Privacy Policy

Shahbaz & Associates CPAs (“we,” “us,” or “the Firm”) is a certified public accounting firm located in Fairfax, Virginia. This policy applies to information we collect through www.shahbazassociatescpas.com, through our contact and consultation request forms, by email and telephone, and in the course of providing tax, accounting, advisory, and fractional CFO services.

By using this website or submitting information to us, you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the site or submit information through it.

Information you give us

When you fill out a contact form, request a consultation, subscribe to updates, or email or call us, we collect:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your telephone number
• Your company or entity name, if you provide one
• The content of your message, including any description of your tax or accounting needs

Providing this information is voluntary. If you choose not to provide your email address or phone number, we may not be able to respond to your inquiry.

Information we collect as a client

If you engage us for professional services, we collect the information necessary to perform that engagement. Depending on the service, this may include Social Security numbers and taxpayer identification numbers, income and asset information, bank and brokerage statements, closing statements and settlement sheets, prior-year tax returns, entity formation and governance documents, payroll records, trust and estate instruments, and passport or immigration details where cross-border filings are involved.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the site, our servers and analytics providers may automatically record your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring page, the pages you view, and the dates and times of your visits.

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to your inquiry and contact you about the services you asked about
• Schedule and conduct consultations
• Prepare engagement letters and establish a professional relationship
• Perform the professional services you engage us to provide
• Prepare and file returns, forms, and other documents with the IRS, state tax authorities, and other agencies
• Send invoices and process payments
• Send you filing deadline reminders, document requests, and other communications related to your engagement
• Send newsletters, tax updates, and information about our services, where you have opted to receive them
• Maintain the security of our systems and detect fraud or misuse
• Comply with our legal, regulatory, and professional obligations, including recordkeeping requirements applicable to CPAs

We do not sell your personal information. We do not rent, trade, or otherwise disclose your email address or telephone number to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

We collect email addresses so that we can respond to inquiries, communicate with clients about active engagements, and — where you have chosen to receive them — send periodic updates about tax law changes, filing deadlines, and our services.

We comply with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. § 7701 et seq.) and its implementing regulations. Specifically, in any commercial email we send:

• The “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information accurately identifies the Firm as the sender
• The subject line reasonably describes the content of the message and is not deceptive
• Any message that is an advertisement or solicitation is identified as such
• We include our valid physical postal address
• We include a clear and conspicuous way to opt out of future commercial email
• We honor opt-out requests promptly, and in all cases within 10 business days
• We do not charge a fee, require any information beyond an email address, or require you to take any step other than sending a reply or visiting a single page in order to opt out
• We monitor any third party that sends commercial email on our behalf for compliance with these same requirements

How to unsubscribe

To stop receiving commercial email from us, click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any such message, or email us at admin@shahbazassociatescpas.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line. You may also write to us at the postal address in Section 15.

We collect telephone numbers so that we can return calls, schedule and conduct consultations, and reach clients quickly about time-sensitive engagement matters such as filing deadlines, IRS notices, and closing timelines.

By providing your telephone number through our contact form, by email, or verbally, you consent to receive calls and text messages from us at that number relating to your inquiry and to any services we provide to you. Standard message and data rates from your carrier may apply.

• We do not use your number for telemarketing on behalf of any third party.
• We honor the National Do Not Call Registry and maintain an internal do-not-call list.
• To stop text messages from us, reply STOP to any message. Reply HELP for assistance.
• To stop calls, tell us during any call or email admin@shahbazassociatescpas.com with your request and the number to remove.

As with email, opting out of marketing calls or texts does not stop calls necessary to perform an active engagement.

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site, remember your preferences, understand how visitors use the site, and measure the effectiveness of our advertising.

We use Google Analytics and Google Ads. These providers may set cookies and collect information about your visit, including your IP address and the pages you view, and may use that information to show you our advertising on other websites. You can learn about Google’s practices at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and opt out of Google Analytics at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies through their settings. Some parts of the site may not function properly if you disable cookies.

