Automate your practice's GDPR documentation
Accountancy practices handle client financial data, payroll records, and HMRC submissions — all of which involve personal data. Clarium documents your processing activities accurately, without the overhead of a consultant.
How it works
From practice policies to export-ready register in three steps
Map service lines
Structure your register around tax, audit, bookkeeping, and payroll — each service line documented with its own data categories, processors, and retention schedules.
AI identifies processors and retention
Upload your engagement letters and privacy notices — Clarium extracts your third-party processors, lawful bases, and retention requirements automatically.
Export for client due diligence
Larger clients increasingly ask advisers to demonstrate GDPR compliance. Generate a clean, professional PDF from Clarium in seconds — not days.
The challenge
Practices that advise on compliance need to demonstrate it too
Your clients trust you with their most sensitive financial data. Your GDPR register should reflect that responsibility.
Client financial data carries significant obligation
Tax returns, payroll records, financial statements, and audit working papers all contain personal data. Each service line — tax, audit, advisory — has different data categories and retention requirements.
Seasonal staff increase access control risk
Audit and tax busy periods bring temporary staff into contact with highly sensitive client data. Access controls and data handling procedures need to be documented and demonstrable.
HMRC and regulatory submissions involve personal data
Submitting data to HMRC, JFSC, or other regulators on behalf of clients is a processing activity that requires documentation — including the lawful basis and what data is shared.
How Clarium helps
A register as professional as your advice
Service-line documentation
Tax, audit, bookkeeping, payroll — each service line has distinct processing activities. Clarium documents them separately so your register is accurate rather than a generic catch-all.
Staff access and data minimisation
Document which staff roles access which client data categories. Seasonal and temporary staff arrangements are explicitly captured — demonstrating your data minimisation controls.
Practice management system mapping
Clarium maps your practice management software, cloud storage, payroll systems, and third-party tools as processors in your register. No more manually listing every system.
Export-ready for client due diligence
Larger clients increasingly require their advisers to demonstrate GDPR compliance. Export a clean, professional PDF from Clarium in seconds — not days.
From our clients
“We used to have a spreadsheet no one trusted. Now we have a register everyone relies on.”
Practice Manager · Accountancy Practice · Jersey
FAQ
Common questions
Does an accountancy practice need to comply with UK GDPR?
Yes. Accountancy and audit practices process a significant amount of personal data — client payroll records, tax returns, financial statements, and employee information. They must maintain a Record of Processing Activities under Article 30 UK GDPR (or EU GDPR for practices operating within the EU). The 250-employee exemption does not apply where the processing is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects, which applies to most accountancy data.
How long should an accountancy practice retain client personal data?
Retention periods for accountancy data are driven by a combination of GDPR data minimisation principles and statutory obligations. HMRC recommends retaining tax records for at least 6 years (5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for self-assessment). Company records may need to be retained for 6 years under the Companies Act. AML records must be retained for 5 years post-relationship end under the Money Laundering Regulations. Your Article 30 register must document the specific retention period and its justification for each category of data.
What personal data do accountancy practices typically document in an Article 30 register?
A typical accountancy practice Article 30 register covers: client personal data for tax and accounting services (name, NI number, financial records); payroll processing for clients (employee names, salaries, bank details, NI numbers); AML/KYC checks (identity documents, source of funds); HR data for the practice's own employees; marketing data (client contact lists); and data shared with HMRC, Companies House, or other regulators. Each of these is a distinct processing activity requiring its own entry.
Get your practice compliant this week
30-day free trial. No credit card. Your service lines documented and your first RoPA ready to export by Friday.
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