 1 above). The firm’s Privacy Officer will ensure that a complete investigation of a client complaint is undertaken and will report the results of this investigation to the client, in most cases, within 30 days.