BDO Engagement Platform - Client User
1. CLIENT USER TERMS OF USE
The BDO Fieldguide Engagement Platform (the “BDO Engagement Platform”) is an online collaboration space, available 24/7, designed to assist you, our clients, in meeting the business challenges you face by connecting you with the knowledge and expertise of the BDO professionals and to assist the BDO professionals in serving you better. This BDO Engagement Platform is made available to you by BDO Malta and its related entities (“BDO Malta”).
About BDO Malta
BDO Malta, a Maltese civil partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO Consult Limited, BDO Services Limited and BDO Technology Advisory Limited are companies registered in Malta and form part of the BDO Malta group. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO member firms.
Scope
The BDO Engagement Platform is for use by certain personnel of BDO Malta and clients of BDO Malta ("Clients"). Partners, principals, directors and employees of entities within BDO Malta are not subject to these Terms of Use (these “Terms”) but rather to BDO Users usage terms.
BDO Malta (also referred to herein as “we”, “us”, “our” or “BDO”) may invite personnel who are not part of BDO Malta to use this BDO Engagement Platform pursuant to these Terms. If you are such an invitee, these Terms are applicable to you (and further references below to “you”, “yourself”, “your”, “Client User” or “Client Users” shall be applicable to you as such an invitee).
The Client has requested that we grant you, the Client User, access to this BDO Engagement Platform. By this request, the Client confirms its agreement with these Terms and these Terms shall be a legally binding agreement between the Client and BDO Malta.
Prior to your use (or continued use) of this BDO Engagement Platform, you, as the Client User, must agree to these Terms and these Terms shall be a legally binding agreement between you, as the Client User, and the BDO Member Firm that invited you to this BDO Engagement Platform.
Where we and a Client have agreed, pursuant to an engagement letter or other contract (each an “Engagement Letter”) to the performance of services or delivery of deliverables (an “Engagement”), then all Engagement services and deliverables shall be governed by the Engagement Letter and, where applicable, these Terms. In the event of any conflict between an Engagement Letter and these Terms, the terms of the Engagement Letter shall control with respect to the applicable Engagement. In all other cases, these Terms shall apply to the use of the BDO Engagement Platform except as specified otherwise in these Terms.
Terms of Use
By using this BDO Engagement Platform, you are agreeing to these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, then you are not allowed to use this BDO Engagement Platform and should immediately terminate such usage.
The BDO Engagement Platform may redirect you to various separate web sites and applications. These Terms apply solely to the content on the BDO Engagement Platform, and not to each individual web site or application it redirects to. BDO does not bear any responsibility whatsoever for the content, accuracy or security of any web sites or applications that are linked (by way of hyperlink or otherwise) to the BDO Engagement Platform.
We may revise these Terms of Use at any time in our sole discretion by posting such revised Terms of Use at the Terms of Use link (i.e. this page that you are currently viewing) or elsewhere on the BDO Engagement Platform. Such revisions shall be effective as to you upon posting, unless explicitly stated by us. It is your responsibility to be aware of any such revised Terms of Use by checking this page. Your continued use of BDO Engagement Platform following changes to these Terms of Use constitutes your agreement to the revised Terms of Use.
The Client and the Client User are wholly responsible for their use of the BDO Engagement Platform, and for the usernames and passwords allocated (if relevant). The Client User shall make use of the BDO Engagement Platform only with its own individually allocated username and password or the username and password granting access to the BDO Engagement Platform. BDO Malta and any third parties involved with BDO Malta shall not be responsible, or be held responsible, for the Client User’s use of the BDO Engagement Platform, or for the use of the usernames and passwords allocated (when relevant). The Client and the Client User shall in no way violate third party intellectual property rights, and shall in no way interfere with or commercially exploit the system of which the BDO Engagement Platform forms part except as specifically permitted herein.
Third parties engaged by BDO Malta for the purposes of the BDO Engagement Platform retain the usage and ownership rights to the BDO Engagement Platform and the related technology. By using this BDO Engagement Platform, you and the Client agree to be bound by their license terms, set out here, as they may be amended from time to time.
The Client and the Client User will maintain the confidentiality of the content and technology of this BDO Engagement Platform using at least the same degree of care as Client and the Client User use in maintaining their own proprietary and/or confidential information, but in no event using less than a reasonable degree of care.
