Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes the ways in which your personal data is collected and used by Gallager Gatewood, A Professional Accountancy Corporation (collectively referred to herein as “the controllers”, “we”, “us”, “our”). By providing your personal data to any of the controllers, you acknowledge and agree that your data may be shared between and/or processed by any of the three controllers.

It is your responsibility to review and understand this Privacy Policy prior to providing your personal data to us. If you do not accept and agree to the Privacy Policy, please refrain from providing your personal data to us, accessing our websites, and/or utilizing our products and services.

With our websites and services constantly evolving, our Privacy Policy may also change from time to time. Whenever there are changes, the modified policies will be posted on our websites and will be effective at that time. Each time they change, the version number displayed at the bottom of the page also will change. Consequently, each time you access or use our websites or otherwise engage with us, you accept and agree to the most current Privacy Policy. It is your responsibility to be aware of any such changes.

Our websites contain links to other websites which are managed by third parties (including their use of cookies). As a user of links, it is your responsibility to understand those third parties’ privacy policies. Once you leave our websites using links, we have no control over information that is submitted to or collected by any third parties and are not responsible for other websites.

In order to provide our products, services and websites and for the other purposes set out in Use of Information below, we collect and process personal data from our clients and other users of our websites, products and services. We may collect information from you such as, but not limited to, your name, email address, mailing address, phone/fax numbers, date of birth, gender, payment information, employment information and information about your use of our and third-party websites, products and services (“Personal Data“). You are not required to provide us with all of the Personal Data listed above, but if you do not do so, we may not be able to effectively provide you with our products, services and information. In certain circumstances, you will need to provide us with specific categories of Personal Data (including name, email address and payment information) in order to enter into a contract with us and for us to perform that contract.

Examples of sources from which we collect information: Client Interviews, Tax Return Organizers, Financial Planning Organizers, and Financial History Questionnaires.

See “Use of Information” section below for details regarding the ways that we use and process your personal data.

Your Personal Data may be used in the following ways:

• To provide our products and services to you
• To enhance and improve our products and services, for example, by performing internal research, analyzing user trends and measuring demographics and interests
• To process payments from you for services rendered
• To process payments to you (including, but not limited to, refunds or reimbursements)
• Internal purposes, such as website and system administration or internal audits and reviews
• To provide access to restricted parts of our websites.
• To communicate with you regarding products/services that may be of interest to you
• To respond to your requests and inquiries
• To request your participation in surveys, focus groups, or other initiatives which help us to gather information used to develop and enhance our products and services
• To comply with applicable law(s) (for example, to comply with a search warrant, subpoena or court order) or to carry out professional ethics/conduct investigations
• From time to time we may provide statistics about the usage levels of the Site and other related information to reputable third parties, but these statistics will not include information which will allow you to be identified
• We may use the information you provide to us and which we obtain from other sources to better understand your interests so we can try to predict what other products, services and information you might be most interested in. This practice is called “profiling”, which involves making automated decisions about you based on this information in order to better enable us to tailor our interactions with you to make them more relevant and interesting. You may object to such profiling at any time by contacting us (see Contact Information/User Rights below).

We will process your Personal Data for the purposes identified above on the following bases:

1. Our legitimate interests, which include processing such Personal Data for the purposes of providing and enhancing the provision of our products, services and information, as well as advertising further products, credentials, designations, services and information to you;
2. Where such processing is necessary to perform our contract with you or to take steps before entering into our contract with you; and
3. As necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our contractual agreements.
4. Where such processing is necessary to comply with our obligations to protect members of the public and the public interest, including but not limited to, the maintenance of a member and student directory, regulatory activities and disciplinary actions.

Unless a longer retention period is required by applicable law, we will retain your information for as long as your account is active, as well as for a short additional period afterwards to cover any outstanding issues or queries that may arise in relation to your account (for example, outstanding payments). This period of retention is subject to our review and alteration.

We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our clients or former clients to our affiliates or to nonaffiliated third parties except as permitted by law. Nonpublic Personal Data about you and our former clients may be disclosed to both our affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties as permitted by law, as follows:

1. You request or authorize the disclosure of your personal details to a third party.
2. The information is disclosed as permitted by applicable law(s) and/or in order to comply with applicable law(s) (for example, to comply with a search warrant, subpoena or court order).
3. In the course of a review of our firm’s practices under the American Insititue of Certified Public Accountsants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.
4. The information is provided to our agents, vendors or service providers who perform functions on our behalf. See below for additional details.

It is likely that the identity and categories of such third parties will change during the life of your account but, depending on your use of the Site, it is anticipated that your Personal Data will be disclosed to the following categories of third-party service providers who perform functions on our behalf. We require that our third-party service providers only use your Personal Data as necessary to provide the requested services to us and each service provider is subject to a set of terms consistent with this Privacy Policy.

• Hosting providers for the secure storage and transmission of your data
• Identity management providers for authentication purposes
• Database software providers for the management and tracking of your data
• Advertising partners, including social media providers, for the delivery of targeted advertisements
• Marketing providers who send communications on our behalf regarding our products and services
• Payment solution providers for the secure processing of payments you provide to us
• Fulfillment and postal vendors for the fulfillment of our products and services

As tax preparers, we are prohibited by Internal Revenue Code Section 7216 from disclosing your income tax return information without your consent, other than for the specific purpose of preparing, assisting in preparing, or obtaining and providing services in connection with the preparation of an income tax return for you. See exceptions under “Third-Party Disclosure” above.

As required by IRS Circular 230, which regulates written communications about federal tax matters between tax advisors and their clients: To the extent the preceding correspondence and/or any attachment is a written tax advice communication, it is not a full “covered opinion.” Accordingly, this advice is not intended and cannot be used for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by the IRS.

We may obtain information about your general internet usage by using a “cookie” file. A cookie is an element of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive. If you do not agree, you can choose to not receive a cookie file by enabling your web browser to refuse cookies or to prompt you before you accept a cookie.

The following types of cookies may be used on our websites:

1. Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for our websites to work properly. They are usually only set in response to actions you take such as logging in or completing online forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of our sites will not function if these cookies are blocked.
2. Functionality Cookies: These cookies enhance the functionality of our websites by storing your preferences (such as your preferred language or the region that you are in) and allow us to provide enhanced features on our sites such as videos. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party content that we have placed within our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, some of the features on our websites may not function properly and you may not receive a personalized experience when visiting our sites.
3. Performance Cookies: These cookies allow us to count page visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. They help us to understand which pages are visited most frequently and how visitors interact with our sites. Any information collected by performance cookies is aggregated and therefore not identifiable. If you do not allow these cookies we will not receive data related to your visits to our sites.
4. Third-Party Cookies: These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners, such as Google or Adobe. They may be used by these companies to enable them to build a profile of your interests and show relevant advertisements on other sites. These cookies are based on identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience a decrease in the targeted advertisements that you see online.

All major browsers allow you to block or delete cookies from your system. To learn more about your ability to manage your preferences related to cookies, please consult the privacy features within your browser.

The security of your personal information is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. We use reasonable measures to strive to safeguard and secure the personal data we collect. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. Technology, such as, but not limited to, Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secured Socket Layer (SSL), is used to enhance security and reduce risk of loss. Our security practices, processes or technology do not guarantee absolute security of your information and you should take all normal personal precautions such as, but not limited to, not sharing passwords, closing browsers, and not using public networks (e.g., internet cafes, etc.).

Information on our website is provided as a general reference only. It is not intended as a substitute for personalized professional advice.

The subject matter is often complex, with nuances that cannot be fully described in a single article or on a single page. It is therefore vital that you consult with your accountant (and your legal and investment advisors, as appropriate) before implementing any of the ideas contained on this website.

Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information, Gallagher Gatewood, a Professional Accountancy Corporation, is not responsible for misinterpretations, errors or omissions related to the content of this website. Nor are we responsible for its applicability to your own personal, business or tax situation.

You are encouraged to report any improvements, suggestions, or any suspected breaches of privacy or security to us by using the contact information listed below.

Gallagher Gatewood
3501 Tully Road Suite B
Modesto CA 95358
(209) 526-3091
info@cbcpas.com