Privacy Policy

INTRODUCTION

The following sets out the Privacy Policy of ABM Accounting Business Management Inc. and all of its subsidiaries and related and affiliated entities (collectively, “ABM”).

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YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

In collecting, using and disclosing personal information, ABM adheres to the following general privacy principles and to the specific information practices set out below. The privacy principles are:

1. ABM respects the privacy rights of our clients and our personnel; and
2. ABM adheres to and complies with all Canadian, federal, and provincial privacy legislation applicable to it.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the term “personal information” means and refers to all information about an identifiable individual (including both clients and employees), and about all corporate clients, which we obtain or which come into the possession of ABM in the course of providing our services to our clients. Personal information includes any information that we receive directly, for example, from our clients and personnel as well as any personal information that we may receive indirectly. Personal information does not include the name, business address, title and contact information of an employee of an organization. ABM will limit the collection of personal information to that which is reasonably required to provide its services and to operate its business.

ABM is committed to protecting the personal information of our clients and personnel which we acquire in the course of fulfilling our responsibilities and carrying on our business. The intent of this Privacy Policy is to explain and summarize our practices regarding the collection and protection of personal and confidential information.

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PROCEDURES

ABM has established policies and procedures intended to protect the personal information of our clients and our personnel. ABM has appointed a Privacy Officer to oversee privacy issues for ABM and we have instructed ABM personnel about our Privacy Policy and their role in protecting the personal information of our clients and personnel. Our Privacy Officer is:

Chief Privacy Officer

ABM Accounting and Business Management Inc. 

8 – 20 Great Gulf Drive

Vaughan, Ontario L4K 0K7

Email: mdos@accountingabm.com 

Tel: (289) 536-4669

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CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

ABM collects, uses and, if applicable, discloses personal information in order to provide our services to our clients, to bill and collect our fees, to market our services, and to advise of firm events and developments. Where the purpose for which ABM collects information directly from an individual is obvious from the nature of our interaction, we will assume from our interactions that the person consents to the collection and use of their personal information for that obvious purpose. If a purpose is not obvious, ABM will explain the purpose for which it collects, uses or discloses personal information. In addition to the provisions set out in our engagement letters, typically, ABM will obtain oral consent to this collection, use or disclosure. Note that signing an engagement letter with ABM constitutes consent to the provisions in it relating to confidentiality and the use of personal information.

ABM endeavours to collect and retain only the personal information which it reasonably requires in order to provide its services and to operate its business. ABM will use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the personal information which it obtains and maintains is correct, complete and accurate. ABM clients and personnel are therefore encouraged and expected to update their personal information and to advise ABM of any changes to their personal information. ABM necessarily relies on our clients and personnel to do so.

In the event that ABM intends to use and disclose personal information for any purposes not previously identified to an individual or not set out in this Privacy Policy, ABM will obtain the prior consent of the person unless ABM is permitted or required by law to use or disclose the specific personal information without consent. For example, but without limitation, ABM may use and disclose personal information without consent in the following circumstances:

1. for the purposes of acting in respect of an emergency that threatens the life, health or security of an individual, including steps taken pursuant to our pandemic policies;
2. to prevent, detect or avoid fraud or financial abuse;
3. in connection with an investigation or to comply with a subpoena, warrant or order made by a court or a body of competent jurisdiction, or to comply with the rules of conduct required by regulatory bodies;
4. to a government institution that has requested the information, identified its lawful authority to obtain it and has indicated that disclosure is for the purpose of enforcing, administering or carrying out an investigation or gathering intelligence related to any federal, provincial or foreign law or related to national security; and
5. to an investigative or law enforcement body or government institution on an initiative where we believe, acting reasonably, that the information concerns the breach of an agreement or a contravention of federal, provincial or federal law, or where ABM suspects, acting reasonably, that the information relates to national security;

A client of ABM always has the option to not consent or to withdraw its consent once given to the collection, use and disclosure of his, her, or its personal information. Please note, however, that the withdrawal of the consent may limit our ability to provide services and ABM may therefore be unable to provide or continue to provide its services to a client who does not consent or who withdraws a consent previously granted. Similarly, in the event that the client provides us with personal information relating to a third party, by signing the engagement letter, the client represents and warrants to ABM that it has obtained the consent from the third party to allow us to collect, use and disclose information as described in the engagement letter, subject to any contractual and legal restrictions. 

ABM, at the request of a client, will always explain why it is collecting personal information at or before the time that the personal information is collected, subject to limited exceptions. ABM will collect, use, or disclose personal information about clients only for the purposes of providing its services, to comply with applicable laws or, if necessary, for the purposes of obtaining technological, administrative, analytical and clerical services or support. Further, client personal information may also be collected, used or disclosed internally to other members of ABM in order to allow ABM to offer its services and products that may be of interest to its clients including, where applicable, sending news and information updates or invitations to events hosted or sponsored by ABM. All members of ABM are required to abide by this Privacy Policy regarding any personal information provided to them or of which they become aware.