Except as otherwise provided in an applicable Engagement Letter, you and Client may not engage in any of the following relating to the BDO Engagement Platform and/or its contents, nor may you and Client authorise other parties to do so:
(a) make use of the service for any purpose other than that for which access has been provided,
(b) copy or distribute the BDO Engagement Platform or any of its contents,
(c) amend or create an extract of the BDO Engagement Platform,
(d) deduce, change or edit source codes relating to the BDO Engagement Platform, or
(e) distribute, exploit, transfer or sub-license the BDO Engagement Platform or any rights related to it.
You as the Client User and the Client remain at all times responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the data contributed to the BDO Engagement Platform and for the timely submission thereof.
If you and/or the Client save information from the BDO Engagement Platform on your own computer, server or other storage medium, you and/or the Client are responsible and accountable for the security, storage and availability of this information.
Availability of the BDO Engagement Platform
If, for whatever reason, the BDO Engagement Platform is unavailable for more than one day, you and/or the Client shall contact your BDO Malta contact person both by telephone and by email and, where necessary, alternative arrangements will be made for submission, preparation and/or approval of the documents so as not to prejudice any timely filing of documents or otherwise. If you and/or the Client do not make immediate contact with BDO Malta, BDO Malta shall not be responsible for the consequences of any late filing of documents or otherwise. BDO Malta is responsible for maintaining the organisational environment necessary for the BDO Engagement Platform and for endeavouring to ensure that the information therein is secure and accessible only to authorised persons.
BDO Malta does not guarantee permanent availability of the BDO Engagement Platform. BDO Malta reserves the right, at its own discretion, to withdraw the BDO Engagement Platform, either from you and the Client and/or in general, in such instance as virus attacks, internet security breaches, problems caused by Client connection issues or in other situations where uninterrupted use of the BDO Engagement Platform is or may be threatened. Where possible, BDO Malta shall notify the Client in advance. If you and/or the Client become aware that security may be threatened, you shall notify BDO Malta immediately by telephone and in writing (including by email). BDO Malta shall notify the Client in advance of any planned maintenance of the BDO Engagement Platform.
Access to the BDO Engagement Platform
Client access to BDO Engagement Platform is governed by BDO Malta.
To access the BDO Engagement Platform, you and/or the Client may have received from BDO Malta a username. The username must be treated confidentially, and they are not transferable. On first use you will be asked to set a password and Multi Factor Authentication (MFA).
You and the Client are responsible for the proper usage and security of the Client's hardware and software and of the user certificates giving access to the BDO Engagement Platform. You and the Client are prohibited from allowing unauthorised parties access to the BDO Engagement Platform. You and the Client are required to use reliable antivirus software before and during use of the BDO Engagement Platform. Furthermore, you and/or the Client may not use the BDO Engagement Platform in non-secure environments (such as internet cafés for example).
If you and/or the Client know or suspect that third parties are, or may become, privy to information concerning the username or password or that these have been lost, stolen or are missing, you and/or the Client must notify BDO Malta immediately.
If necessary for the proper running of the BDO Engagement Platform, the Client User's password(s) may be reset from time to time. If BDO grants the Client access to the BDO Engagement Platform, the Client obtains a limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable right to use the BDO Engagement Platform.
The Client’s access to this BDO Engagement Platform and hence the right to use this BDO Engagement Platform apply for the term of the Engagement, except if the parties agree that BDO will make the BDO Engagement Platform available for a longer period with or without changes to its form and content.
BDO has the right to prematurely terminate or defer for an indefinite period of time, at any time, with immediate effect and without having to give prior notice, the Client’s and the Client Users’ access to and hence its right to use all or parts of the BDO Engagement Platform, for the purposes of maintenance, adjustments or improvements or in connection with events of threat to the security of the BDO Engagement Platform.
Upon termination of the right to use the BDO Engagement Platform, and upon request from the Client, BDO Malta will return the information and data available to the Client on this Portal, except if and insofar as the information and data does not specifically apply to the Client or the Client User.
Upon termination of the right to use the BDO Engagement Platform, BDO will destroy the Client’s information and data, except if BDO needs the information and data to perform the Engagement or to comply with its statutory or professional safekeeping duties or other duties.
