Asmat Accountants
01Who We Are
Asmat & Co is the data controller for the personal information we collect through www.asmataccountants.co.uk and when we provide accountancy, tax, bookkeeping, payroll and business advisory services. We process personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).
Legal entity: Asmat Accountancy Services Ltd, company number 08277941
ICO registration number: 00013829340
Our Offices
- Head office, Slough
- 84 High Street, Slough, SL1 1EL
- Reading
- 365-367 Oxford Road, Reading, RG30 1HA
- Birmingham / West Midlands
- Old Bank Building, 35-37 King Street, Darlaston, Wednesbury, WS10 8DE
Privacy Contact
For any question about this policy or your personal data, email info@asmataccountants.co.uk, call 01753 424 968, or write to our head office marked “Data Protection”.
02The Personal Data We Collect
We collect only what we need to provide our services and meet our legal duties.
| Category | Examples | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Name, date of birth, title, photo ID, proof of address | You |
| Contact | Address, email, phone number | You, website forms |
| Tax and government identifiers | National Insurance number, UTR, VAT number, PAYE reference, Companies House details | You, HMRC, Companies House |
| Financial | Income, expenses, bank statements, invoices, pension and investment details, payroll data | You, your bank or software, your employer or clients |
| Business | Company records, shareholders, directors, employees’ payroll details | You, Companies House |
| Family and dependants | Spouse or partner details, children, where relevant to tax reliefs or benefits | You |
| Verification | Results of identity, credit reference and sanctions checks | Third-party verification providers |
| Communications | Emails, call notes, meeting notes, correspondence with HMRC on your behalf | You, HMRC |
| Website and technical | IP address, browser type, pages visited, cookie data | Your device (see section 9) |
If you give us information about other people, such as employees, family members or business partners, please make sure they know you are sharing it and point them to this policy.
03How We Use Your Data and Our Lawful Basis
UK GDPR requires a lawful basis for every use of personal data. Ours are set out below.
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Providing accounts, tax returns, bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and advisory services | Performance of a contract |
| Acting as your agent with HMRC and filing with Companies House | Performance of a contract; legal obligation |
| Identity checks, client due diligence and anti-money laundering reporting | Legal obligation |
| Keeping records required by tax, company and professional rules | Legal obligation |
| Answering enquiries made through our website, phone or email | Legitimate interests (responding to prospective clients); steps before entering a contract |
| Billing, collecting fees and managing our client relationship | Performance of a contract; legitimate interests |
| Sending updates on tax deadlines and changes that affect your services | Legitimate interests (existing clients, with an opt-out in every message) |
| Marketing emails to non-clients | Consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
| Improving our website and preventing fraud or misuse | Legitimate interests; consent for non-essential cookies |
| Handling complaints, insurance claims and legal disputes | Legitimate interests; legal obligation |
We do not sell your personal data. We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects.
04Anti-Money Laundering Checks and Sensitive Data
As an accountancy firm we are required by the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 to verify the identity of our clients and, for businesses, their beneficial owners. We may use electronic verification services, which can leave a “soft search” record on your credit file that does not affect your credit score. Our anti-money laundering supervisors are the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA).
We use data collected for these checks only to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, unless another use is permitted by law or you agree to it. If we are legally required to make a report to the National Crime Agency, the law may prevent us from telling you.
We may occasionally process special category data (for example, health information relevant to a tax relief or disability allowance) or criminal offence data (arising from anti-money laundering checks). We do so only where UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 allow it, such as where it is needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, to meet regulatory requirements, or with your explicit consent.
05Who We Share Your Data With
We share personal data only where needed to deliver our services, meet the law or run our firm.
- Government bodies
- HMRC, Companies House, the Pensions Regulator and, where legally required, the National Crime Agency or law enforcement.
- Regulators and supervisors
- Our anti-money laundering supervisor and professional bodies, for inspections and monitoring.
- Service providers (processors)
- Accounting, tax and payroll software, cloud storage, IT support, email, e-signature and identity verification providers. Each is bound by a written contract to keep your data secure and use it only as we direct.
- Professional advisers
- Our insurers, auditors, solicitors and, with your agreement, other advisers such as mortgage brokers or financial advisers.
- Others you authorise
- For example, your bank, lender, landlord or a new accountant, when you ask us to provide a reference or transfer your records.
- Buyers of our practice
- If our business or part of it is sold or merged, your data may transfer to the new owner, who must continue to protect it.
International Transfers
Some of our software providers may store or access data outside the UK. Where this happens, we ensure it is protected by UK adequacy regulations, the International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. Contact us for details of the safeguards in place.
06How Long We Keep Your Data
We keep personal data only as long as we need it, then securely delete or destroy it.
| Record | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Client files, working papers and tax records | 7 years after the end of the tax year or accounting period they relate to, or longer where HMRC may still open an enquiry |
| Anti-money laundering identity and due diligence records | 5 years after our business relationship ends, as required by the 2017 Regulations |
| Engagement letters and contracts | 7 years after the engagement ends |
| Payroll records | At least 3 years after the end of the tax year they relate to, or as long as your engagement requires |
| Enquiries from people who do not become clients | 12 months from the last contact |
| Marketing preferences | Until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent, then a suppression record so we do not contact you again |
We may keep data for longer if it is needed for a legal claim, regulatory investigation or complaint.
07Keeping Your Data Secure
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data. These include encrypted and access-controlled systems, secure client portals for sharing documents, multi-factor authentication, staff confidentiality obligations and data protection training, and locked storage for paper records at each office.
Please send sensitive documents through our secure portal, or another method we agree with you, rather than ordinary email. If we become aware of a personal data breach that is likely to put you at risk, we will tell you and, where required, report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours.
08Your Rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
- Access
- Obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification
- Have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
- Erasure
- Have your data deleted where there is no longer a good reason for us to keep it. This does not override records we must keep by law.
- Restriction
- Limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
- Objection
- Object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time.
- Portability
- Receive the data you gave us in a commonly used electronic format.
- Withdrawal of consent
- Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on it, without affecting processing already carried out.
To exercise any right, contact us using the details in section 1. We will respond within one month, which may be extended by two months for complex requests. There is usually no fee, and we may ask you to prove your identity before we act.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please contact us first so we can try to put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
09Our Website, Cookies and Policy Changes
Contact and Enquiry Forms
When you complete a form on www.asmataccountants.co.uk, we use the details you give us to reply to your enquiry and, if you become a client, to set up your file.
Cookies
Our website uses strictly necessary cookies to make it work. With your consent, we also use analytics cookies (such as Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use the site, and may use marketing cookies (such as the Meta Pixel) to measure and show our adverts. You can accept or reject non-essential cookies through the banner when you first visit, change your choice at any time through our cookie settings, and block cookies in your browser settings.
Other Websites
Our site may link to third-party sites such as HMRC or Companies House. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, so please read their policies.
Children
Our website and services are not aimed at children. Where we hold data about a child, for example for a family tax matter, we receive it from a parent or guardian.
Changes to This Policy
We review this policy regularly and will post any updates on this page. Where changes are significant, we will tell existing clients directly.
