PRIVACY NOTICE as required by Federal Trade Commission Rule 16 CFR Part 313 "Privacy of Consumer Financial Information"

PRIVACY POLICY

Of

D'Arcangelo & Co., LLP

Certified Public Accountants and Consultants

Your privacy is important to us. 

At D'Arcangelo & Co., LLP, we are committed to your privacy and retaining your trust.  We respect your right to keep your personal information confidential and to avoid unwanted solicitations.  A recent law change requires us (along with banks, brokerage houses, and other financial institutions) to disclose our Privacy Policy to you, which we are more than happy to do.  We hope that by taking a few moments to read it, you will have a better understanding of what we do with the information you provide us and how we keep it private and secure. 

Types of Information we collect

We collect nonpublic personal information about you that is provided by you or obtained by us with your authorization to prepare your personal income tax returns and provide personal financial planning to you.

 Examples of sources from which we collect information:

CLIENT INTERVIEWS, TAX RETURN ORGANIZERS, FINANCIAL PLANNING ORGANIZERS, AND FINANCIAL HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRES

To properly prepare your income tax return or provide financial planning services, we receive information from you to complete your tax return or financial plan.  This information is collected from you in written form, by phone, on line, by mail and in personal interviews and consultations conducted by us, as well as by information we collect from others with your authorization.

TRANSACTION INFORMATION. 

This is information about your transactions with us and includes information necessary for billing and payment for our income tax preparation and financial planning services, as well as all correspondence between you and us.  Transaction information would also include your payment history with us, billing records and any collection effort engaged in by us for payment of services rendered to you.

Parties To Whom We Disclose Information

We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our clients or former clients to our affiliates or to nonaffiliated third parties except as permitted by law, the Code of Professional Conduct of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and Ethics Rulings of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).  Nonpublic Personal Information about you and our former clients may be disclosed to both our affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties as permitted by law, our Code of Professional Conduct, and Ethics Rulings of the AICPA, as follows:

1.          Complying with a validly issued and enforceable subpoena or summons,

2.          In the course of a review of our firm’s practices under the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) or New York State Board for Public Accountancy authorization.

3.          Initiating a complaint or responding to an inquiry made by the Professional Ethics Committee of the NYSSCPA, the ethics division or trial board of AICPA or duly constituted investigative or disciplinary body of another State CPA Society or Board of Accountancy.

4.          A review of a professional practice in conjunction with a prospective purchase, sale, or merger of all or part of our practice, provided that we take appropriate precautions (for example, through a written confidentiality agreement) so the prospective purchaser does not disclose information obtained in the course of the review.

5.          Participating in actual or threatened legal proceedings or alternative dispute resolution proceedings either initiated by or against us, provided we disclose only the information necessary to file, pursue, or defend against the lawsuit, and take reasonable precautions to ensure that the information disclosed does not become a matter of public record.

 6.          Providing information to affiliates of the firm and nonaffiliated third parties who perform services or functions for us pursuant to a contractual agreement which prohibits the third party or affiliate from disclosing or using the information other than for the purposes for which the information was disclosed: for example, using an outside service bureau to process client’s tax returns, or, using a records-retention agency to store client’s records. 

General Restrictions on Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information to Affiliates and Nonaffiliated Third Parties

As tax preparers, we are prohibited by Internal Revenue Code Section 7216 from disclosing your income tax return information without your consent, other than for the specific purpose of preparing, assisting in preparing or obtaining and providing services in connection with the preparation of an income tax return for you.  Furthermore, as a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants engaged in income tax preparation or financial planning, we are generally prohibited from disclosing confidential client information about you to affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties without your specific consent.  (See exceptions under heading "Parties to whom we disclose information").

 Confidentiality and Security of Nonpublic Personal Information

We restrict access to Nonpublic Personal Information about you to those employees and other parties who must use that information to provide services to you.  Their right to further disclose and use the information is limited by our employee code of conduct, applicable law, our Code of Professional Conduct and nondisclosure agreements where appropriate.  We also maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in compliance with applicable laws and regulations to guard your Nonpublic Personal Information. 

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Thank you for allowing us to serve your accounting, tax, and financial planning needs.  We value your business and are committed to protecting your privacy.  We hope you view our firm as your most trusted advisor and we will work to continue earning your trust.  Please call if you have any questions, because your privacy, our professional ethics, and the ability to provide you with quality financial services are very important to us.