Privacy Notice and Confidentiality Statement

Evans Accounting & Consulting LLC provides tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll and consulting services. To do that work we necessarily hold a great deal of information about you — some of the most sensitive information you have. This notice explains, in plain language, what we collect, what we do with it, what we will not do with it, and how we keep it safe.

Federal law requires us to give you this notice. We would give it to you anyway.

What we collect

We collect only what we need to do the work you have engaged us for. Depending on the services you use, that may include:

• Information you give us directly — on organizers, worksheets and forms, in conversation, and in the documents you provide
• Information from your tax documents — Forms W-2, 1099, 1098, K-1, brokerage statements, closing statements and similar records
• Information from third parties you authorize us to contact — the IRS and state revenue departments, prior preparers, financial institutions, title companies and employers
• Information generated in the course of the engagement — our workpapers, calculations, correspondence and the returns themselves

What we do with it

We use your information to perform the services you engaged us for, to comply with our own legal and professional obligations, and for nothing else.

When we share it — and the permission we need first

Federal law is strict on this point, and so are we. Internal Revenue Code §7216 makes it a criminal offense for a tax preparer to disclose or use your tax return information without your permission, and §6713 adds civil penalties on top. We take that seriously.

That is the complete list. There is no other circumstance in which your information leaves this firm.

How we protect it

We maintain a written information security plan covering the physical, technical and administrative safeguards we use. In practical terms:

• Electronic files are stored on encrypted, password-protected systems, with multi-factor authentication on the accounts that hold client data
• Paper files are kept in a locked location, and are not left out where others can see them
• Access is limited to the people who need it to do your work, and no further
• We use current anti-malware protection, keep our systems patched, and back up client data securely
• We do not send sensitive documents by unsecured email — we use a secure portal, or we hand them to you
• Anyone working for this firm is trained on these obligations and acknowledges them in writing
• Devices and paper records are destroyed securely when they reach the end of their life

How long we keep it

We retain client records for the period required by professional standards and applicable law, and we apply this same notice to former clients — your information is protected in exactly the same way after the engagement ends as during it. When records reach the end of their retention period we destroy them securely: paper is shredded, electronic media is wiped or physically destroyed.

If something goes wrong

If we ever have reason to believe your information has been exposed, we will tell you promptly and directly, tell you what we know and what we are doing about it, and notify the IRS, state authorities and law enforcement as required. We will not wait to be asked.

Your choices

• You may ask us at any time what we hold about you.
• You may authorize us to share with someone — or withdraw that authorization — at any time, in writing.
• You may decline any consent we ask for. It will not affect the services we provide you, and we will not ask twice.
• You may ask us questions about any of this, and we will answer them plainly.

Questions about this notice

This notice is provided under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and its implementing regulations, and reflects our obligations under Internal Revenue Code §§7216 and 6713 and the FTC Safeguards Rule.