Accountants serve a critical role in maintaining the books of a business and preparing annual accounts. In Calgary for example, the working of accountants is regulated by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario Act, 2017 under the oversight of the Attorney General.
Under this act accountants are required to provide specialist advice and services at the highest professional levels to their clients, while at the same time honoring and complying with principles-based guidance and standards on all matters including ethics and quality assurance.
Business Insurance Calgary and why is it necessary for accountants
Keeping in mind the above principles and guidelines, it becomes essential to have a mechanism to protect accountants while they discharge their duties and for this, Business Insurance Calgary is ideal.
Not many accountants are aware of the fact, that besides taking professional liability cover for themselves and their employees, which by the way is also a mandatory requirement of law before they are allowed to practice, accountants are still expected to take business insurance, as they operate as a business too, and are therefore exposed more or less to the same business risks as other firms.
However, in insurance there is a saying that “one-size-does-not-fit-all” and this applies to accountants as well as their business insurance needs are slightly different to a typical business insurance Calgary. For this let us understand what business insurance is and what does it comprise.
Business Insurance and what does it comprise
Business insurance Calgary typically comprises the below components:
– Professional liability insurance:
Professional liability insurance provides a cover to accountants against claims that allege negligence or failure on the part of the accountant to deliver a service as agreed and this causes a financial loss to a third party.
– Commercial general liability insurance:
Commercial General Liability provides a cover for legal expenses that arise as a result of third-party liability claims filed against accountants, such as property damage or slip-and-fall injury.
– Business interruption insurance:
Business interruption insurance protects accountants against loss of income in the event of a disaster that forces them to shut down their business temporarily. The coverage includes:
a) Lost profits
b) Overhead expenses such as heating, electricity, rent etc
c) Salaries of employees
d) Expenses incurred in temporary relocation
– Commercial property insurance
This insurance protects the physical property of the accountant’s firm. In addition to the physical assets, commercial property insurance also covers losses, damages incurred to other assets such as furniture, computers and technology. Expenses for repairs and replacement are also included.
– Insurance to cover cyber liability
The irony is that small businesses such as an accountancy firm are more likely to be hit by cyber threats than mid-sized or enterprise clients. More than 40% of small businesses experienced a cyber breach last year. Research shows that most hackers are after the financial information of businesses that accounts might have stored on their computers.
To protect themselves against such risks in future accountants are advised to protect themselves and their firm by taking up cyber liability insurance. Cyber liability insurance provides coverage for financial losses as a result of cybercrime.
Price of business insurance for accountants
There is business insurance Calgary that is created specifically for accountants and the price is dependent on factors such as the services offered, size of the firm, and annual revenue. As a small business owner, you can expect to pay a certain minimum amount of dollars per year for a general liability policy that comes with a 2 million dollar limit.
Accounting fields that are covered under business insurance Calgary for accountants
Small businesses in the field of accountancy are varied and cover different specializations. Below are some of the fields that are covered:
– Engagements involving reviews
– Services in financial planning
– Consulting services in corporate finance
– Engagements involving audit
– Services in book-keeping and accountancy
– Engagements involving tax computations, filing and planning
What should an accountant do for protection against professional and business risks?
Without the correct insurance coverage, accountants face the risk that their accountancy practice could suffer due to lawsuits filed by unhappy clients. They might be held liable for their professional advice or work done that leads to some form of damage or doesn’t yield the promised results.
Therefore, as a general rule, all accounting firms that are offering services to the public in Canada, whether they function as a one-person operation or a group operation, should insure their business with Professional Liability Insurance and Business Insurance Calgary.
For this they should contact a professional insurance broker like Beneficial Insurance Services, a one-stop destination for the right insurance solutions. They are Calgary’s most trusted insurance brokerage and a leader in the provision of specialist insurance solutions.
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