Cookies & Privacy Policy

Drive Accounting WKA Ltd is committed to protecting your personal information and complying with the Privacy Act 2020 (New Zealand). As a Chartered Accountant (CA) firm and reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act), we are subject to professional and legal obligations that affect how we collect, use, and retain your information.

What personal information do we collect?

When you visit our website we may collect information such as your IP address, browser type, referring page, and your activity on our site via cookies. When you engage our services, we may collect personal information including your full name, contact details, address, date of birth, IRD number, passport and/or driver’s licence details, financial records, and billing information. If you do not provide the information we request, we may be unable to provide services to you.

Some of this collection is required by law (see Anti-Money Laundering and Tax Agent sections below) and cannot be waived. Other information is collected because it is necessary for us to provide accounting services to you under our engagement agreement.

How do we use your personal information?

We use your information to:

  • Provide the professional services you have engaged us for, including preparation of financial statements, tax returns, and other accounting and advisory services

  • Verify your identity and conduct customer due diligence as required under the AML/CFT Act

  • Meet our obligations as a tax agent, including receiving and acting on information shared with us by Inland Revenue (IRD) on your behalf

  • Manage our engagement with you, including billing, risk management, and conflict of interest checks

  • Meet our professional obligations to NZICA, including peer review and practice review requirements

  • Carry out staff training and improve the quality of our services

  • Improve and maintain our website

Confidentiality of client information

As members of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA), we are bound by the NZICA Code of Ethics, which imposes a professional duty of confidentiality. Information you provide to us in a professional capacity is treated as confidential and will not be disclosed to third parties except in the circumstances described in this policy, including:

  • Where you have given us your consent

  • Where we are required or permitted by law (including under the AML/CFT Act, the Tax Administration Act 1994, or by court order)

  • Where disclosure is necessary to fulfil our professional obligations to NZICA or its disciplinary bodies

  • Where disclosure is necessary to protect our legitimate professional interests (for example, in the event of a fee dispute)

This confidentiality obligation continues after our engagement with you ends.

Will we disclose your information to others?

We will not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We may share your information with:

  • Government agencies including Inland Revenue (IRD) and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), in the course of providing tax and accounting services

  • The New Zealand Police Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) or other authorities, where we are required to report under the AML/CFT Act. Please note that we are prohibited by law from notifying you if such a report has been made (known as the “tipping off” restriction under section 46 of the AML/CFT Act)

  • Service providers who assist us in delivering our services (including cloud software, document storage, bookkeeping contractors, and compliance platforms). Details of our current service providers and the location of data storage are set out in our Terms of Engagement

  • Our professional advisors or insurers, where required to protect our interests

  • Our external peer reviewer, as required by our professional obligations under NZICA

  • NZICA, its practice reviewers and disciplinary bodies, as required under the NZICA Rules and Professional Standards

Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)

We are a reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. This imposes legal obligations on us that take precedence over our general privacy obligations in certain circumstances.

We are required by law to:

  • Verify the identity of our clients before providing certain services, using identity documents such as a passport or driver’s licence

  • Conduct ongoing customer due diligence throughout our relationship with you, including monitoring transactions and updating your identity information where required

  • Conduct enhanced due diligence in higher-risk circumstances, which may involve collecting additional information about you, your business, or the source of funds

  • Report suspicious transactions or activity to the Police Financial Intelligence Unit, without notifying you that a report has been made

Identity information collected for AML/CFT purposes is used solely for those compliance purposes and is retained for a minimum of five years following the end of our engagement, as required by the AML/CFT Act.

Our role as your tax agent

Where you have authorised us to act as your tax agent with Inland Revenue, IRD may share your tax information with us in that capacity. This information is received and held subject to the same confidentiality obligations described in this policy and is used solely to provide tax services on your behalf. If you revoke our tax agent authority, we will no longer receive information from IRD on your behalf.

Data storage and retention

Some of your information may be stored or processed outside New Zealand, including in Australia and the United Kingdom, through the service providers we use. We take reasonable steps to ensure your information remains protected regardless of where it is stored. Details of our current service providers and data storage locations are set out in our Terms of Engagement.

We retain your personal information for a minimum of seven years following the end of our engagement with you, in accordance with our professional obligations and the Tax Administration Act 1994. Identity documents collected for AML/CFT purposes are retained for a minimum of five years as required by the AML/CFT Act. Following the applicable retention period, information is securely destroyed.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience and to collect analytics information about how visitors use our site. This may include tools such as Google Analytics, which collects information such as your IP address, browser type, pages visited, and time spent on our site. This data is used in aggregated, anonymised form and is not linked to your identity.

You may configure your browser to decline cookies, though some functionality may be affected. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Security

We take security seriously and use secure servers and industry-standard encryption when receiving or transferring your information. Access to client information is restricted to staff who need it to perform their role. We cannot accept responsibility for unauthorised access or disclosure resulting from circumstances outside our reasonable control.

Your rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to request access to, and correction of, personal information we hold about you. You also have the right to make a privacy complaint.

Please contact our Privacy Officer in the first instance:

Privacy Officer, Drive Accounting WKA Ltd — info@driveaccounting.co.nz

If you have a complaint about our professional conduct as a CA firm, you may also contact NZICA at nzica.com.

If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy complaint, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to third-party sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

Policy changes

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in law or our business practices. The current version will always be available at driveaccounting.co.nz/policy. Material changes will be notified to active clients.

This policy was last reviewed in June 2026. If you have any questions about how we handle your personal information, please contact us at info@driveaccounting.co.nz.