IFA Privacy & Cookie Policy

Institute of Financial Accountants

Privacy Policy and Cookies

1. Data Protection and privacy

1.1 Privacy Policy

The IFA shall mean the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) and its tax faculty, the Federation of Tax Advisers (FTA). 

This privacy policy applies to any information acquired by and/or provided to IFA including but not limited to:

• IFA/FTA members, affiliates, registered students and potential students
• individual contacts from the employers of members and students
• individuals who register for continuing professional development courses and other IFA/FTA events
• information provided through use of the website
• information provided during the course of orders, transactions and bookings
• information provided through enquiries or by the completion of any request and or invitation for information.

The IFA recognises that your privacy is important to you. The information you submit to IFA will be kept confidential and secure once received. The information will be processed by IFA or on its behalf under strictly regulated conditions in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

By submitting personal information to IFA you consent to the collection, storage and processing of information in the manner described in this policy. Please note that your continued use of the IFA website and/or products and services constitutes your agreement to any changes to this policy and the website terms and conditions of use.

1.2 Collection of information

Any personal information provided by you to or obtained from other sources by IFA will only be used for the following purposes:

• updating and enhancing customer, contact and membership records and those of other related the IFA’s activities;
• compiling information relating to your use of the IFA's products and services and defining areas of interest to you;
• handling orders, delivering products and services, processing payments, communicating with you about orders, products and services and generally maintaining your account;
• advising you of other products and services which may be of interest;
• inviting you to participate in research studies and/or market research activities.

1.3 Disclosure of information

The IFA will only disclose this information in the following circumstances:

• where your consent has been obtained;
• where there is a legal obligation;
• where there is a public duty; and
• in connection with the assignment or transfer of all or any of its rights and obligations to any of its group companies or to any other third party.

For operational reasons and/or in order to meet specific requests, data may also be processed on behalf of IFA by external organisations under strictly regulated conditions in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

1.4 Record of personal data

The IFA will take reasonable steps to create an accurate record of any personal data you have submitted. However, the IFA does not assume responsibility for confirming the ongoing accuracy of your personal data. You can update your personal data by writing, e-mailing us or by contacting us on +44 (0)1732 458080.

1.5 Changes to mailing preferences

If you wish to change your mailing preferences or opt-out of specific marketing communications sent from IFA and its subsidiary you may by notifying us that you do not wish to receive third party communications. Alternatively you may contact us on +44 (0)20 8612 6208. It may take up to 21 days for the changes to come into effect. Please note that this will not alter your current email subscription preferences.

1.6 Modifications to the IFA privacy practices

Any modifications to the privacy practices of IFA will be reflected first within this area of our website (www.ifa.org.uk/privacy.htm). If there is a material change in our privacy practices, the IFA will indicate on this site that the IFA’s privacy practices have changed, and make the necessary amendments to the current privacy policy. If the IFA considers using the information collected from you in a manner materially different from that stated at the time of collection, the IFA will send written notice by email of the change.
 

1.7 Data Protection Act 1998

The IFA complies with all data protection policies as stated by The Data Protection Act 1998 that ensures the provision for the regulation of the processing of information relating to individuals, including the obtaining, holding, use or disclosure of such information. An individual who has data collected and stored by the IFA has the right to access and view that information. Access to this information can only occur by abiding to the policies and procedures stated in the Data Protection Act 1998.

2. Cookie Policy

2.1 What is a Cookie”?

A "cookie" is a piece of information that is saved to the hard drive of a user’s computer and "remembers" information about the configuration of the user’s computer.

2.2 Use of cookies

We do not use cookies that collect personal information from visitors to the website.

If cookies were introduced the IFA would be able to use this information to track the movements of a user through its website to find out how it is being used and assess its usefulness. Personal information about the user would not be collected during the tracking process.

Kick Interactive, the IFA’s website designers, currently use session variables to store information while the user is navigating around the IFA website. Once the user leaves the website and the browser the session is deleted along with all information.

The IFA would also be able to use persistent cookies if the user registers for any of the IFA’s online services. These cookies would allow the IFA to make the logging-in process easier and more secure. They also pre-populate details of the user should they need to complete one of the IFA online forms, making the process easier and less time-consuming.

2.3 Analytics Cookies

Once a user visits the website a third party analytic software provider generates a cookie. The information gathered is used only for statistical purposes and allows the IFA to know how many unique users they have and how often they visit the site.

2.4 Introducing “Cookies”

If the IFA were to introduce cookies, the user could easily disable the cookies the IFA attaches if the users browser supports this. Further information on how to disable cookies can be found at www.aboutcookies.org

2.5 Third Party Cookies

The IFA may use third-party advertising companies to place advertisements about their products and services on other websites. The advertising companies may use cookies to measure advertising effectiveness and offer selective advertisement content. The advertising companies may use anonymous information about a users visit to the IFA and other websites, but nothing that would personally identify the user.

Equally, the IFA displays information and advertising banners provided by its corporate partners. The corporate partners may also use cookies on their respective websites, which is something the IFA will make users aware of.

2.6 Consent to use Cookies

From 26 May 2011 changes in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations mean that users will be required to consent to the use of cookies on all UK websites.  Were the IFA to introduce cookies on its website, we will ensure a notification is issued.

Useful links

If you would like to find out more about cookies and their use on the Internet, you may find the following links useful:

Microsoft Cookies guide
All About Cookies

The IAB has provided the following website to give information specifically about privacy issues around Internet advertising:
youronlinechoices.co.uk/uk

For further legal information about privacy issues, you may find these links useful:

Data Protection Act 1998
The Information Commissioner's Office