Privacy Policy

1Information we collect

Watersmith Tax and Accounting Inc. collects the personal and financial information necessary to provide accounting, tax, and consulting services. Depending on the engagement, this may include:

• Contact details, including name, postal address, email address and telephone number
• Financial records and tax related data, including slips, receipts and prior returns
• Employment, business and corporate information
• Payment and banking details
• Social Insurance Numbers and business numbers, where required to file with the Canada Revenue Agency
• Information you submit through forms on this website, including the contact form and the careers form

We collect only what is required for the service you have asked us to perform, or what we are obliged to collect by law.

2Why we collect it

We use your information to:

• Deliver accounting, tax filing and financial consulting services
• Prepare and file returns with the Canada Revenue Agency and provincial authorities
• Communicate with you about your engagement, including updates and reports
• Manage billing and payments
• Meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations, including those of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario

We do not use your information for any purpose unrelated to the services you have engaged us for, and we do not sell it.

3Consent

By engaging our services you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your information as described in this policy. Where the law requires express consent, we will ask for it separately.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us, subject to legal and contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Withdrawing consent may mean we are unable to continue providing some or all of our services. Certain records must be retained regardless of withdrawal, because tax and professional regulations require it.

4When we share information

We share your information only where it is necessary to deliver the service or where we are required to by law. This may include:

• The Canada Revenue Agency and provincial tax authorities, when filing on your behalf
• Service providers who process information on our behalf under contract, including our secure client portal, payment processors and cloud accounting platforms
• Professional advisors, where you have authorised us to do so
• Regulators, law enforcement or the courts, where disclosure is required by law

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information to anyone.

Some of our service providers may store or process information outside Canada. Where that is the case, the information may be accessible to the courts and authorities of that jurisdiction under its laws. We select providers that offer protection comparable to Canadian standards.

5Cookies and website analytics

This website uses cookies and similar technologies. When you first visit, a consent banner allows you to accept or decline categories of cookies. Analytics and advertising cookies are disabled by default and are only set if you accept them.

• Strictly necessary cookies allow the site to function and record your consent choice. These cannot be switched off.
• Analytics cookies use Google Analytics to help us understand how the site is used, in aggregate. IP addresses are anonymised. These are set only with your consent.

You can change or withdraw your cookie preferences at any time using the consent banner, or by clearing cookies in your browser. You can also configure your browser to refuse cookies, although parts of the site may not work as intended.

This website embeds third party services including a scheduling tool for booking consultations and a secure client portal. Those services may set their own cookies and are governed by their own privacy policies.

6Website forms and the client portal

Information submitted through the contact and careers forms on this website is transmitted over an encrypted connection and delivered to our firm email address. Please do not send Social Insurance Numbers, banking details or tax documents through these forms.

For exchanging documents securely, we provide a client portal. Documents, messages and signatures exchanged through the portal are held by our portal provider under contract with us.

7How we protect your information

We maintain physical, organisational and technical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we hold. These include encryption in transit, access controls limiting information to staff who need it, secure storage, and confidentiality obligations binding on everyone at the firm.

No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. We do maintain the standards expected of a chartered professional accounting practice, and we will notify you and the appropriate authorities of any breach that creates a real risk of significant harm, as required by law.

8How long we keep it

We keep your information only as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy and to meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations. Tax and accounting records are generally retained for at least six years after the end of the tax year to which they relate, consistent with Canada Revenue Agency requirements.

When information is no longer required, we securely destroy, erase or anonymise it.

9Your rights

Subject to certain exceptions in law, you have the right to:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you and how it has been used
• Access that information
• Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete
• Withdraw consent, subject to the limits described above
• Make a complaint about how we have handled your information

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@watersmithcpa.com. We will respond within thirty days. We may ask you to verify your identity before releasing information.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

10Privacy officer and how to reach us

Questions, requests and complaints about privacy should be directed to our privacy officer:

11Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised date at the top. Where changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to notify you directly. Please review this page periodically.