2.1 Deontology & Confidentiality

As members of the ITAA (Institute of Tax Advisors and Accountants), we are subject to strict ethical rules that must be followed.

These rules are in place to ensure the integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality of our services. It is crucial for us to adhere to these deontological rules in order to maintain the trust of our clients and uphold the standards of the accounting profession.

These rules include guidelines on professional conduct, client confidentiality, independence, objectivity, and the proper handling of financial and sensitive information. By adhering to these regulations, we demonstrate our commitment to providing reliable and trustworthy accounting services.

2.1.1 Confidentiality

Just like lawyers, notaries, and doctors, accountants are subject to professional confidentiality. We strongly recommend keeping professional information strictly confidential and separating it from your personal life. It is understandable that you may feel the need to talk about your work and vent sometimes. However, it is important to be discreet and ensure that you do not disclose any confidential or sensitive information that could compromise the privacy or interests of our clients. This applies to both personal conversations and online environments, where you should be cautious about what you share.

Adhering to professional confidentiality is essential for maintaining the trust of our clients and upholding the integrity of the profession. By responsibly handling confidential information and sharing it only when necessary and permitted, you can ensure that you uphold the ethical standards of the accounting profession.

✅ What you should do

• Make sure you only view confidential information on secure professional devices provided by our company

• Only disclose information to other employees when it's necessary and authorized

• Keep confidential documents inside our company's premises and (online) work environment

❌ What you shouldn't do

• Use confidential information for any personal benefit or profit

• Disclose confidential information to anyone outside of our company

• Replicate confidential documents and files and store them on insecure devices

2.1.2 Doubts or breach of confidentiality

In practice, if an employee has any doubts about complying with professional confidentiality or discretion obligations, they should consult the person supervising their work and explain the situation they are facing. If necessary, both the responsible person and the employee can seek guidance from Fidan Shala ([email protected]) to clarify their obligations in that particular case.

2.1.3 Disciplinary consequences

Employees who don't respect our confidentiality policy will face disciplinary and, possibly, legal action.

We’ll investigate every breach of this policy. We’ll terminate any employee who willfully or regularly breaches our confidentiality guidelines for personal profit. We may also have to punish any unintentional breach of this policy depending on its frequency and seriousness. We’ll terminate employees who repeatedly disregard this policy, even when they do so unintentionally.

This policy is binding even after separation of employment.