This Privacy Policy applies to:

• Personal information collected through our website at www.abacusfieldllp.com
• Information collected through our client inquiry forms and tax-season questionnaires
• Information collected during the provision of our professional accounting, assurance, taxation,bookkeeping, and agricultural services
• Information collected through email, telephone, or in-person communications
• Analytics data collected through Google Analytics on our website

3.1 PERSONAL INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE

• We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you:
• Complete inquiry forms on our website (name, email address, phone number, business details)
• Submit tax-season questionnaires through our secure Microsoft Forms platform
• Engage our services as a client (includes financial information, tax identification numbers, business records, employment information, and other details necessary for accounting, tax preparation, assurance, or advisory services)
• Communicate with us via email, phone, or in person

3.2 INFORMATION WE COLLECT AUTOMATICALLY

• IP address (anonymized)
• Browser type and version
• Device type and operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on pages
• Referring website or source
• Geographic location (city/region level only)
• Our website is hosted on Webflow and does not use tracking cookies for marketing purposes. Google Analytics is configured to respect user privacy settings and anonymize IP addresses.

4.1 SERVICE DELIVERY

• To provide accounting, assurance, taxation, bookkeeping, business advisory, and agricultural services
• To prepare financial statements, tax returns, and other required documents
• To fulfill our professional obligations and regulatory requirements
• To respond to your inquiries and provide customer service

4.2 COMMUNICATION

• To communicate with you about your account, services, and important updates
• To send tax deadline reminders and filing notifications
• To provide information about regulatory changes that may affect you

4.3 LEGAL & PROFESSIONAL COMPLIANCE

• To comply with legal obligations, including tax reporting and anti-money laundering requirements
• To meet professional standards and regulatory requirements of CPA Canada and provincial CPA bodies
• To respond to lawful requests from government authorities
• To protect our legal rights and prevent fraud

4.4 BUSINESS OPERATIONS

• To improve our services and website functionality
• To analyze website usage and optimize user experience
• To maintain accurate records for quality control and professional liability purposes

4.5 BUSINESS OPERATIONS

We process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:

• Consent: You have provided explicit or implied consent for specific purposes
• Contractual Necessity: Processing is necessary to fulfill our engagement with you
• Legal Obligation: Processing is required to comply with tax laws, financial reporting requirements, and professional regulations
• Legitimate Interest: Processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as improving services and preventing fraud, provided these interests do not override your privacy rights

We process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:

• Consent: You have provided explicit or implied consent for specific purposes
• Contractual Necessity: Processing is necessary to fulfill our engagement with you
• Legal Obligation: Processing is required to comply with tax laws, financial reporting requirements, and professional regulations
• Legitimate Interest: Processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as improving services and preventing fraud, provided these interests do not override your privacy rights

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

6.1 SERVICE PROVIDERS

We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in delivering our services, including:

• Technology service providers (e.g., Microsoft for Forms and secure document management)
• Website hosting services (Webflow)
• Analytics services (Google Analytics)
• Cloud-based practice management and working paper software (CaseWare Cloud)
• These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and may only use it for the purposes we specify.

6.2 PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS

We may share information with other professional advisors (lawyers, consultants, or specialists) when necessary to provide comprehensive services to you, and only with your consent or as required by professional standards.

6.3 GOVERNMENT & REGULATORY BODIES

We may disclose information to government agencies and regulatory bodies when required by law, including:

• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
• Provincial tax authorities
• CPA Canada (for regulatory compliance)
• Law enforcement agencies (when legally required)

6.4 BUSINESS TRANSFERS

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred to the acquiring entity, subject to the same privacy protections outlined in this policy.

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our security practices include:

• Secure, encrypted transmission of data through our website (SSL/TLS encryption)
• Two-factor authentication (2FA) for access to client questionnaires and sensitive systems
• Secure Microsoft 365 platform for document storage and management
• Regular security assessments and updates in collaboration with our technology partners
• Physical security measures at our offices
• Restricted access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• Employee training on privacy and confidentiality obligations

While we strive to protect your information, no method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to using reasonable measures to safeguard your data.

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy and to comply with legal and professional obligations. Specific retention periods include:

• Client files and working papers: Minimum of 10 years from the end of the professional engagement, as required by CPA professional standards
• Tax returns and supporting documentation: 7 years as required by CRA
• Financial statements: As required by applicable legislation and professional standards
• Inquiry forms from non-clients: 2 years, unless an engagement is established
• After the retention period expires, we securely destroy or anonymize personal information in accordance with our document retention policy.

While we strive to protect your information, no method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to using reasonable measures to safeguard your data.

Under Canadian privacy law, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

9.2 RIGHT TO CORRECTION

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you. We will provide you with a copy of your information, subject to certain legal exceptions.

9.1 RIGHT TO ACCESS

You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information. We will make reasonable efforts to correct the information promptly.

9.3 RIGHT TO WITHDRAW CONSENT

You may withdraw your consent to certain uses of your personal information at any time, subject to legal and contractual restrictions. Note that withdrawing consent may limit our ability to provide certain services.

9.4 RIGHT TO OBJECT

You may object to certain processing of your personal information where we rely on legitimate interests as the legal basis for processing.

9.4 LIMITATIONS ON RIGHTS

Your rights may be limited where disclosure would reveal confidential commercial information, interfere with legal or regulatory obligations, or compromise the professional relationship between the firm and other clients. We are also required to retain certain records for specific periods under professional and legal requirements, which may limit deletion requests.

Our website uses Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use our site. Google Analytics collects information anonymously and reports website trends without identifying individual visitors.

We have configured Google Analytics to:

• Anonymize IP addresses
• Respect browser Do Not Track settings where possible
• Disable data sharing with Google for advertising purposes
• You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available at: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

For more information on how Google uses data, please visit: policies.google.com/privacy

Our website may contain links to third-party websites for your convenience. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

For clients who engage our services, a comprehensive list of all third-party service providers, including links to their terms and privacy policies, is available in our Third-Party Services Providers Policy, which forms part of our engagement documentation.

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected information from a child, we will delete it promptly.

Your personal information is primarily stored and processed in Canada. Some of our service providers (such as Microsoft and Google) may store or process data on servers located outside of Canada, including in the United States.

When information is transferred outside Canada, it is subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is held and may be accessible to law enforcement and government authorities in those jurisdictions. We ensure that any international transfers are subject to appropriate safeguards in accordance with Canadian privacy law.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will post the updated policy on our website with a new effective date.

For material changes that significantly affect how we handle your personal information, we will notify current clients directly via email or through other appropriate means. Your continued use of our services following any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

Abacus & Field LLP

Chartered Professional Accountants
119 2A Ave SW
High River, AB T1V 1M3

Phone: 403-652-2400
Email: accounting@abacusfieldllp.com

Website: www.abacusfieldllp.com