Third parties
BDO Malta may engage third parties for the purposes of providing and maintaining the BDO Engagement Platform. To the extent that contracted third parties may need to have access to the BDO Engagement Platform, you and the Client assent to the processing of your and its data for these purposes as set out in the privacy policy.
Liability, indemnification
Although we take commercially reasonable steps to make this BDO Engagement Platform useful and secure, this BDO Engagement Platform (including all BDO Engagement Platform technology, BDO Engagement Platform content and other content) is provided as is, without warranty of any kind. Without limiting the foregoing, we do not warrant that this BDO Engagement Platform will be secure, error-free, free from viruses or malicious code, or will meet any particular criteria of performance or quality, and we expressly disclaim all implied warranties, including warranties of merchantability, title, and fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, and accuracy.
BDO is only responsible for damage or costs incurred due to wilful intent to cause damage, deception, fraud or wilful recklessness on the part of BDO Malta.
Your use and the Client’s use of this BDO Engagement Platform is at your own risk and you assume full responsibility and risk of loss resulting from your usage, including with respect to loss of service or data. We will not be liable for any damage or costs incurred by you, the Client or by third parties as a result of your or the Client’s use of the BDO Engagement Platform, regardless of the reason for such damage or costs, which may include without limitation damage due to: (i) inaccurate or incomplete Client information; (ii) malfunctions, errors, delays or any other deficiencies of the BDO Engagement Platform and/or BDO’s means of communication, such as not being able to send, receive, store or change information; (iii) viruses, spyware and other harmful software; (iv) temporary or prolonged denial of access to or shutdown of the BDO Engagement Platform for the purposes of maintenance, adjustments or improvements; (v) the alteration, extension or (partial) deletion of the BDO Engagement Platform; (vi) any acts or omissions by you, the Client and/or other authorised users in breach of the obligations arising from or in connection with the BDO Engagement Platform; or (vii) loss of electricity if you and/or the Client are logged in on the system.
BDO Malta is not responsible or liable for the existence of an operational point-to-point connection between the systems and software owned or used by the Client and the BDO Engagement Platform or the platform on which the BDO Engagement Platform runs.
If the Client uses the Single-Sign-On functionality to connect to software applications owned by or licensed (paid or free licence) to the Client, BDO is in no way responsible and/or liable for the content and/or use of the software, software packages or data in question.
Except as stipulated above, BDO Malta is not liable for any loss of turnover, profit or goodwill for any reason whatsoever, even if BDO Malta has been informed of the likelihood of this loss. BDO Malta will endeavour to repair malfunctions reported to BDO Malta by you and/or the Client, except if the cause of the malfunction is attributable to you and/or the Client or to the system and/or software used by you and/or the Client. If you and/or the Client act in breach of the obligations arising from or in connection with the use of the BDO Engagement Platform, you and/or the Client will be liable for all the resulting damage and costs incurred by BDO.
The Client indemnifies BDO Malta against any and all third-party claims arising from or in connection with the BDO Engagement Platform, including but not limited to third-party claims arising from non-fulfilment by the Client or persons working at or for the Client of any of the obligations applicable to them.
The above limitations of liability shall be applicable not only to us but also to each other entity within the BDO Network and to our and their respective personnel.
If any of the above limitations of liability is invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, then (i) in that jurisdiction it shall be re-construed to the maximum effect permitted by law to effect its intent as nearly as possible and the remaining terms shall remain in full force and effect, and (ii) in every other jurisdiction all of these terms shall remain in full force and effect.
Intellectual property
The third party from which BDO Malta has obtained permits/licences will at all times remain the owner of all the intellectual and other property rights regarding this BDO Engagement Platform.
This BDO Engagement Platform contains material which is licensed to BDO Malta.
You or the Client may not publish information relating to the BDO Engagement Platform or operate or otherwise use the BDO Engagement Platform with the aid of third parties or on its own in a manner (including but not limited to storing or reproducing all or part of the BDO Engagement Platform on another internet page or inserting links, hyperlinks or deep links between the BDO Engagement Platform and any other internet page) for which no prior written permission has been obtained from BDO Malta.
Force majeure
BDO Malta is not obliged to meet any obligation it is unable to meet due to force majeure. Force majeure is understood to include shortcomings by third parties engaged by BDO Malta as well as disruptions to or failures in the electricity supply and/or telecommunications systems.
