AMS Accountants Group are dedicated to protecting the confidentiality and privacy of the information that is provided to us in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We understand that your privacy is important, and that you care about how your personal data is used and shared online. We will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a manner that is consistent with GDPR obligations.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, you must stop using Our Site immediately.
Who are we?
This Privacy applies to AMS Accountants Group Ltd, and all entities within the AMS Group.
If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy or how we handle Personal Data, please contact your correspondence to: AMS Accountants Group, Data Privacy, 2nd Floor, 9 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3BE or please email info@groupams.co.uk
What is Personal Data?
Personal data is defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679) (the “GDPR”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’.
Personal data is any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.
Your Rights
- You can ask us to confirm if we are processing personal data about you. If we are, you have the right to request more specific information
- If you believe our records are incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us to correct this information about you
- You have the right to ask us to erase (delete) your personal data once you have withdrawn your consent to processing or when we no longer need it for the purpose it was originally collected
- If you prefer to restrict your personal data’s use rather than erase it, or you need us to maintain it for you, you can ask us to temporarily restrict our processing of it
- You can ask us to pass on your personal data directly to another company if it’s technically feasible
- You can ask us to review any decisions made about you which we made solely based on automated processing, including profiling, that produced legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affected you
- You can stop us using your personal data for direct marketing purposes. We may need to keep some minimal information to comply with your request to cease marketing to you.
- You can withdraw your consent that you have previously given to one or more specified purposes to process your personal data. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. It may mean we are not able to provide certain products or services to you and we will advise you if this is the case.
What Data Do We Collect?
We may ask to obtain the following categories of personal data:
Personal Data
- Contact Details – e.g. name, company name, telephone numbers etc.
- Professional Details – e.g. job history, professional memberships, educational background etc.
- Family and beneficiary details – e.g. names and date of birth etc.
- Financial Information – e.g. taxes, investment interest, pensions, assets etc.
- CCTV at our sites may collect images of our visitors
Sensitive Personal Data
Typically, we do not collect sensitive data about individuals other than our own employees. If we do need to process sensitive data, this is due to the instructions of a third party, with the consent of the individuals or as required by law. Examples of sensitive personal data include:
- Personal identification documents that may reveal race, religion, corporate entities etc.
- Expense receipts submitted for individual tax or accounting advice that reveal affiliations with trade unions or political opinions
- Information provided to us by our clients in the course of a professional engagement
How Do We Use Your Data?
All personal data is processed and stored securely, for no longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected.
The way we use your personal data will always have a lawful reason, either because it is necessary for our performance of a contract with you, because you have consented to our use of your personal data, or because it is in our legitimate interests.
We always aim to be transparent when we collect and use personal data and tell you why we need it, which typically includes:
- Providing professional advice and delivering reports related to our tax, advisory, audit, pension scheme administration, restructuring, mergers and other professional services
- Promoting our professional services, products and capabilities to existing and prospective business clients
- Sending invitations and providing access to guests attending our events or our sponsored events
- Personalising online landing pages and communications we think would be of interest based on interactions with us
- Administering, maintaining and ensuring the security of our information systems, applications and websites
- Authenticating registered users to certain areas of our sites
- Seeking qualified candidates, and forwarding candidate career inquiries to our HR Team
- Processing online requests, including responding to communications from individuals or requests for proposals and quotations
- Contacting journalists regarding company press releases, invitations to annual press parties, highlighting messages that may be of interest on specific industry topics
- Travel arrangement assistance
- Complying with legal and regulatory obligations relating to anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud and other forms of financial crime
- Compiling health and safety data (directly or indirectly) following an incident or accident. Indirect data can take many forms including an incident report, first aider report, witness statements and CCTV footage
We only keep your personal data for as long as we need to in order to use it, and/or for as long as we have your permission to keep it.
Do We Share Your Data?
We may share your data with other companies in our group.
We may occasionally share personal data with trusted third parties to help us deliver efficient quality services. Any third parties we engage with are bound to safeguard the data we entrust with them and we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data will be handled safely and in accordance with your rights. These may include payment processing, delivery of goods, search engine facilities, advertising, and marketing. In some cases, the third parties may require access to some or all of your data.
In certain circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain data held by us, which may include your personal data, for example, where we are involved in legal proceedings, where we are complying with legal requirements, a court order, or a governmental authority.
We store personal data on server’s located in the European Economic Area (EEA). We may transfer personal data to reputable third party organisations inside or outside of the EEA when we have a business reason. Each organisation is required to safeguard your personal data in accordance with our contractual obligation and data protection legislation.
How do we Protect your Personal Data?
AMS Accountants Group have ensured that employees who come into contact with your personal data have adhered to our personal data protection policies, and they are trained in security and privacy best practice.
We have appropriate technical measures in place for our computer devices and network in order to protect data from any accidental or malicious activities or theft. Confidential information is securely destroyed when no longer required.
Our offices are protected from physical access, as staff are required to access via swipe cards and the office is staffed by a reception team.
How Can I Access My Personal Data?
You can ask us for details of any personal data we have for you and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.
You must provide your subject access request in writing, either via email or post. There is no charge involved for a subject access request.
We will respond to your subject access request within one month of receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.
Please contact info@groupams.co.uk for a subject access request.
Complaints
We are committed to providing a high-standard of tax and accountancy services to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards. If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details.
Our Client Engagement Letter includes reference to our complaints handling procedure. All complaints (oral or written) are forwarded immediately to the person responsible for handling complaints. Prompt written acknowledgement is then provided to the complainant as evidence that the complaint has been received and is being investigated.
Should the result of the investigation into the complaint be that the principal believes the complaint to be unjustified, this will be communicated to the client, preferably by way of a face-to-face meeting. Although this may be communicated in another form of client’s choice. A record of the communication in the meeting, or any other form of communication will also be explained in a letter, along with the client’s right to refer the complaint to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office).
Should the complainant remain unsatisfied with the outcome of the investigation, they should be reminded of their right to complain to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office). This will be included within any closing letter to the investigation.
Our Use of Cookies
Our website may use Cookies.
Our site may place and access certain first party Cookies on your computer or device. These are placed directly by us and are used only by us. We use first party Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience and to provide and improve our products AND/OR services. We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.
By using our site you may also receive certain third party Cookies on your computer or device. Third party Cookies are those placed by websites, services, and/or parties other than us. Third party Cookies may be used on our site for advertising services or to provide information on site activity and engagement. These Cookies are not integral to the functioning of our site and your use and experience of our site will not be impaired by refusing consent to them.
All Cookies used by and on our site are used in accordance with current Cookie Law.
Our Site uses analytics services provided by Google which is used to collect and analyse anonymous usage information, enabling us to better understand how our site is used. This enables us to improve our site and the products OR services offered through it. You do not have to allow us to use these Cookies, however whilst our use of them does not pose any risk to your privacy or your safe use of our site, it does enable Us to continually improve our site, making it a better and more useful experience for you.
It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up- to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or industry standards. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any updates.