CA Firm Directory On-line Privacy Policy
The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants ("CICA") is committed to protecting the privacy of all Users of the CA Firm Directory and ensuring that Users know how their personal information is being collected, used and disclosed. Our Privacy Policy is in compliance with the Trust Services for Online Privacy Criteria established by CICA and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
By accessing and using information from this site or sending or posting information to it, you (the "User") agree to the terms of this privacy policy and to our practices to collect, use or disclose your personal information. This privacy policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes to the Site that may impact our use of your personal information.
1. Notice
Personal information is collected on the CA Firm Directory to enable firms to register and display contact information about their firm.
Users will not receive unsolicited electronic advertisements or messages. In the registration process, Users acknowledge that they may occasionally be asked for their opinion of CA Firm Directory services. Registered Users acknowledge that they may be contacted either by mail, telephone or e-mail to update their account information. Registered Users also acknowledge that they will be notified of any major changes to the functionality of CA Firm Directory, this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Use Contract. Under no circumstances do we sell or give our User lists to others.
Please note that the Site is also governed by the Terms of Use Contract which you should review before proceeding further.
2. Choice and Consent
All Users of the CA Firm Directory retain control over their personal information and individual Users have control over who has access to this information.
The CA Firm Directory will not disclose information to any outside parties, except as required by law, about a User's individual visits to the Site, or personal information that Users provide.
CA Firms: CA Firms can amend or delete the information displayed in their CA Firm Directory listing as is necessary by accessing their CA Firm Directory account.
3. Collection of Information
Anonymous User Browsing: You can visit our Site without telling us who you are or revealing any information about yourself, including your email address. In this case, our web server may collect the IP address and domain you used to access this Site, the type and version of web browser and operating system you are using, the number, duration and frequency of visits to our Site and the web site you came from and visit next. This anonymous information cannot be traced to a specific individual User - it is used by the CA Firm Directory and our business partner CGI simply to measure the number of visits, average time spent, page views, most popular preferences and other statistics about visitors to the Site, to determine the characteristics in which Users use Site and services. We may use this data to monitor Site performance for systems administration purposes, to make the Site easier and more convenient to use, to improve CA Firm Directory services and to track information in aggregate form (e.g. how many visitors log in to this Site).
CA Firms: Chartered Accountant ("CA") Firms wishing to be included in the CA Firm Directory must enter details about their respective firms. No personal information is collected from individual Users who search the CA Firms Directory.
Cookies are only used when a User logs onto the CA Firm Directory. Cookies are small files that your Web browser places on your computer's hard drive. Cookies are used to remember a User's code, password and preferences while the User is logged onto the CA Firm Directory and to facilitate navigating different pages on the Web Site. These cookies are deleted from the User's web browser and computer when the Users exits the web browser or when the web browser is unused for a few minutes.
4. Use and Retention
Use of your personal information is limited to the purposes described in the Notice above and for which the User has provided implicit or explicit consent.
5. Accessing Information
The CA Firm Directory allows all registered Users to access, review, update or delete their personal information at any time. To do so, log into your account, and there are options for editing or removing information. You may cancel your CA Firm Directory account at any time and we shall delete all of your personal information from our database.
If you are unsure whether we have a record containing your personal information and would like to confirm whether or not we do, please send an email to cafirmdirectory@cica.ca, indicating the email addresses you have registered, and we will respond as soon as possible.
6. Onward Transfer and Disclosure
CA Firm Directory does not disclose personal information to third parties.
7. Security
CA Firm Directory contains security mechanisms that protect against the loss, the misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction of personal information. These mechanisms include firewall protection, password encryption and restricted access to the server. The Users' personal information is protected through the use of an exclusive User code and password. All banking transactions and resume data are protected by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption technology (128 bits).
Physical access to the server is limited to those CGI employees who have been given a key to the locked, secure area in which the server resides.
We instruct our employees with access to your information that it is to be used only in adherence with the principles set forth in this Privacy Policy and applicable laws.
8. Integrity
We are committed to maintaining accurate, complete, relevant and reliable personal information you give us for as long as it is being used for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use Contract. Since you play an active role in keeping us up-to-date, prompt notification of any changes to your contact information will help us provide you with improved service.
9. Management and Enforcement
CICA is committed to being in full compliance with privacy laws. Legislation is continually monitored by staff and changes are made to the on-line privacy policy as the need arises. Privacy Policy changes will be posted on the site for your review.
Procedures are in place to address disputes (privacy-related or otherwise) quickly and efficiently. In the event that the dispute cannot be settled through our normal internal processes, the CICA is committed to using an independent third party dispute resolution process. This process can be initiated through the e-mail address cafirmdirectory@cica.ca only after our normal internal processes have been completed. If the issue relates to private information, the CICA will not use or distribute any private information without express permission. All disputes in arbitration will be resolved under the laws of Ontario.
