Privacy Notice
Influential Accounting Limited
Last updated: August 2026
Who we are
Influential Accounting Limited ("we", "us", "our") is an accountancy practice based in Wilmslow, Cheshire, providing accounting, tax and advisory services across the UK. We are the "data controller" for the personal information described in this notice, which simply means we decide how and why your information is used.
Registered office: Suite 131 Courthill House, 60 Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AJ
Company number: 12650694
ICO registration number: ZB048043
Contact for anything privacy-related: hello@influentialaccounting.co.uk
We are regulated as a Member in Practice by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
The information we collect
What we collect depends on your relationship with us.
If you're a client (or becoming one):
Your name, address, date of birth, email and phone number
Identity documents such as your passport or driving licence, which we're legally required to check
Financial information, including bank details, income, tax records, payroll data and business transactions
Information about your business, including directors, shareholders and people with significant control
Your National Insurance number and tax references
Records of our communications with you
If you enquire about our services:
Your name, contact details and anything you tell us about your business and what you're looking for
Booking details if you schedule a call with us
If you sign up to our emails or download a resource:
Your name and email address
Information about how you interact with our emails, such as whether you open them
If you visit our website:
Technical information such as your device type and how you use the site, collected through cookies. See our separate [cookie policy] for details.
Where your information comes from
Most of it comes directly from you. However, we sometimes receive information about you from other places, including:
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Companies House
Your previous accountant, when you move to us
Identity verification and credit reference agencies, as part of the checks we're required to carry out
Your bank or software such as Xero, where you've connected these to share data with us
Publicly available sources, such as the Companies House register
If you're a director, shareholder or beneficial owner of a client business, we may hold information about you even though you're not our direct client. This notice applies to you too.
Why we use your information, and our legal grounds for doing so
Data protection law says we need a valid reason (a "lawful basis") for everything we do with your information. Here are ours:
To deliver our services to you (lawful basis: performance of a contract) Preparing your accounts, tax returns, payroll, bookkeeping, VAT returns and advisory work all requires us to use your financial and personal information.
To meet our legal obligations (lawful basis: legal obligation) We're required by law to verify your identity and carry out ongoing checks under anti-money laundering legislation, to keep certain records, and to make reports to authorities where the law requires it. Anti-money laundering checks involve processing information about criminal convictions and offences where relevant, which we do under the conditions set out in the Data Protection Act 2018.
To run our practice properly (lawful basis: legitimate interests) This covers things like managing our client relationships, keeping internal records, recovering unpaid fees, maintaining professional indemnity insurance, and telling existing clients about services we think will genuinely help them. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we've considered the impact on you and are satisfied our use of your information is fair and proportionate.
To send you our newsletter and marketing emails (lawful basis: consent) Only if you've signed up. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email, and we'll stop straight away.
Our use of technology and artificial intelligence
Like most modern practices, we use cloud software to deliver our services, including accounting platforms (such as Xero), reporting tools, proposal software, scheduling tools and email platforms. These providers process your information on our behalf under contracts that require them to keep it secure and use it only on our instructions.
Some of the tools we use include artificial intelligence (AI) features, and we may use AI-assisted tools to help with tasks such as drafting documents, analysing data and preparing reports. We want to be upfront about how this works:
A qualified human always reviews the work. AI tools assist us; they don't replace professional judgement. All advice, accounts and returns are reviewed and approved by us before they reach you or any authority.
We never make solely automated decisions about you. No decision with legal or similarly significant effects on you is made by a computer alone.
Your information stays protected. Where AI tools are used, this is done under commercial agreements with appropriate safeguards, and your information is not used to train publicly available AI models.
If you have any questions about how we use these tools in relation to your information, just ask.
Who we share your information with
We never sell your information. We share it only where necessary, with:
HMRC, Companies House and other authorities, to file your returns and accounts and meet legal requirements
Our software providers, who store and process information on our behalf (as described above)
Identity verification providers, for the legal checks we must complete
Our anti-money laundering supervisor and professional body (CIMA), if they inspect our records
Our professional advisers and insurers, where necessary
Another qualified accountant under our continuity arrangement, who would look after clients if we were ever unable to practise. They are bound by the same duties of confidentiality
Your new accountant, if you leave us and authorise the handover
Debt recovery services or the courts, only if fees remain unpaid after reasonable attempts to resolve matters
Where your information is stored
We aim to use providers that store information in the UK or European Economic Area. Where a provider stores or processes information outside the UK, we make sure appropriate safeguards required by UK data protection law are in place, such as an adequacy decision or approved contractual protections.
How long we keep your information
Client records: generally six years after the end of the accounting or tax year they relate to, in line with legal and professional requirements. Some records may be kept longer where the law requires it or a dispute is ongoing.
Anti-money laundering records: five years after our relationship with you ends, as required by law.
Enquiries that don't become clients: up to 12 months, then deleted.
Marketing lists: until you unsubscribe or your details become inactive.
When information is no longer needed, we delete it securely.
Your rights
You have the right to:
Access a copy of the information we hold about you
Correct anything that's inaccurate or incomplete
Ask us to delete your information, in certain circumstances
Restrict or object to how we use it, in certain circumstances
Receive your information in a portable format, in certain circumstances
Withdraw consent at any time, where consent is our basis for using it (for example, marketing emails)
Some rights have limits. For example, we can't delete records the law requires us to keep. If you make a request, we'll respond within one month and explain clearly if any limit applies.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@influentialaccounting.co.uk.
If you're unhappy: your right to complain
You have a legal right to complain directly to us about how we've handled your personal information. If you'd like to do so, contact us at hello@influentialaccounting.co.uk or by post at Suite 131 Courthill House, 60 Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AJ, in whatever way suits you.
When we receive a complaint, we will:
Acknowledge it within 30 days
Investigate it and take appropriate steps to respond without undue delay
Keep you informed of the outcome
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at any time:
Website: ico.org.uk
Phone: 0303 123 1113
Changes to this notice
We review this notice regularly and will update it when our practices or the law change. The date at the top tells you when it was last updated. Significant changes will be flagged to clients directly.