Privacy Policy
At Sheppard Advisory Pty Ltd, your privacy is important to us. This policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and manage your personal information. We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Collection of Personal Information
We collect personal information that is necessary for us to provide our services to you. This may include, but is not limited to, your name, contact details, financial information, and any other details relevant to the services you request from us.
Our usual process for collecting personal information is to gather it directly from you. However, we may also collect personal information from other sources, such as the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink, your other advisors (if applicable), other entities within Sheppard Advisory, your suppliers or creditors, through paid search providers, marketing or business development events, or from banks or other credit providers. We will only collect personal information from these additional sources if it is necessary to provide you with accounting or business advisory services, or if you have instructed us to collect your personal information from those sources.
Under our professional obligations, we are required to provide you with an engagement agreement for certain matters (see APES 230 and 305). Therefore, we will need to collect your contact details before proceeding with any accounting or business advisory services.
If you do not provide us with the requested information, we may not be able to deliver the accounting or business advisory services. In some cases, it may be possible for you to provide only some, but not all, of the requested personal information. You can ask us whether this is possible before giving us your instructions.
Use of Personal Information
We use your personal information to:
- Provide the services you request from us.
- Communicate with you regarding your inquiries or services.
- Enhance and improve the services we offer.
- Comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
We will not use your personal information for any other purpose without your consent, unless required by law.
We may transfer or send your personal information to an overseas partner for the purpose of providing the accounting or business advisory services to you. If we do disclose personal information to an overseas partner, to fulfil the purpose for which the personal information was collected, including a related purpose, we are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient of your personal information does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles or a similar law in relation to your personal information.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Your personal information may be shared with third parties when:
- It is necessary to provide the service you requested.
- We are legally required to do so.
- We have your consent to share the information.
We ensure that any third party
we deal with protects your personal information in accordance with privacy laws.
Security of Personal Information
We take the security of your personal information seriously. Sheppard Advisory implements reasonable security measures to protect your data from unauthorized access, misuse, loss, or disclosure.
Access and Correction
You have the right to access and correct any personal information we hold about you. If you would like to review or amend your information, please contact us, and we will take reasonable steps to address your request promptly.
Website Usage
We may collect information about your use of our website, including cookies and tracking technologies, to improve your browsing experience and enhance our services. This data is anonymized and does not personally identify you unless you choose to provide information to us.
Other
Under the Tax Agent Board regulations, we are required to list where all the servers are located for our Cloud Software.
Program | Server Location |
PracticeProtect | USA |
Xero Products [including Xero Practice Manager and Workflow Max] | Amazon Web Services – USA |
XPM | Amazon Web Services – USA |
Hubdoc | Amazon Web Services – USA |
Dext | Amazon Web Services [AWS] is our cloud computing platform. We have two instances: one for live servers, based in the UK, and another one, based on a different geographical location [Frankfurt] to ensure the availability of data during an incident. Both are hosted in AWS Europe. |
CAS360 | in Australia by Amazon Web Services [AWS]. Data is stored across multiple zoned replicas |
MYOB | Amazon Web Services Sydney region data centers |
Quickbooks online | There is no single physical address but multiple locations. Your data is simultaneously stored all around the world at the same time.
|
Practice Ignition | USA |
SuiteFiles | New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, the UK, and the USA |
Zoom |
In compliance with Tax Agent Board regulations, we are required to disclose the locations of our offshore resources. At Sheppard Advisory, we utilise skilled outsourced staff from various locations to ensure efficient and high-quality service delivery.
Changes to this Policy
Sheppard Advisory reserves the right to update or modify this privacy policy at any time. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting on our website. We encourage you to review our policy periodically.
Procedures for Complaints and Inquiries
If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding the handling of your personal information, you may contact us through the details provided below. We take all privacy complaints seriously and are committed to resolving any issues in a timely and fair manner. Upon receiving your inquiry or complaint, we will acknowledge receipt within 5 to 7 business days and aim to provide a resolution within 30 business days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for further assistance.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or your personal information, please contact Sheppard Advisory’s Privacy Officer at:
07 3184 9134
PO Box 854, ALBANY CREEK QLD 4035.