Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Ditheko Accountants (Pty) Ltd ("Ditheko", "we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you visit our website (ditheko.com) or engage our professional services.

This policy is compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and aligns with international best practices.

2. Information Officer

In terms of POPIA, we have designated an Information Officer responsible for overseeing compliance:

• Information Officer: Director, Ditheko Accountants
• Email: privacy@ditheko.com
• Phone: 010 746 0427
• Address: Building 10, Thornhill Office Park, 84 Bekker Road, Vorna Valley, Midrand, 1686

3. What Personal Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Contact information: name, email address, phone number, physical address
• Business information: company name, registration number, tax number
• Financial information: banking details, income statements, tax records (only when providing services)
• Communication records: emails, form submissions, WhatsApp messages
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited (website analytics)

4. How We Collect Your Information

• Directly from you: when you complete our contact form, email us, call us, or engage our services
• From third parties: where you have authorised a third party to share your information with us (e.g., your bank for accounting purposes)
• Automatically: through cookies and similar tracking technologies when you visit our website (see our Cookie Policy)

5. Purpose of Processing

We process your personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide professional accounting, tax, and advisory services you have engaged us for
• To respond to your enquiries and communications
• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations (including SARS submissions, CIPC filings)
• To comply with FICA (Financial Intelligence Centre Act) requirements
• To improve our website and service offerings
• To send you relevant information about our services (with your consent)

6. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information on the following lawful bases under POPIA:

• Contract performance: processing necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party
• Legal obligation: processing necessary for compliance with South African law (e.g., SARS, FICA)
• Legitimate interest: improving our services and ensuring website security
• Consent: where you have explicitly consented to processing for a specific purpose (e.g., marketing)

7. Information Sharing & Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share your information with:

• SARS — as required for tax submissions
• CIPC — for company registration and compliance
• Service providers — including our email hosting, website hosting, and accounting software providers, who are bound by confidentiality agreements
• Regulatory and law enforcement authorities — where required by law

Any third-party processors are required to comply with POPIA and our data protection standards.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements:

Category	Retention Period
Client financial records	Minimum 5 years (SARS requirement)
FICA documents	Minimum 5 years after end of business relationship
Contact form enquiries	12 months or until resolved
Website analytics data	14 months (anonymised after 26 months)
Marketing consent records	Until withdrawal of consent + 1 year

9. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include:

• HTTPS encryption on all web communications
• Secure file storage with access controls
• Regular security reviews
• Confidentiality agreements with all staff and service providers

No system can be guaranteed 100% secure. In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights, we will notify you and the Information Regulator in accordance with POPIA section 22.

10. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights:

• Right to access — request confirmation of whether we hold your personal information and obtain a copy
• Right to correction — request that inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected
• Right to deletion — request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention obligations)
• Right to object — object to the processing of your personal information
• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without penalty
• Right to complain — lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise these rights, contact our Information Officer at privacy@ditheko.com. We will respond within 30 calendar days.

11. Information Regulator

If you believe your rights under POPIA have been violated, you may lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator:

• Website: www.inforegulator.org.za
• Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za

12. Cookies

We use cookies on our website. For full details on the types of cookies we use and how to control them, please read our Cookie Policy.

13. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes. We encourage you to review this policy regularly.

14. Contact

For any privacy-related queries, please contact:

• Email: privacy@ditheko.com
• Phone: 010 746 0427
• Post: Ditheko Accountants (Pty) Ltd, Building 10, Thornhill Office Park, 84 Bekker Road, Vorna Valley, Midrand, 1686