Legal & Privacy Policy

This is the legal and privacy policy ("Privacy Policy") for the BDO Bahamas Web Site with a front page at the bdo.com.jm domain name (this "Site"). This Site is made available by BDO Bahamas ("we" or "us"). This Privacy Policy sets forth our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of certain personally identifiable information ("Personal Information") relating to an individual's use of this Site. Your use of this Site signifies your understanding and acceptance of the terms of this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into, and part of, the BDO Bahamas Web Site Terms and Conditions, which govern your use of this Site in general, and shall be read as if the Terms and Conditions and Privacy are one unified document.

For the avoidance of doubt, this Legal and Privacy Policy applies to Personal Information collected through this Site, but not to BDO Bahamas offline business activities.

Introduction

BDO Bahamas is a member of BDO International Ltd, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the worldwide network of independent legal entities, each of which provides professional services under the name “BDO”.

BDO is an international network of independent public accounting, tax and advisory firms (the “BDO network”), which perform professional services under the name of BDO (the “BDO member firms”). BDO International Limited (“BDOI”) is a UK company limited by guarantee. It is the governing entity of the BDO network.

Each of BDOI and the member firms is a separate legal entity and has no liability for another such entity's acts or omissions. Nothing in the arrangements or rules of the BDO network shall constitute or imply an agency relationship or a partnership between BDOI and the member firms.

This privacy statement (“Privacy Statement”) applies only to the www.bdobahamas.com web site (or the “web site”) which is provided by [name of the firm] (also referred to below as “we”, “us”, “our” or “BDO”) and not to the various separate web sites as per each location where BDO is present it redirects you to.

Please note that the other country or specific websites contained within www.bdobahamas.com are provided by the applicable BDO member firms or related entities managing them and are not the responsibility of BDO. Such websites, as well as other websites that may be linked to this web site, are not governed by this Privacy Statement. We encourage visitors to review each of these other web site's privacy statements before disclosing any personal information.

What personal information do you collect when I visit www.bdobahamas.com?

We do not require registration for access to www.bdobahamas.com, but if you participate in any of the activities or services offered by www.bdobahamas.com, we will collect the personal information that we need in order to provide you with those services. Failure to provide the information that we require in order to complete the registration may prevent or delay the provision of any services to you.

The categories of information that we collect from you are:

• Contact details, such as your name, job title, email address, employer's name, and telephone number for prospective employees,

• Authentication and identification information, such as your user name, password, email address,

• Information relating to the services we provide such as details of your requests, queries or complaints

Technical Information

When you visit this Site, we may collect technical information that does not, by itself, identify you by name. This information may include, for example, your IP (Internet Protocol) address, which pages you visit on this Site, other pages you visit on the Web, and which browser you used to view this Site. This technical data is used to measure and improve the effectiveness of this Site, to help diagnose problems with our server, to administer this Site, to see where Site traffic is coming from and to identify our users. We may also collect other non-personally identifiable information via this Site, such as Site usage activity and preferences, also known as demographic or profile data. We do not currently, but reserve the right to, combine the data described in this paragraph with your Personal Information.

Do We Use Cookies?

We may use "cookies" to keep, and sometimes track, information about you. Cookies are small data files that are sent to your browser or related software from a Web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. Cookies track where you travel on the Site and what you look at. In doing so, a cookie may enable us to relate your use of the Web site to your Personal Information. Many other Web sites use cookies for very similar purposes.

Most Web browsers can be set to inform you when a cookie has been sent to you and provide you with the opportunity to refuse that cookie. Additionally, your Flash player can be set to reject or delete Flash cookies. Refusing a cookie will generally not interfere with your use of the Web site. However, refusal of a cookie may, in some cases, preclude you from using or negatively impact the display or function of the Web site or certain areas or features of the Web site.

COOKIES Cookies How to control my cookies Managing cookies in my browser Managing analytics cookies Further information about cookies and how to manage them

This web site is intended to provide general information on the BDO network and the professional services and solutions provided by the BDO member firms around the world.

We gather information from users of this web site automatically and when you decide to provide us with information, for example, when you complete a form on www.bdobahamas.com. 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 [website URL], 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 [website URL] 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.

Managing analytics cookies

It is possible to opt out of having your anonymised browsing activity within web sites recorded by analytics cookies. www.bdobahamas.com uses Google Analytics and you can opt out of their cookies by visiting the Google Analytics opt-out page. Please note that this will take you to Google Analytic’s web site and generate a ‘no thanks’ cookie, which will stop any further cookies being set by those third parties.

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.

Do We Use Web Bugs

We may use "web bugs" (described in more detail below) in this Site or in our communications with you to verify your viewing and/or receipt of communications. A "web bug" is typically a one-pixel, transparent image (although it can be a visible image as well), located on a Web page or in an e-mail, which is retrieved from a remote site on the Internet enabling the verification of an individual's viewing or receipt of a Web page or e-mail message.

Use of Personal Information

We use Personal Information collected on and through this Site for a variety of purposes in the course of business and as otherwise set forth herein. Personal Information provided is used only for the specific purpose for which it was provided except where you explicitly select to receive other information from BDO Bahamas. When requesting material or asking someone to contact you there will be the option to receive other information that may be of interest. For example:

To respond to your requests that you send to us via e-mail or "Contact Us";
To process your requests and deliver to you requested materials;
To contact you when you request further information;
To send you mail and e-mail messages promoting our products and services. (You may opt-out of receiving certain promotional e-mail messages from us as described in the "Opt-out" section below.)