Property rights
You may link to this BDO Engagement Platform provided that such link does not involve unauthorised use of the BDO Engagement Platform, or of our logos; any false claims (actual or implied) of endorsement by, or other relationship with BDO Malta; or any other infringement of our trademarks, copyright and/or other intellectual property rights.
This BDO Engagement Platform contains material which is licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics of the BDO Engagement Platform. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these Terms of Use. You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other web site or other form of electronic retrieval system.
Evidence
Data extracts from BDO’s computer and other systems will provide sufficient evidence of any and all use of the BDO Engagement Platform and any and all instructions, guidelines and other communications between BDO and you and/or the Client, as well as any and all transactions and activities carried out under the Engagement. Evidence to the contrary may be submitted only in the event of clear errors in the data extracts from BDO’s computer and other systems. The use of login data for the BDO Engagement Platform provides sufficient proof of the identity of the authorised user.
Applicable law
These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Malta. The courts of Malta shall have exclusive jurisdiction to resolve any disputes arising out of these Terms.
For any further information or questions regarding these Terms, please send us an email at it@bdo.com.mt.
2. PRIVACY STATEMENT
Introduction
This privacy statement (“Privacy Statement”) applies only to this BDO Engagement Platform which is provided by BDO Malta (also referred to below as “we”, “us”, “our” or “BDO”). The BDO Engagement Platform may redirect you to various separate web sites and applications. This Privacy Statement applies solely to the content on the BDO Engagement Platform, and not to each individual web site it redirects to.
By using this BDO Engagement Platform and submitting any personal information to us, you agree to the use by us of your personal information in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Statement.
Consent to Processing
By providing any personal information to this BDO Engagement Platform, you fully understand and unambiguously consent to the transfer of such personal information, and the collection and processing of such personal information provided, to the extent permitted in this Privacy Statement.
What personal information do you collect when I visit this BDO Engagement Platform?
In order to register and gain access to this BDO Engagement Platform, users may be asked to provide their full name, email address and location. This information is used to verify your identity each time you log in to this BDO Engagement Platform. You may also have the option to submit additional information such as telephone number, the name of your company, your professional position and your picture. This information will be used to manage your account and customize and improve this BDO Engagement Platform.
Please note that personal or other information that you upload or post via this BDO Engagement Platform may also be read or used by other authorised users who have been granted access to this BDO Engagement Platform’s collaboration spaces to which you have access.
Use of this application may be subject to review, monitoring and recording at any time to enable help us ensure compliance with the Terms of Use and that only authorised parties are accessing this BDO Engagement Platform using your user login and password.
We do not collect sensitive personal information from you from this BDO Engagement Platform. Sensitive information includes data relating to: race or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or other similar beliefs; physical or mental health; trade union membership; sexual orientation or criminal record. Where you provide sensitive personal information to us voluntarily we will assume that we have your explicit consent to use that information in connection with the purpose for which it has been provided.
Technical Information
When you visit this web site, we may collect technical information such as your IP (Internet Protocol) address, details of the pages you visit on this BDO Engagement Platform, and which browser you used to view this BDO Engagement Platform.
This BDO Engagement Platform collects standard internet log and technical data to measure and improve its effectiveness, to help diagnose problems with servers, to administer this BDO Engagement Platform, to see where web site traffic is coming from and to identify our users. In this connection we may use "cookies" to collect this information. For more information, see our Cookie Policy.
When do you collect personal information through the BDO Engagement Platform?
We collect personal information from you in the following circumstances:
• when you register to BDO Engagement Platform
• when you complete your user profile
• when you contact us to request further information
• when you upload documentation containing personal information.
We collect the minimum amount of information to enable us to deal with your request. We will indicate where the provision of information is voluntary or compulsory. We would normally only request additional information to enable us to provide the most appropriate response to your request.
How do you use my personal information?
We only use the personal information that you provide to deal with your request, and to manage this BDO Engagement Platform and the services that we offer to you via this BDO Engagement Platform as described in this Privacy Statement.
When requesting material or asking someone to contact you, there will be the option to receive other information that may be of interest.
Your Rights
You have the right to request access to the personal information that you have submitted through this BDO Engagement Platform, update or correct your details, opt out of receiving other information from BDO or request that your personal details are deleted from our systems at any time by e-mailing privacy@bdo.com.mt. We will treat all such requests in accordance with applicable local law.
