Limited Company right to data backup on change of

Limited Company right to data backup on change of accountants

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Can anyone clarify whether or not a Ltd Co has a right to a backup of the bookkeeping data system maintained by a ICAEW/ACCA firm who have been maintaining bookkeeping on change of accountants.

I am thinking of desktop products such as SAGE/Quickbooks and VT.

When a cloud system is involved all hostorical transactions are available. However, I have had issues with recent new client's outgoing accountants only being prepared to provide hard copy reports rathether than, for example, a SAGE backup.

 

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By WhichTyler
25th Feb 2019 12:12

Probably a contractual matter rather than a statutory one. DSARs only apply for natural persons

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By Duggimon
25th Feb 2019 12:33

It depends on what the firm of accountants were contracted to provide. If the terms are for them to create and provide bookkeeping records, then by paying them to do so, the client owns the records.

If they did the bookkeeping in order to facilitate the preparation of accounts and tax returns, which is all they were contractually obliged to provide, then the books are their own property and they are not obliged to share them.

At least that's my layman's interpretation, it's a legal issue rather than an accounting one.

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