Privacy Policy
Effective November 2026
Foster Accounting & Advisory Inc. ("we", "us") is a CPA-led accounting and advisory firm in British Columbia. This policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect personal information under BC's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and, where it applies, the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). It applies to our clients, the people whose information appears in our clients' records, people who ask about our services, and visitors to our website.
1. What we collect
Clients: names and contact details of owners and contacts, dates of birth for owners and the people who instruct us (to confirm identity), business registration and tax account numbers, and the financial records we need for the work: bank and credit card statements, invoices and receipts, payroll records, sales tax records and government correspondence.
People in our clients' records: our clients' records often include information about their employees, customers and suppliers, such as names, amounts paid and payment details. We use it only to do our client's work.
Employees of clients whose payroll we run: name, address, date of birth, Social Insurance Number, TD1 tax credit claims, pay rate, hours, deductions and banking details for direct deposit. We use it only to run that client's payroll and to prepare the slips and records the law requires, such as T4 slips and Records of Employment.
People who contact us: your name, business, contact details and what you tell us about your needs, through our website, a booked call or email.
Website visitors: our website runs on Squarespace, which uses cookies and collects basic information such as pages visited and your general location, to run the site and show us how it is used. You can block cookies in your browser.
We ask for Social Insurance Numbers only for employees whose payroll we run, because the law requires them for payroll. We collect them through our secure portal, never by email. We do not keep copies of ID documents. If you send us something we don't need, we delete it.
2. Why we use it
To provide the services in your engagement letter, including filings you approve
To work with your external accountant, and your payroll provider if you keep your own, with your consent
To confirm the identity of the people we act for
To respond to enquiries and prepare quotes
To bill for our services
To meet our legal and professional obligations, including as a member firm of CPABC
We do not sell or rent personal information.
3. Consent
We collect, use and share personal information with your consent, except where the law allows or requires otherwise. Clients give specific consents in our onboarding forms, and you can withdraw any consent in writing at any time. Withdrawing some consents may limit the services we can provide.
When a client gives us information about other people, such as employees or shareholders, the client confirms they have the authority to share it with us.
4. Who we share it with
Your external accountant, and your payroll provider if you keep your own, with your consent
The Canada Revenue Agency, Service Canada (Records of Employment), the BC Ministry of Finance and WorkSafeBC, within the access you give us
Our software and service providers (section 5), only to deliver our services
CPABC, for practice inspection or professional conduct matters
Anyone else only when you ask us to in writing, or when the law requires it
5. Cloud software and storage outside Canada
We work in secure cloud platforms, including QuickBooks Online (and QuickBooks Online Payroll), Xero, Dext, and secure document-sharing and cloud storage services. Some of these providers store data on servers outside British Columbia or Canada, where it is subject to their security practices and to the laws of those places, and may be accessed by authorities there.
Our software uses automated and AI-assisted features, such as bank-feed matching, transaction categorization and receipt capture. A CPA reviews the results before they reach you, and we use only tools that let us keep your information confidential.
6. How we protect it
We use safeguards suited to the sensitivity of financial information, including multi-factor authentication on every account, a password manager, encrypted devices, secure document portals instead of email for statements and other sensitive documents, and access limited to the people working on your file. Anyone who works with us is bound by confidentiality obligations and the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct.
7. How long we keep it
Client records and our working papers: 7 years after the engagement ends, or longer if the law or professional standards require
Enquiries and quotes from people who don't become clients: 1 year
Consent to receive our newsletter: while we rely on it, plus 3 years
After that, we securely destroy it. Your accounting file belongs to you, and we remove our access when our engagement ends.
8. Email and newsletters
We send clients the messages we need to deliver our services. We send newsletters and reminders only to people who have opted in, as Canada's anti-spam legislation requires, and every one includes an unsubscribe link.
9. If something goes wrong
If personal information we hold is lost, stolen or accessed without authorization, and there is a real risk of significant harm, we will tell the affected client and individuals as soon as possible. We will explain what happened, what we have done, and what they can do to protect themselves.
10. Seeing or correcting your information
You may ask to see the personal information we hold about you, or to correct it. Please make your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. We will respond within 30 business days, as PIPA requires. If the information is about you as an employee, customer or supplier of one of our clients, we may need to involve that client.
11. Questions and concerns
Privacy Officer: Erin Foster, CPA admin@fosteraccounting.ca.
If we can't resolve your concern, you may contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia at oipc.bc.ca.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always on our website, with its effective date.