If you would like to opt not to receive promotional or marketing e-mail from us in the future, you may let us know by sending us an e-mail to privacy@bdo.com.mt stating the e-mail address you wish to be removed from our mailing list. However, your option not to receive promotional and marketing e-mail shall not preclude us from corresponding with you, by e-mail or otherwise, regarding your existing relationship with us.
Will you provide my information to a third party?
We may contract with other companies or individuals to deal with your enquiry or to otherwise operate this BDO Engagement Platform or our business activities. We may give such companies access to your personal information in connection with those purposes on our behalf, and these companies will process your personal data only on BDO's instructions and solely for the purposes of providing and maintaining the BDO Engagement Platform. We may also share your personal information with other member firms within the BDO network provided that this is consistent with the basis on which we have collected your personal information.
From time to time, we may disclose personal information in response to a court order, subpoena, government investigation, or as otherwise required or permitted by law.
We do not provide information to third parties for their own marketing purposes and we do not undertake mailings for third parties.
We may, as a result of a sale, merger, consolidation, change in control, transfer of assets, reorganization or liquidation of our company (a "Reorganisation Event"), transfer, sell or assign your personal information to third parties involved in the Reorganisation Event.
How long do you keep my information?
We only keep your Information for the period required for fulfilling your request and will delete it in accordance with our data retention policies.
Is my information secure?
We have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security to protect personal information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. We require all employees and principals to keep personal information confidential and only authorised personnel have access to this information.
International Transfers
You acknowledge and consent to the fact that in order to provide services to you via this BDO Engagement Platform we may need to transfer your personal information [outside the EEA] to countries that may not provide a level of protection of personal information that may be regarded as equivalent to that afforded under the European data protection legislation. Whenever your personal information is transferred internationally, we will take appropriate steps to ensure its security and confidentiality in accordance with applicable data protection law.
Updating this Privacy Statement
We may modify or update this Privacy Statement from time to time. You will be able to see when we last updated the Privacy Statement because we will include a revision date. Changes and additions to this Privacy Statement are effective from the date on which they are posted. Please review this Privacy Statement from time to time to check whether we have made any changes to the way in which we use your personal information.
Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement you can contact us at via email at privacy@bdo.com.mt.
Last modified: 6th November 2024
3. COOKIES
We gather information from users of this BDO Engagement Platform automatically and when you decide to provide us with information, for example, when you register to this BDO Engagement Platform. This information is treated with confidence, and is only used by BDO as per the terms of the Privacy Statement.
We may use "cookies" to keep, and sometimes track, information about you.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files which are downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you visit a web site or application. Your web browser (such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome) then sends these cookies back to the web site or application on each subsequent visit so that they can recognise you and remember things like personalised details or user preferences. Cookies do not damage your system. You can reset your browser so as to refuse any cookie or to alert you to when a cookie is being sent.
To improve your experience and to make our service to you better we use cookies for the purposes of system administration and analytics of our web site. This gives us information about the number of visitors to different parts of our web site.
BDO does not share this data with third parties. Our cookies do not store sensitive information such as your name or address, they simply just enable us to see behaviour on the web site to help us improve your experience. However, if you’d prefer to restrict, block or delete cookies from this BDO Engagement Platform, or any other web site, you can use your browser to do this. Each browser is different, so check the ‘Help’ menu of your particular browser (or your mobile phone’s handset manual) to learn how to change your cookie preferences.
How to control my cookies
There are various ways that you can control and manage your cookies which are discussed in a bit more detail below. Please remember that any settings you change will not just affect this BDO Engagement Platform’s cookies. These changes will apply to all web sites that you visit (unless you choose to block cookies from particular web sites).
Managing cookies in my browser
Most modern browsers will allow you to:
• See what cookies you’ve got and delete them on an individual basis
• Block third party cookies
• Block cookies from particular web sites
• Block all cookies from being set
• Delete all cookies when you close your browser
You should be aware that any preferences will be lost if you delete cookies. This includes where you have opted out from cookies, as this requires an opt-out cookie to be set. Also, if you block cookies completely many web sites will not work properly and some functionality on these web sites will not work at all.
Further information about cookies and how to manage them
If you’d like to learn more about cookies in general and how to manage them, visit aboutcookies.org*
*Please note that we can’t be responsible for the content of external web sites.