Mobile telephone numbers and text messaging originator opt-in data are excluded from every sharing category described below. See Section 09.

We share personal information only as described below:

• With your authorization. When you direct us to release information — for example, to a lender, attorney, financial advisor, or another accountant — and, where required, have signed the applicable consent form.
• To perform your engagement. With taxing authorities and government agencies when filing returns and forms on your behalf, and with our personnel and affiliates who work on your engagement.
• With service providers. With vendors who support our practice — tax preparation and workflow software, document portals, e-signature platforms, cloud storage, billing and payroll systems, and email delivery services — under agreements requiring them to protect the information and use it only for the services they provide to us.
• For professional oversight. With peer reviewers, our professional liability insurer, and our own legal and accounting advisors, subject to confidentiality obligations.
• When legally required. In response to a subpoena, court order, summons, or other lawful process, or where disclosure is required by law or professional standards.
• In a business transition. In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of the practice, subject to the confidentiality requirements applicable to client information.

As a firm that prepares tax returns and provides financial services, we are treated as a “financial institution” under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The following notice is provided under that Act and the Federal Trade Commission’s Privacy Rule.

Types of nonpublic personal information we collect. We collect nonpublic personal information about you that is provided to us by you or obtained by us with your authorization.

Parties to whom we disclose information. For current and former clients, we do not disclose any nonpublic personal information obtained in the course of our practice except as permitted or required by law, as described in Section 7 of this policy, or with your consent. Permitted disclosures include providing information to our employees and affiliates, and in limited situations to unrelated third parties who need to know that information to assist us in providing services to you. In all such situations, we stress the confidential nature of the information being shared.

Protecting the confidentiality and security of current and former clients’ information. We retain records relating to professional services that we provide so that we are better able to assist you with your professional needs and, in some cases, to comply with professional guidelines. In order to guard your nonpublic personal information, we maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with our professional standards and applicable law.

We collect mobile telephone numbers and text messaging consent directly from you — through our contact and consultation request forms, by email, or verbally during a call or meeting.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All other use case categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

Your mobile number and your consent to receive text messages are never sold, rented, traded, or otherwise released to any third party. This includes our advertising, analytics, and marketing providers. Text messaging originator opt-in data is used solely to communicate with you directly about your inquiry or your engagement with the Firm, and is not disclosed under any of the sharing categories described in Section 07 or Section 08 of this policy.

We maintain a written information security program with administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the information in our care. These include encrypted transmission and storage of client documents, a secure client portal for exchanging sensitive files, multi-factor authentication on Firm systems, role-based access limits, background screening of personnel, confidentiality agreements, and ongoing security training.

Please do not send Social Security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, account numbers, or tax documents by unencrypted email. Use our client portal or ask us to send you a secure upload link.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

We retain client records for the period required by our professional standards, our record retention policy, and applicable law — generally at least seven years from the completion of an engagement, and longer where a longer period is required or where records relate to matters that remain open. Contact form submissions from prospects who do not become clients are retained for 24 months and then deleted. Marketing email lists are retained until you unsubscribe, after which we keep a minimal suppression record so that we do not contact you again.

You can at any time:

• Unsubscribe from marketing email, as described in Section 4
• Ask us to stop calling or texting you, as described in Section 5
• Ask us what personal information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate
• Ask us to delete information, subject to the recordkeeping obligations that apply to CPAs and to information we must retain by law

Residents of Virginia and of other states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws may have additional rights under those laws. Note that much of the information we hold is subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and is therefore exempt from several of those state statutes; we will tell you which of your requests we can honor when you make one. To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the information in Section 15. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

This website is intended for adults and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through the site. We may receive information about minor children as part of an engagement — for example, dependents named on a return or beneficiaries of a trust — and we treat that information with the same protections described in this policy.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. If we make material changes to how we use or share your information, we will provide additional notice, which may include emailing you or posting a notice on the site. Your continued use of the site after changes take effect means you accept the revised policy.

Questions about this policy, requests to access or delete information, and opt-out requests can be directed to: