Ethics and Trust

Integrity and professional competence are the cornerstones of our firm. We work hard to earn and maintain your trust and confidence.
To ensure that we provide quality professional services in an independent, objective, and ethical manner, we continue to implement and monitor professional development initiatives and quality and compliance safeguards within our practice.

PROFESSIONAL COMPLIANCE

David McSweeney Financial is a Member in Public Practice with Chartered Accountants Australia + New Zealand.

Members in Public Practice in Australia must follows the mandatory requirements of the professional standard APES 320 Quality Control for Firms as issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited (APESB). APES 320 sets the standards for Members in Public Practice and Firms to establish and maintain a system of quality control at the Firm level in the provision of quality and ethical Professional Services.

CODE OF ETHICS

David McSweeney Financial  follows the mandatory requirements of the professional standard APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited (APESB). McSweeney CA complies with the following fundamental principles:

  • Integrity – to be straightforward and honest in all professional and business relationships.
  • Objectivity – to not allow bias, conflict of interest or undue influence of others to override professional or business judgments.
  • Professional competence and due care– to maintain professional knowledge and skill at the level required to ensure that a client or employer receives competent Professional Services based on current developments in practice, legislation and techniques and act diligently and in accordance with applicable technical and professional standards.
  • Confidentiality– to respect the confidentiality of information acquired as a result of professional and business relationships and, therefore, not disclose any such information to third parties without proper and specific authority, unless there is a legal or professional right or duty to disclose, nor use the information for the personal advantage of the Member or third parties.
  • Professional behaviour– to comply with relevant laws and regulations and avoid any action that discredits the profession.

QUALITY CONTROL

Our systems of quality control are established in compliance with this Standard. Our Firm has established and maintains a system of quality control designed to provide Reasonable Assurance that the Firm and its Personnel comply with Professional Standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements and that reports issued by David McSweeney Financial or Engagement Partners are appropriate in the circumstances. This includes a Quality Assurance Manual that documents and communicates policies and procedures to David McSweeney Financial personnel. The manual addresses each of the following elements:

  • Leadership responsibilities for quality within the Firm
  • Relevant ethical requirements
  • Acceptance and continuance of client relationships and specific engagements
  • Human resources
  • Engagement performance
  • Monitoring

MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS

As a tax agent, our work for you is performed in accordance with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). Under this Act, the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 requires that we make disclosures to you.

The Determination ensures that you are provided with all information to make an informed decision as to whether to engage (or continue to engage) with us, and to ensure that we are the right professional for you. This obligation requires us to advise all current and prospective clients the following information.

A fact sheet called Information for Clients is also available for you to download and read.

Public Register

The Tax Practitioner’s Board (TPB) maintains a public register of tax agents and BAS Agents to support you to make the right decisions about any tax practitioner.

Complaints Process

If you have a complaint about our tax agent services, you are requested to contact us in the first instance with details of your complaint. We will provide you with acknowledgement of receipt of your complaint, investigate your complaint further, and provide our understanding of the circumstances. We will attempt to resolve your complaint within 14 days and outline the dispute resolution process.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can provide information and make a complaint to the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) using an online form. For further information about the complaints process see tpb.gov.au/complaints.

Rights, Responsibilities, and Obligations

We are required to advise all current and prospective clients of general information about:

  • our rights, responsibilities and obligations as a registered tax agent under the taxation laws, and;
  • what obligations you as a client have to us.

Our obligations to you include, but are not limited to:

  • acting lawfully in your best interests;
  • acting honestly and with integrity;
  • having arrangements in place to manage any conflicts of interest;
  • taking reasonable care to ensure the taxation laws are complied with;
  • providing services in a competent and timely manner.

 Your obligations to us may include, but are not limited to:

  • making all relevant information available in a complete and timely manner;
  • being truthful with the information provided to us;
  • advising of any changes in any matter that is relevant to the tax agent services that are to be provided by us;
  • keeping the required records and providing information to us on a timely basis;
  • being co-operative with our requests to assist us in meeting our due dates.


Prescribed Events within the last 5 years
If certain prescribed events have occurred involving the tax practitioner within the last 5 years, they must advise you of this at the time you make enquiries to engage or re-engage them to provide tax agent services.

Otherwise, we must notify you within 30 days of us becoming aware of the matter. Prescribed events include if we were:

  • suspended or terminated by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB);
  • an undischarged bankrupt or went into external administration;
  • convicted of a serious taxation offence or an offence involving fraud or dishonesty;
  • serving or sentenced to a term of imprisonment in Australia for 6 months or more.

 

Registration Subject to Conditions
We must advise you if our registration changes and is subject to conditions (for example, if we can only provide tax services related to research and development or tax [financial] advice services).

Further Information
Further information can be found on the following websites:
Tax Practitioners Board (TPB)
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)