Terms & Conditions

These Terms and Conditions apply to all services provided by Pinecrest Accounting & Advisory Pty Ltd (ABN 12 345 678 910). Please read them carefully before engaging our services.

1. About These Terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern the professional services provided by Pinecrest Accounting & Advisory Pty Ltd (ABN 12 345 678 910) ("Pinecrest", "we", "us" or "our") and apply to all clients and website visitors.

By engaging our services, signing an engagement letter, submitting an enquiry through our website, or continuing to use our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms together with any executed engagement letter or service agreement.

These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia.

2. Our Services

Pinecrest provides the following professional accounting and advisory services:

• Tax Strategy & Compliance — proactive tax planning, return preparation and lodgement for individuals, trusts, partnerships and companies.
• Bookkeeping & Reporting — cloud-based bookkeeping, monthly close, BAS preparation and management reporting through Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks.
• Individual Tax — tax advisory and return preparation tailored to individuals, including investment property owners, share investors and sole traders.
• Business Advisory — cash-flow modelling, KPI dashboards, forecasting and quarterly strategy sessions.
• Outsourced CFO — senior financial leadership including board reporting, capital strategy and investor relations.
• Payroll & HR Compliance — end-to-end payroll, superannuation, single-touch payroll (STP) and modern-award compliance.

The specific scope of services, fees and deliverables for each engagement are set out in a separate engagement letter provided to you before work commences.

3. Engagement and Authorisation

A formal engagement is established when you sign and return our engagement letter or provide written confirmation of your instructions. By signing the engagement letter you authorise Pinecrest to:

• Act as your tax agent with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
• Access relevant ATO, ASIC, APRA and other government portal accounts on your behalf.
• Prepare, review and lodge statutory documents, returns and statements as required by your engagement scope.

Any material changes to the agreed scope of work will be confirmed in writing and may result in a fee variation.

4. Your Responsibilities

To enable us to deliver services effectively and meet regulatory deadlines, you agree to:

• Provide complete, accurate and timely information, documents and records as requested.
• Notify us promptly of any changes to your circumstances, structure or requirements that may affect your tax or compliance obligations.
• Review and approve documents, returns and financial statements before lodgement within the timeframe specified.
• Maintain adequate records in accordance with Australian law, including retaining source documents for a minimum of five years.

We are not responsible for errors, penalties or adverse outcomes resulting from incomplete, inaccurate or late information provided by you or a third party you have authorised.

5. Fees and Payment

Fee structure — Our fees are set out in your engagement letter and may be based on a fixed monthly retainer, an agreed project fee, or time charged at our standard hourly rates.

Invoicing — Invoices are issued monthly or upon completion of a project, as specified in your engagement letter. All fees are quoted in Australian dollars and are exclusive of GST unless otherwise stated.

Payment terms — Payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date. We accept bank transfer (EFT) and credit card payments.

Late payment — Overdue amounts may attract an interest charge at the rate of 10% per annum calculated daily. We reserve the right to suspend services on accounts that remain unpaid beyond 30 days.

Disbursements — Out-of-pocket costs (e.g., government lodgement fees, travel or courier charges) are charged at cost and itemised separately on your invoice.

Fee variations — We will notify you in advance of any changes to our fees. Continued engagement after notification constitutes acceptance of the revised fees.

6. Confidentiality

We treat all client information as strictly confidential. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your prior consent, except:

• As required by law, court order or regulatory authority (including the ATO, ASIC and the Tax Practitioners Board).
• To our professional advisers, insurers and subcontractors who are bound by confidentiality obligations no less stringent than these Terms.
• Where disclosure is necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of any person.

Our confidentiality obligations survive the termination of our engagement.

7. Professional Standards

Pinecrest Accounting & Advisory is a Chartered Accountant (CA) registered practice. Our practitioners are members of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) and are subject to its Code of Professional Conduct.

We are registered tax agents with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and comply with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) and the Code of Professional Conduct for tax agents.

Our services are provided in accordance with applicable Australian Accounting Standards (AASB), Auditing Standards (ASA) and professional pronouncements where relevant to your engagement.

8. Limitation of Liability

Professional indemnity — Pinecrest holds professional indemnity insurance as required by CA ANZ and the TPB. Our liability to you is limited in accordance with the terms of that insurance and these Terms.

Liability cap — To the maximum extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or in connection with our services is limited to the fees paid by you for the specific service that gave rise to the claim in the 12 months preceding the claim.

Exclusions — We are not liable for indirect, consequential, special or punitive losses, loss of profit, loss of data, loss of opportunity or third-party claims, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such losses.

Proportionate liability — Where our liability is concurrent with another party, it is reduced proportionately in accordance with the *Proportionate Liability* provisions of the *Civil Liability Act 2002* (NSW) and equivalent legislation.

Liability limitation scheme — Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

9. Intellectual Property

All working papers, methodologies, templates, models and proprietary tools developed or used by Pinecrest remain our intellectual property. Deliverables prepared specifically for you (e.g., financial statements, management reports, tax returns) are provided for your use once all outstanding fees have been paid in full.

You grant us a non-exclusive licence to use information and materials you provide solely for the purpose of delivering your engagement services.

10. Termination

Either party may terminate the engagement by providing 30 days' written notice. We may terminate immediately if:

• You provide false, misleading or fraudulent information.
• You request us to act in a manner that would breach professional standards, the law or our ethical obligations.
• Fees remain unpaid beyond 45 days of the invoice date.

Upon termination, you remain liable for all fees and disbursements incurred up to the effective date of termination. We will return your documents and records in an orderly manner, subject to our right to retain copies for professional purposes.

11. Complaints and Dispute Resolution

We are committed to resolving complaints promptly and fairly. If you are dissatisfied with our services, please contact us in the first instance:

Email: info@pcaccounting.com.au Phone: +61 431 422 818

We will acknowledge your complaint within two business days and aim to resolve it within 20 business days. If a resolution cannot be reached, the matter may be referred to CA ANZ, the Tax Practitioners Board or another relevant professional body.

You may also contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) if your complaint relates to financial advice services.

12. Website Use

The information published on our website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advice. You should not rely on website content as a substitute for personalised professional advice.

While we endeavour to keep website content accurate and current, we make no representations or warranties regarding its completeness, accuracy or fitness for any particular purpose. We reserve the right to modify, suspend or discontinue any part of our website without notice.

13. General

Entire agreement — These Terms, together with your engagement letter, constitute the entire agreement between you and Pinecrest in relation to the services and supersede all prior representations, negotiations and agreements.

Severability — If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.

Waiver — A failure or delay by either party to exercise any right does not constitute a waiver of that right.

Governing law — These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Any disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales.

Updates — We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version is always available on our website. Continued use of our services after an update constitutes acceptance.

14. Contact Us

For any questions about these Terms, please contact us:

Pinecrest Accounting & Advisory Pty Ltd Email: info@pcaccounting.com.au Phone: +61 431 422 818