This Privacy Notice explains how Forum Accountants (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to clients, prospective clients, and other individuals we interact with.

We are committed to handling personal data responsibly and in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who we are

Forum Accountants is a sole trader accountancy practice regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Forum Accountants is the data controller responsible for the personal data we process.

2. Information we collect

We may collect and process the following types of personal data:

• Identity information (such as name, date of birth, and identification documents)
• Contact information (such as address, email address, and telephone number)
• Financial and tax information
• Employment and business information
• Bank and payment details
• Information provided to us in the course of providing professional services
• Technical data (such as email communications and system access logs where relevant)

We may also process special category data where required for legal, regulatory, or compliance purposes.

3. How we use your information

We use personal data to:

• Provide accounting, tax, and related professional services
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations
• Verify identity and carry out anti-money laundering and fraud prevention checks
• Communicate with you in relation to our services
• Manage billing, payments, and administration
• Maintain internal records, quality control, and compliance procedures
• Meet professional and regulatory requirements

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects unless explicitly disclosed.

4. Lawful bases for processing

We rely on the following lawful bases:

• Contract: to provide our services to you
• Legal obligation: to comply with tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements
• Legitimate interests: to manage and improve our business operations
• Consent: where specifically required (for example, certain marketing activities)

5. Sharing your information

We may share your personal data with:

• HM Revenue & Customs and other regulatory bodies
• Companies House and other statutory authorities
• Professional advisers and subcontractors assisting in service delivery
• Cloud service providers and IT systems used for secure data processing
• Third-party verification and compliance providers (including AML checks)

All third parties are required to respect the confidentiality and security of your data.

6. International transfers

Some of our service providers may process personal data outside the United Kingdom.

Where this occurs, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with the UK GDPR. These safeguards may include:

• transfers to countries that are subject to UK adequacy regulations;
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA); or
• the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses,

together with any additional measures required to ensure that personal data remains appropriately protected.

7. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure.

8. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to:

• provide our services;
• comply with legal, regulatory and professional obligations;
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Typical retention periods include:

• Client files – normally six years after the end of the engagement, although we may retain records for longer where required by law or where it is necessary to protect our legal position.
• Anti-money laundering records – five years after the end of the business relationship, in accordance with applicable legislation.
• Tax records – in accordance with applicable statutory requirements.

At the end of the relevant retention period, personal data is securely deleted or destroyed unless we are required to retain it for legal or regulatory reasons.

9. Your rights

You have rights under data protection law, including:

• The right to access your personal data
• The right to rectification of inaccurate data
• The right to erasure (in certain circumstances)
• The right to restrict processing
• The right to data portability
• The right to object to processing
• The right to withdraw consent (where applicable)

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data.

10. Cookies and website use

If you use our website, we may use cookies and similar technologies to improve functionality and monitor usage. 

11. Changes to this notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. The latest version will always be available on our website.

12. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or how we handle your data, please contact us by the following methods:

Correspondence address: Piccadilly Business Centre, Unit C Aldow Enterprise Park, Manchester, M12 6AE

Email: info@forumaccountants.co.uk