When you hand an accounting firm your tax documents, you are handing over the most sensitive information you have: Social Security numbers, bank accounts, what you earn, what you own. Protecting it is part of the work, not an afterthought to it.
Here is how we approach it.
We are bound by more than good intentions
Federal law makes unauthorized disclosure of tax return information a criminal offense for a preparer, and adds civil penalties on top. That is not a policy we adopted — it is the standard we work under.
We will not share your information without your written permission
Not with a family member, not with your lender, not with your attorney. If you want us to, we will ask you to sign a specific authorization, because the law does not accept a verbal one. If you would rather we shared with nobody, that is the default.
We never sell your information.
- There is no circumstance in which it is sold, rented, traded, or used to market anything to you on someone else's behalf.
Your files are encrypted and access is limited
Electronic records sit on encrypted, password-protected systems with multi-factor authentication. Paper records are kept locked. Access is limited to the people doing your work.
We do not send sensitive documents by ordinary email
Email is the weakest link in this industry. We use a secure exchange, or we hand documents to you.
We maintain a written information security plan
It is reviewed at least annually, and everyone who works on client files is trained on it and acknowledges it in writing.
If something ever goes wrong, you will hear it from us
Promptly, plainly, with what we know and what we are doing about it — and we will notify the IRS and state authorities so your account can be protected before anyone misuses it.
If you have a question about any of this, ask. We would rather answer it than have you wonder.
Read next: our Privacy Policy for how this website handles information, or our client Privacy Notice and Confidentiality Statement.