[FirmName]

[Name]

[TradingAddress]

Dear [PrimaryContactFirstName],

Engagement Letter

Thank you for engaging us as your accountants. [PrimaryOfficer] will be your main point of contact and will have primary responsibility for this assignment and the manager responsible for the ongoing work will be [Manager]. This letter and the attached schedules of services together with our standard terms and conditions set out the basis on which we will act.

Who we are acting for

We are acting for [Name] (‘you’) only. Where you would like us to act for anyone else such as your spouse, a partner, a director, a partnership or a limited company we will issue a separate engagement letter to them.

HMRC will send you an agent authorisation code which expires within 30 days of issue. Please send this to us as soon as you receive it. This code will enable us to register as your agent with HMRC.

Nominated Persons

For the avoidance of doubt [PrimaryContact] has agreed to act and is acting as the nominated partner.

By signing this engagement letter you confirm and warrant that the Nominated Person set out above is authorised to give instructions and information to us on your behalf and to receive our advice and work produced on your behalf. Any change to the Nominated Person should be notified to us in writing and will not be effective until acknowledged by us in writing.

Period of Engagement 

This engagement will start on [StartDate]. We will not deal with earlier years unless you specifically ask us to do so and we agree.

Scope of Services 

We have listed below the work that you have instructed us to carry out:

[Services]

Details regarding the scope of work to be completed are contained in the attached schedules. These state yours and our responsibilities in relation to the work to be carried out. If we agree to carry out additional services for you, we will provide you with a new or amended engagement letter. Only the services that are listed in the attached schedules are included within the scope of our instructions. If there is additional work that you wish us to carry out which is not listed in the schedules, please let us know and we will discuss with you whether they can be included in the scope of our work.

Fees

Our fees will be charged in accordance with our attached standard terms and conditions. Please review these to ensure you understand the basis of our charges and our payment terms.

By way of summary our fees will be as follows excluding VAT:

[FeesTable]

Limitation of Liability

We specifically draw your attention to paragraph 18 of our standard terms and conditions that sets out the basis on which we limit our liability to you and to others. You should read this in conjunction with paragraph 19 of our standard terms and conditions that excludes liability to Third Parties.  The limitation of aggregate liability will not exceed one year’s chargeable fees.

Anti Money Laundering Legislation

All accountants must comply with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (the “Anti Money Laundering Legislation”), which are intended to inhibit the activities of terrorists and other criminals by denying them access to technical expertise.  If we fail to perform these duties, we risk imprisonment.

Before we accept your instructions, we may need to obtain ‘satisfactory evidence’ to confirm your identity. In certain circumstances, we may need to obtain evidence confirming the identities of third parties, the source of any funds or other property, the purpose of any instructions or any other matter. We may also need to obtain such evidence after we have begun to act on your instructions.

We assume that our clients are honest and law abiding. However, if at any time, there appear to be grounds to suspect (even if we do not actually suspect) that your instructions relate to ‘criminal property’, we are obliged to make a report to the National Crime Agency (“NCA”), but we are prohibited from telling you that we have done so.

In such circumstances, we must not act on your instructions without consent from NCA. If NCA do not refuse consent within 7 working days we may continue to act. If NCA issue a refusal within that time, we must not act for a further 31 days from the date of the refusal.

‘Criminal property’ is property in any legal form, whether money, real property, rights or any benefit derived from criminal activity. It does not matter who carried out the criminal activity or how removed the property is from the original crime. Even if you are honest in your dealings, if your property represents a benefit from someone else’s crime, we must still make a report.

Activity is considered ‘criminal’ if it is a crime under UK law, no matter how trivial For example, tax evasion is a criminal offence but an honest mistake is not. We will assume that all discrepancies are mistakes unless there is contrary evidence.

Client Monies

We may, from time to time, hold money on your behalf.  Such money will be held in trust in a client bank account, which is segregated from this firm’s funds.

If there are grounds to suspect (even if we do not actually suspect) that any monies held in a client account is derived directly or indirectly from any criminal activity whatsoever, we may not release such monies until we receive permission to do so from NCA.

Requirements of the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The DPA 2018 and GDPR set out a number of requirements in relation to the processing of personal data.

Here at [FirmName] we take your privacy and the privacy of the information we process seriously. We will only use your personal information and the personal information you give us access to under this contract to administer your account and to provide the services you have requested from us.

We attach our privacy notice setting out our approach to handling your information. In signing one copy of this letter you will be indicating that you have read and agreed the terms under which we operate as set out in this notice.

Secure Communications and Transfer of Data

 We will communicate or transfer data using the following:

• Post/hard-copy documents
• Password-protected emails
• Encrypted emails
• Portals
• Cloud-based software
• Emails *

*if you require us to correspond with you by email that is not encrypted or password protected, you also accept the risks associated with this form of communication.

Other Services

From time to time we would like to contact you with details of other services we provide. If you consent to us contacting you for this purpose, please confirm how you would like us to contact you on the acceptance statement:

Your Agreement 

Please confirm your agreement (by signing below) to:

• the terms of this letter
• the attached schedule(s) of services
• the privacy notice and associated data protection matters
• the standard terms and conditions

Acceptance

I acknowledge receipt of your letter [CurrentDate], the attached schedule[s] of services, the privacy notice and standard terms and conditions, which fully record the agreement between us concerning your appointment to carry out the work described in those documents.

I also confirm the following in relation to data protection:

I have read, understand and accept the basis on which my information will be dealt with as set out in the privacy notice provided.

I understand that you will communicate or transfer data with me using any of the following methods listed above

I accept the risks of you corresponding with me by email that is not encrypted or password protected.

I agree to you contacting me with details of other services you provide.

I consent to my personal data being used for the work outlined within our agreed schedule of services. I understand you will not, unless agreed separately with me use my data for any other services.

Name:  [PrimaryContact]                                        Date: [CurrentDateAndTime]

[Signature]

Signed: _____________________________________

[Name]

Disclaimer: This template is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, or professional advice. Users should tailor its content to their own firm’s practices and procedures, and are strongly encouraged to consult qualified legal and compliance professionals to ensure full compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and professional standards.