How do you use my personal information?

We use your personal information to:

• identify you and create a profile for you when you register with us to use our services or to request information from us

• verify your identity when you [access our services]/[contact us]

• communicate with you with respect to the services and information that we provide

• meet our contractual obligations to you under the terms and conditions of the BDO. Global Terms of use

• provide , improve and personalise our services by analysing information about your use of the website to understand how people use our website so that we can make it more intuitive

• deal with your enquiries and requests

• comply with the legal obligations to which we are subject and cooperate with regulators and law enforcement bodies

• contact you with marketing and offers relating to products and services offered by us (unless you have opted out of marketing, or we are otherwise prevented by law from doing so)

• personalise the marketing messages that we send to you to make them more relevant and interesting by analysing details of the services and information that you are receiving, and your transaction history, to make suggestions for other information that may be of interest

• exercise our legal rights where it is necessary to do so, for example to detect violations of law

We must have a legal basis to process your personal information. In most cases the legal basis will be one of the following:

• To provide services to you pursuant to the www.bdobahamas.com Terms of Use

• [To comply with our legal obligations, for example to enable us to meet our fraud prevention and money-laundering obligations]

• To meet our legitimate interests, for example to understand how you use our services and our website and to help us to derive knowledge that helps us to develop new services. Whe we process your personal information to meet our legitimate interests we put in place robust safeguards to ensure that your privacy is protected and to ensure that our legitimate interests are not overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms. For more information about the balancing test that we carry out to process your personal information to meet our legitimate interests, please contact us at the details below.

• We may obtain your consent to collect and use certain types of personal information where we are required to do so by law (for example in relation to our direct marketing activities, or our use of cookies and tracking technologies). If we ask for your consent to process your personal information, you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us using the details at the end of this Privacy Statement.

Your Rights

You have certain rights regarding your personal information, subject to local law. These include the following rights to: request access to the personal information that we may process on www.bdobahamas.com, update or correct your details, restrict our use of your personal information, object to our use of your personal information, to receive your personal information in a usable electronic format and transmit it to a third party, or request that your personal details are deleted from our systems.

You may exercise these rights by e-mailing info@bdobahamas.com. 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 info@bdobahamas.com 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 web site or our business activities [(e.g to run marketing campaigns host our databases, support email and messaging services and analyse information]. We may give such companies access to your personal information in connection with those purposes on our behalf. We may also share your personal information with other member firms within the BDO network (e.g for the purposes of customer insights or service optimisation) 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 "Reorganization Event"), transfer, sell or assign your personal information to third parties involved in the Reorganization Event.

How long do you keep my information?

We will keep your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you. Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal information for a period of time that enables us to: maintain our business records for analysis and/or audit purposes; comply with record retention requirements under the law; defend or bring any legal claims; and deal with any complaints.

We will delete your personal information when it is no longer required for these purposes. If there is any information that we are unable, for technical reasons, to delete entirely from our systems, we will put in place appropriate measures to prevent any further processing or use of the data. In any event data will not be held for longer than 5 years should the relationship end.

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

In order to provide services to you via www.bdobahamas.com we may need to transfer your personal information outside the Bahamas to countries that may not provide a level of protection of personal information that may be regarded as equivalent to that afforded under the General 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. For more information as to how we protect your personal information please contact us using the contact details below.

Do You Have Choices Regarding How Your Personal Information Used?

Opt-Out

Consent to Processing

By providing any Personal Information to this Site, you fully understand and unambiguously consent to the transfer of such Personal Information to, and the collection and processing of such Personal Information in, the United States, provided, however, only to the extent permitted in this Privacy Policy.

Security

Generally accepted standards of technology and operational security have been implemented to protect Personal Information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. All partners, employees and principals are required to keep Personal Information confidential and only authorized personal have access to this Information.

Please be careful whenever sending Personal Information to us via e-mail. E-mail is commonly not a secure means of transferring information.
Due to the open nature of the Internet, we cannot guarantee that any information stored on our servers, or transmitted to or from you, will be free from unauthorized access. By using this Site, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to assume these risks.

In the unlikely event that we believe that the security of your Personal Information in our possession or control may have been compromised, we may seek to notify you of that. If a notification is appropriate, we would endeavor to do so as promptly as possible under the circumstances, and, to the extent we have your e-mail address, we may notify you by e-mail.

Access and Correction

BDO Bahamas does not assume responsibility for confirming the ongoing accuracy of your Personal Information. When practically possible if you inform BDO Bahamas that your Personal Information is no longer accurate, appropriate corrections will be made.

Third Parties

We have no control over what information third parties track or collect, and we have no responsibility or liability for any tracking, data collection or other activities of third parties.

Domicile Requirement for Use of the Site

You represent and warrant that you are domiciled in the Bahamas. You agree that Bahamas law will apply to this Privacy Policy and your Personal Information without regard to laws relating to choice or conflicts of laws.

Who Can You Contact if You Have Questions or Concerns

Please contact us at info@bdobahamas.com to report any known or suspected privacy or security breaches or to submit privacy-related questions or complaints.

Data Controller

The data controller collecting the information described in this statement is BDO Bahamas. Personal Information collected by BDO Bahamas will not be transferred to other member firms of BDO International.

Will This Privacy Policy Change?

If there are changes or additions to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting those changes here. Changes and additions to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted. Please check this web page periodically to see any changes we have made to our Privacy Policy. Date of last Revision to Privacy Policy: January 20, 2021. Date of last review of Privacy Policy: January 20, 2021.