Clients have the right to request and review the personal information which ABM retains in its system by submitting a written report request to the ABM Privacy Officer. However, the right to access is not absolute or unlimited. Access may be limited by privilege or as required by law. Access may also be restricted to protect ABM's property and rights, including its right to protect its entitlement to payment for services rendered. ABM may also require proof of entitlement to access and proper identification. Where detailed requests are submitted which require extensive searches and the incurring of retrieval costs, the provision of the personal information may be subject to reasonable fees and charges.

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USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

ABM may use basic personal information about its clients or prospective clients such as names, addresses and those aspects of ABM’s services and publications of interest to that person in order to provide such persons with information about the services provided by ABM. The use by ABM of personal information for this purpose is entirely optional. Any client or prospective client who does not wish to receive our publications and information mailings should simply advise our Chief Privacy Officer in writing of this preference. ABM will then cease to use such personal information for these optional marketing or client information purposes. 

ABM will not sell or disclose our client list or other personal information to anyone for marketing purposes or for any other purposes except in the course of performing our mandate or as required by law. Similarly, ABM will not disclose our client list for any other purpose unless required to do so by law.

Where appropriate, ABM may aggregate personal information with information from other sources for the purposes of improving its quality and services and for use and presentations to clients and non-clients, but only in a form where such information is sufficiently de-identified so as not to be attributable to any individual or organization or to be identifiable as pertaining to any individual or organization.

ABM will disclose personal information for the purposes of providing its services and administering a client's account including, for example, 

1. when services that ABM provides require a disclosure of personal information; 
2. when ABM has obtained a specific authorization to make the disclosure; 
3. when ABM is compelled by law; or by a court order to disclose personal information; and 
4. if necessary, to establish or collect our accounts.

Where necessary or advisable, and after notice to its clients, ABM may retain other professional service firms on behalf of our clients or will suggest that our clients retain them. In the event that ABM retains such firms on behalf of our clients, this will always be done at the sole expense of its clients and only with the consent or direction of our clients. Such firms are independent service firms. They are responsible for their own information handling practices and for the personal information that they collect, use, retain, or disclose. 

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PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

In order to protect the personal information in the possession of ABM or which may come into its possession, ABM employs industry standard data loss prevention practices and safeguards to monitor and restrict access, use and disclosure of personal information through any device which is connected to the ABM network. This is in addition to internal policies and procedures intended to maintain the confidentiality of personal information. It should be noted that no privacy protection procedures are infallible or impervious to “hacking” in order to gain unauthorized access to it.  ABM cannot assume responsibility for the results of any external hacking of its computer system or for any consequences thereof except where the failure to protect the privacy or protect personal information results from the gross negligence of ABM or its employees. In the event that the personal information stored by ABM is accessed by an unauthorized third party, ABM will make every reasonable effort to stop the unauthorized access, to prevent continued unauthorized access to the personal information and to promptly notify its clients and personnel that unauthorized access to the personal information of clients has been obtained.

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ABM PERSONNEL

ABM collects, uses and discloses personal information about ABM personnel in order to pay them, to comply with laws applicable to employees including the Income Tax Act and all statutes relating to employee rights and protections, to comply with all statutes requiring the calculation and remittance of employee source deductions, to provide employees with all benefits to which they are entitled, to administer performance management tools, to administer, manage, enforce and monitor compliance with ABM programs and policies and employee relations and generally to establish, manage or, if appropriate, to terminate an employment relationship. 

ABM may also collect, use or disclose employee personal information, de-identified where appropriate, to develop business metrics and analytics and to evaluate the effectiveness of our policies, programs and processes and to evaluate the implementation thereof. 

ABM may also collect, use or disclose employee personal information in the course of investigating, negotiating or completing a sale, financing or other business transaction involving all or any part of its business, subject to de-identification where appropriate or as required by law.

ABM may collect, use and disclose personnel information from persons seeking employment with ABM for the purpose of evaluating their application, to communicate with them regarding employment opportunities that may be of interest, and for the purpose of evaluating or monitoring ABM policies, programs and practices.

ABM personnel have the right to review and obtain copies of their personal information in ABM’s records on written request to the Human Resource Department.

On request, ABM will inform its personnel and prospective personnel of the reasons why we require personal information, what use will be made of it and with whom it may be shared except where ABM is permitted or required by law to collect, use or disclose personal information without providing notice. For example, collection and disclosure of personal information may occur without notice or consent where required by law in the course of an investigation.

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