Your Privacy is Important to Us

While we are pleased to offer the ability to personalize your online experience, your confidence in our commitment to safeguarding your privacy and protecting your Personal Information is important. Please take a moment to read our Privacy Policy to understand how we collect, use, and protect your data, along with the choices you have in relation to the information collected.

What Personal Information Do We Collect?

GBQ may collect Personal Information relating to you, including:

  • name
  • contact details (such as work or home address, email and phone numbers)
  • date of birth
  • government identifiers (such as social security number and passport details)
  • financial information

To meet your needs during tax return preparation, tax and financial planning, and tax compliance engagements, we collect various types of Personal Information about you from the following sources:

  • Information that we receive from you when you meet with us in person or over the phone, when you send us information by mail or e-mail, through our website, on tax preparation worksheets, and on other documents or forms that we use in preparing your tax return or in providing other services for you. Such information includes, for instance, your name, address, social security number, income, investment and other assets, and other tax and financial attributes about you.
  • Information we receive from you when your browser interacts with us when you visit our website. Such information includes information transmitted on an internet “cookie,” such as your password to our website, your preferences on the website, and your internet service provider’s address.
  • Information we receive from a consumer reporting agency, such as your credit history and outstanding loan balances.

How does GBQ collect Personal Information?

  • You may provide it directly to GBQ.
  • GBQ may obtain it through current or previously provided services.
  • GBQ may receive it from third parties, such as your employer/partnership, or a tax authority and/or other relevant authority/administrative bodies.

What aggregated and non-Personal Information does GBQ collect?

When you visit our website, we may collect certain information about your device, including:

Standard internet technology, including cookies and web beacons, may be used to track your use of our website and our services and applied in promotional email messages or newsletters to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon.

“Cookies” are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. HubSpot cookies are used to track user activity and behavior, including form submissions, clicks, and page views, so we can improve our website and services. A cookie file is stored in your web browser and allows the website or a third party to recognize you and make your next visit easier and the website more useful for you. The use of cookies is now standard for most websites. Essentially, cookies are a user’s identification card for the GBQ servers. Web beacons are small graphic files linked to our servers that allow us to track your use of our website and related functionalities.

The information we obtain in this manner enables us to customize the services we offer website visitors to deliver targeted communications and to measure the overall effectiveness of our online advertising, content, programming, or other activities. Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can modify your browser setting to decline cookies. If you choose to decline cookies, please note that you may not be able to sign in or use some of the interactive features offered on the website or through our services.

Specifics include:

  • Information about your web browser, Internet Protocol (IP) address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device.
  • Additionally, as you browse our website, we may collect information about the individual web pages or products that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to our website and information about how you interact with our website. We refer to this automatically collected information as “Device Information.”

IP address data collection

Your IP address is automatically assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider. An IP address may be identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever a user accesses the website, along with the time of the visit and the page(s) that were visited. Collecting IP addresses is standard practice and is done automatically by many websites, applications and other services. We use IP addresses for purposes such as calculating usage levels, diagnosing server problems and administering the website(s). We may also derive your approximate location from your IP address.

While registration is not required for you to use a website, there may be circumstances in which you choose to register for our services, to attend our events or to receive ongoing updates from GBQ. In these cases, GBQ may collect your Personal Information and contact you to invite you to our events, provide you with information about our services, publications and products, or for other marketing purposes.

For example, you may choose to register for:

Email alerts – GBQ offers an email alert service to website visitors, in which we send subscribers email updates for certain new information added to our website. If you decide to subscribe, we will collect Personal Information from you, such as your name and email address.

Surveys – GBQ may conduct surveys via our website. Survey participants may be asked for Personal Information or other information (name, contact information, etc.) in addition to opinions or feedback. The type of information collected in surveys will vary.

Thought leadership registration – GBQ occasionally requires registration in exchange for our thought leadership, such as white papers or articles. Your Personal Information or other information may be required in registration forms, and the type of information collected from you will vary according to the information you provide.

Our services – When you register for our services, you may be asked for information via onboarding documentation, which may include additional details with respect to the usage or protection of your information. Should you provide any information to us in contemplation of receiving our services but then are unable to do so, any such information will be treated as described below.

Career opportunities – If you have applied for employment with GBQ, your information submitted with your job application will be added to our recruitment system and used for recruitment and other customary human resources purposes.

