Privacy notice
Philip Barnes & Co Chartered Accountants respects the privacy of every client and visitor. This notice sets out how we collect, use and protect your personal information when you engage with the firm — whether you're an existing client, a prospective client, or simply browsing our website.
Information we collect
We collect personal information that you give us directly: your name, business name, role, contact details, and any details relevant to the work you're asking us to do. For an audit engagement that may include financial records, supporting documentation, and information about associated entities. For a tax engagement it may include income, expenditure, and details of investments and assets.
When you visit our website we collect limited technical information through cookies and analytics — see our cookie notice for the detail. We do not collect or store sensitive personal data through web forms unless you choose to share it.
How we use it
We use your personal information to provide the professional services you've engaged us for, to fulfil our legal obligations under HMRC, Companies House and the relevant regulatory bodies, and to keep you informed about matters relevant to your affairs.
We do not sell personal information to third parties. We share it only with those parties strictly necessary to deliver the services — for example, HMRC for tax filings, Companies House for statutory accounts, or the relevant regulator where we have a legal duty to disclose.
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, to ask for it to be corrected if it's wrong, to ask for it to be erased where the law permits, and to object to certain uses. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk if you believe we have mishandled your information.
How long we keep it
We retain client records for the period required by the relevant professional and legal obligations — typically six years from the end of the engagement for tax records, longer for audit working papers and where statutory retention rules apply. After that period we securely destroy or anonymise the information.
Contact
If you have any question about how we handle your personal information, or you'd like to exercise any of the rights set out above, please use the contact form on our contact page, or write to the firm at the address shown there. We aim to respond to all privacy queries within one calendar month.