Terms & Conditions

1. Firm Practices

These provisions describe HHI Solutions, LLC's administrative protocols that apply to the engagement, including, but not limited to:

• Termination and withdrawal. Ensuring that the CPA firm may withdraw for any reason without completing services is important, especially if the client’s integrity is questionable after the engagement has commenced.

 

• Billing and payment terms. Addressing consequences of late payments or a failure to pay before the engagement begins reduces the likelihood of an expectations gap if bills are unpaid.

 

2. Standards-Related Terms

This category is for terms that may be required by or relate to the CPA firm’s professional standards, including, but not limited to:

• Confidentiality. This provision may prevent a client from requiring a CPA to sign their own confidentiality agreement, which may be overly broad.

 

• Records management. The terms and conditions should explain that client records will be returned to the client and that the CPA firm’s records are its property. These provisions also may include how the CPA firm will respond to subpoenas and other third-party record requests.

 

3. Terms That Help Protect the CPA Firm

These provisions clarify the firm’s role and responsibilities (i.e., what it is and isn’t responsible for), including, but not limited to:

• Reliance on oral and written advice. Specifying that only advice requested and provided in writing may be relied on may assist in the defense against allegations that a client relied on off-the-cuff advice provided by the CPA firm.

 

• Disclaimer of legal and investment advice. Establishing that the CPA firm won’t provide legal or investment advice is important, especially if the firm is providing services related to the Corporate Transparency Act.

 

4. Risk Allocation

These provisions allocate the risk of an engagement between the client and the firm and may include:

• Dispute resolution. Generally, agreeing in advance with a client on how disputes will be resolved (e.g., mediation) and designating the venue and jurisdiction that’ll be used tends to expedite the resolution of disagreements.

 

• Limitation of liability and indemnification of the firm. Where permissible, these clauses may help limit the firm’s exposure if a claim arises. If the engagement is of a type whereby the firm is precluded from including these clauses because they would impair independence, strike these terms from the terms and conditions through a notation in the engagement letter.

 

5. Legalese

• Severability. If a certain provision of the engagement letter is found to be unenforceable, a severability provision allows just that provision to be struck from the contract rather than the entire contract being considered unenforceable.

 

• Electronic signature and counterparts. Establishes that an electronic signature is intended to authenticate a written signature and shall be valid.