You also may provide information to be published or displayed (hereinafter, “posted”) on public areas of the website or transmitted to other users of the Website or third parties (collectively, “User Contributions”). Your User Contributions are posted on and transmitted to others at your own risk. Although we limit access to certain pages/you may set certain privacy settings for such information by logging into your account profile; please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users of the website with whom you may choose to share your User Contributions. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Contributions will not be viewed by unauthorized persons.

If you have registered on our website, your information will be stored in our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Data of registrants who have been out of active use for 24 months will be deleted from our CRM system. Other retention periods may vary depending on the purpose of your registration.

If you have opted out from receiving future GBQ thought leadership, event invitations or Firm communications, your contact details will remain on our opt-out list to prevent you from receiving any further publications, invitations, or Firm communications from GBQ. This does not apply to any GBQ invoices or other communications we may be required to provide (for example, federal notifications in connection with tax services provided to you).

Managing cookies on your device

We use both session and persistent cookies on the website, and we use different types of cookies to run the website:

  • Essential/strictly necessary cookies: Some cookies we use are essential to the functioning of the website.
  • Analytical/performance cookies: Allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and see how visitors move around the website when using it. This will help us improve the way the website functions.
  • Functionality cookies: Used to recognize you when you return to the website. This enables us to personalize our content for you, greet you by name, and remember your preferences.
  • Targeting cookies: Record your visit to the website, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make the website more relevant to your interests.

Third-party cookies

Some content or applications, including advertisements, on the website are served by third parties, including advertisers, ad networks and servers, content providers, and application providers. These third parties may use cookies in conjunction with web beacons or other tracking technologies to collect information about you when you use our website. The information they collect may be associated with your Personal Information, or they may collect information, including Personal Information, about your online activities over time and across different websites and other online services. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content. In addition to our own cookies, we may also use these third-party cookies to report usage statistics of the website and refine marketing efforts.

We do not control these third parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly. For information about how you can opt out of receiving targeted advertising from many providers, see below.

  • Tracking cookies: Follow on-site behavior and tie it to other metrics, allowing better understanding of usage habits.
  • Optimization cookies: Allow real-time tracking of user conversion from different marketing channels to evaluate their effectiveness.
  • Partner cookies: Provide marketing conversion metrics to our partners so they can optimize their marketing efforts.

Using your browser to control cookies:

Most browsers allow you to view, manage, delete and block cookies for a website. Be aware that if you delete all cookies, then any preferences you have set will be lost, including the ability to opt out from cookies, as this function requires placement of an “opt-out cookie” on your device.

How do we use your Personal Information?

We use the device information that we collect to help us improve and optimize our website. Additionally, we may use your Personal Information to communicate with you, send you marketing and promotional communications, and to provide support. If your Personal Information changes, please let us know so we can update our records and continue to provide you with the best possible service

How do we share your Personal Information?

We do not share your Personal Information with anyone without your expressed consent except as permitted by law and as described below. The law permits disclosure in certain instances, such as if we must share information to protect against fraud, in response to a court subpoena, to others who are assuring our compliance with professional accounting standards (peer review), and the like.

GBQ facilitates event registration via our website or, at times, via third-party websites. Personal Information or other data may be collected via event registration forms, and the type of information collected will vary. GBQ may share registrant information with third parties in association with the event. Examples of “third parties” include hotels, sponsors or cosponsors, promoters, event organizers (including via third-party websites), speakers, panelists, etc. Please check the details provided at individual events to understand fully how your information will be used and retained.

Your rights

You have the right to access Personal Information we hold about you and to ask that your Personal Information be corrected, updated, or deleted. If you would like to exercise this right, please contact us through the contact information provided below.

Are children permitted to use our website?

Our website is not intended for use by, or to sell products and services to, children under the age of 13. Consistent with the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), we do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13 without obtaining the required parental consent. If we determine upon collection that users are under this age, we will not use or maintain their Personal Information without their parent’s or guardian’s consent. If we become aware that we have unknowingly collected Personal Information from a child under the age of 13, we will make reasonable efforts to remove this information from our database. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that we might have any information from or about a child under age 13, please contact us by one of the following methods: (i) by email at info@gbq.com or (ii) by mail at 230 West Street, Suite 700, Columbus, OH 43215. We will review the request and respond promptly. We strongly recommend that minors 13 years of age or older ask their parents for permission before sending any information about themselves to anyone over the internet, and we encourage parents to teach their children about safe internet use practices.

