Liverpool Business School Accounting Clinic privacy notice

If you wish that the Accounting Clinic undertake your Independent Examination, we will need to receive certain information from you. This privacy notice explains how we do that, why, and what your rights are to ensure our compliance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Accounting Clinic personnel will explain the information set out below before undertaking an Independent Examination. Please feel free to ask Accounting Clinic personnel if you do not understand any part of the information, or to ask a friend or relative or other person known to you or otherwise (such as a translator) to assist you with the information.

Who are we?

The Accounting Clinic is part of LJMU’s Liverpool Business School. The Accounting Clinic sits within the Liverpool Business School, School of Business and Management and the Programme Leader responsible for it is Michael Franco.

Accounting Clinics will be led by our final year Accounting and Finance students. A member of the academic team that is/are a fully qualified accountant will supervise them.

What information do we ask for?

We will ask you for:

  • your name, address, and contact details
  • any necessary information required to complete an independent examination.
  • any recordings of meetings and telephone that you agree to

Why do we ask for that information and what is the legal basis for it?

We ask for this information in order to be able to decide whether we can offer you an appointment at the Accounting Clinic and in order to establish whether we can do an independent examination for your charitable organisation.

We also need this information to ensure there is no conflict of interest between LJMU and your organisation.

LJMU as a higher education institution may also use information for teaching and educational purposes, however, it would usually be used in a way that would make it very difficult to identify you.

LJMU has a legitimate interest to use your information for these purposes and may do so under the provisions of Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

How do we get your information?

If you make an online enquiry via email, we will input your details on to a Contact Form/Initial Enquiry Form. All information will be held on the Accounting Clinics SharePoint site. Only Accounting Clinic academic staff will have access to this SharePoint site.

Alternatively, we may ask you for this information verbally if you approach us by telephone, by letter or in person to ask us to provide you with an independent examination.

How do we use information about you?

We will use your information solely for your independent examination.

Once you have agreed to use our service either in writing online or in hard copy, we will share your information with our student advisors and academic staff member(s) who will be meeting with you at your appointment(s) at the Accounting Clinic.

When you attend our clinic, we will make notes of any information given and retain any copy documents you provide us with, in order for us to conduct your independent examination. These notes and documents are created directly into our confidential SharePoint site and stored there.

If we speak to you by phone or via Microsoft Teams, we will ask your permission to record the conversation for educational and training purposes. You are free to say no and it will not affect the service we give you in any way.

We do not share your information with any other third party

Your data rights

You have the right to object to the use of your personal data for our legitimate interests. Please note that in some cases this may affect our ability to offer the service to you.

You have the right to correct inaccurate information that we hold about you, and in certain cases, to have that personal information deleted by us. 

You also have the right to access personal information we hold about you.

Read further information about your data protection rights.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact the Data Protection Officer: DPO@ljmu.ac.uk.

How do we keep your information?

All information about your organisation will be kept electronically in our confidential Accounting Clinic SharePoint site system.

How long will we keep your information?

We will keep information about you only:

  • for as long as you require an independent examination or continual independent examinations
  • in the event that a complaint is made
  • so as to ensure that information about you is accurate and up to date
  • for the purposes of research and statistical analysis

We usually hold your information for seven years in case you complain about our services.

Once we decide that it is no longer necessary to keep your information we will either delete it from our records or remove any reference to you.

Transfers of data outside the UK

Your data will not be sent outside the UK.

Automated Decision making

We will not make any decisions about you automatically using a computer, based on your personal data. All decisions affecting you will be taken by a human.

Further Information

If you wish to discuss any questions about this privacy notice, you are welcome to contact Michael Franco, Programme Leader Accounting and Finance (m.franco@ljmu.ac.uk) or alternatively the University’s Data Protection Officer (DPO@ljmu.ac.uk).

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about our handling of your personal information, and the right to object to the processing of your personal information on certain grounds. For further details see the ICO website.