Links to other websites

Our service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by GBQ. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third-party’s website. We strongly advise you to review the privacy policy of every website you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third-party websites or services.

How do we protect the confidentiality and security of your Personal Information?

Keeping your information confidential and secure is of utmost importance to us. We follow standard industry practices to actively protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of your Personal Information. We also maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to guard your Personal Information. In so doing, we restrict access to your Personal Information to those employees who need to know that information to provide products or services to you. Our employees are bound by internal confidentiality policies and are subject to disciplinary action for any policy violations.

If we become aware of a security systems breach, we will attempt to notify you electronically using the contact information we have available so that you can take appropriate protective steps. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing.

Users should also be aware of how they handle and disclose their Personal Information and should avoid sending such information through insecure email. Please refer to the Federal Trade Commission’s website at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/privacy-identity-online-security for information about how to protect yourself against identity theft.

Former client data protection

Should you become an inactive client or should our relationship end, we will continue to protect the confidentiality and security of your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Users outside the United States of America

If you are a resident of a country within the European Union or are otherwise accessing our website from outside the United States of America, by using this website and providing us your Personal Information, you hereby explicitly acknowledge and agree to (i) the transfer of such information to the United States and (ii) the collection, use and disclosure of your personally identifiable information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

General Data Protectional Regulation (GDPR)

If we collect Personal Information from EU residents in a manner subject to the GDPR then, in addition to the above, the following terms shall also apply to our collection, use, and retention of that information:

The basis for collection: As set out above, we collect and process Personal Information for which you have given your express consent at the time of collection. We also collect and process Personal Information to improve our services, to deliver services and perform obligations under contracts we have with you, and to comply with our legal obligations.

Sensitive data: We do not collect sensitive data, for example, biometric data, health data, or data revealing racial or ethnic origin, from visitors to the website.

Onward transfer: Except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, we only disclose Personal Information to third parties who reasonably need to have access to it for the purpose of the transaction or activity for which it was originally collected or to provide services to or perform tasks or our behalf or under our instruction. All such third parties must agree to use such Personal Information we provide to them only for the purposes for which we have engaged them, and they must either: (a) comply with the EU-US Privacy Shield Principles or another mechanism permitted by the applicable EU & Swiss data protection law(s) for transfers and processing of Personal Information, or (b) agree to provide adequate protections for the Personal Information that are no less protective than those set out in this Privacy Policy. Where we have knowledge that an entity to whom we have provided Personal Information is using or disclosing Personal Information in a manner contrary to this Privacy Policy, we will take reasonable and appropriate steps to prevent, remediate, or stop the use or disclosure.

Authorized transfer: We also may disclose Personal Information for other purposes or to other third parties when you have consented to or requested such disclosure. Please be aware that we will disclose Personal Information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. We are not liable for appropriate onward transfers of personal data to third parties.

Data processors: We may retain third parties to process or analyze Personal Information we collect from the website. For example, a website may be maintained or hosted by a third-party service provider, a promotion may be administered by a sales promotion agency, and/or products may be fulfilled by a wholesaler. These suppliers and other third parties who provide services for us are contractually obligated not to use Personal Information about you except as we authorize.

Profiling: We may analyze Personal Information we have collected about you to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can contact you with information that is relevant to you. We may make use of additional information about you when it is available from external sources to help us do this effectively. We may also use Personal Information about you to detect and reduce fraud and credit risk.

Your rights: Your rights include: (a) a right to withdraw your consent to the processing of Personal Information about you to which you have previously given consent; (b) a right to object to processing of Personal Information about you for the purpose of direct marketing; and (c) a right to have incorrect Personal Information about you corrected or removed.

If you request that incorrect Personal Information be removed, we may retain some of your Personal Information as necessary for the purposes of our legitimate business interests. Any Personal Information you have shared publicly with others may continue to be publicly visible on the website.

You also have the right to obtain a copy of the Personal Information we have about you, although we reserve the right to charge a fee for this depending on the nature and frequency of your request(s) and our cost to provide the information.

Our pledge to you

As Certified Public Accountants, our professional ethical obligations and responsibilities have always demanded no less than the highest regard and duties toward the confidentiality of your Personal Information and the security of your privacy. We will protect your Personal Information, use it appropriately, and accomplish your engagements with us in such a manner to always maintain your trust and confidence in us.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you either through the email address you have provided us with or by placing a prominent notice on our website.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact us

For more information about our privacy practices or to address questions and concerns, please contact us by email at info@gbq.com.