Privacy Policy

Universal Tax Specialists Privacy Policy

Universal Tax Specialists (or “UTS”, “universaltaxspecialists.com,” “us”, “we”) recognizes the importance of privacy and is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals who use our products and services. This Privacy Policy will tell you what information is collected through our Sites, how it is protected, how we use it and what choices you have about how the information is used.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. You consent to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, use of cookies and the processing of data about you in the manner and for the purposes set out below. If you do not agree, you should not visit our sites.

Last updated and effective as of May 27, 2020.

Web Sites Covered

This policy covers UTS and all other UTS affiliated sites that link to this policy (the “Sites”).

External Web Sites

Our Sites may contain links to other Web sites. The information practices or the content of such other Web sites is governed by the privacy statements of such other Web sites. We encourage you to review the privacy statements of other Web sites to understand their information practices. We are not responsible for the nature, quality or accuracy of the content or opinions expressed on such Web sites, or of the services provided through such Web sites. Such Web sites are not investigated, monitored or checked for quality, accuracy or completeness by us. Inclusion of any linked website on our sites does not imply or express an approval or endorsement of the linked Web site by us, or of any of the content, opinions, products or services provided on these Web sites. Even if an affiliation exists between our Sites and a third-party Web site or application, we exercise no control over linked Web sites. Applicable language is only English: This is an English-only legal document containing significant legal duties and requiring a high degree of competency in the English language. The language of this Privacy Policy is English and it shall be interpreted exclusively in English. Any translation into another language is unauthorized and shall not be binding nor constitute evidence of the intent or meaning of any part or whole of this Privacy Policy.

Information Collected/Cookie Policy

UTS collects this information to facilitate state agency licensure and examination activities.

Personal Information: We use your personally identifiable information collected from you to facilitate state board licensure activities, perform the services you requested, and in some instances, for marketing purposes. We may require you to provide us with financial qualification and billing information, such as billing name and address and credit card number. We may also ask you to provide additional information, such as name, address, telephone number(s), email address, date of birth, license number(s), license expiration date(s), job title and company information.

Non-Personal Data (including Cookies): As you navigate our Sites, we also may collect non-personal information through the use of commonly-used information-gathering tools, such as cookies. Cookies are small files that are saved to, and during subsequent visits to our sites retrieved from, your computer or mobile device. The use of these “session” cookies are essential to the operation of our Sites and are used to simplify your visit.

We also may contract with third party service providers, such as Google Analytics (a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc.), who assign cookies and/or web beacons to conduct site tracking for us and collect information about your visits to our Sites. The use of these “analytics” cookies are used to provide marketing analytics about goods and services of interest to you, your preferences, how you share information about our products and services with others, and to improve our marketing efforts.

In regard to Google Analytics, the information generated by the cookie about your use of our Sites (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google, Inc. on servers in the United States. Google, Inc. may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or for processing the information on Google Inc.'s behalf. Google, Inc. will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google, Inc.

For individuals visiting our Sites through the use of an international IP address, please note that “analytics” cookies are automatically disabled.

All commonly used web browsers allow you to block, disable, or delete cookies from your computer. To learn more about how to block, disable, or delete cookies, review your browser’s privacy and security features. To learn more about how to control cookies generally, you can visit www.aboutcookies.org. However, if you disable or block cookies on your browser, the features on our Sites and services may not work correctly. In addition, if you disable or block cookies, you will not be able to make a purchase, set up an account profile or register for a program or event using our Sites. Our Sites may also contain links, whose related cookies may collect data, but also track your movement and behavior on other sites. We are not responsible for these links, as they are not controlled by us.

Use of Information

Personal Information: We use your personally identifiable information collected from you to perform the services you have requested and for marketing purposes. We use such information to improve our service, and for marketing and industry reporting purposes. Once this information is received, reasonable and legally required measures are maintained throughout processing to guard the privacy and security of your personal information. For internal purposes, we use this information to communicate with users and provide requested services. We also use your personal information to provide a more personalized experience on our Sites.

We use credit card information solely to collect payment for services requested/provided. Credit card payments are processed by an authorized, secured third party and we do not retain your personal card information.

Within some of our Sites, we provide bulletin boards, blogs, or chat rooms. Any personal information you choose to submit in such a forum may be read, collected, or used by others who visit these forums, and may be used by such parties to send you unsolicited messages. You should exercise caution when deciding whether to disclose your personal information in such a manner. We are not responsible for the personal information you choose to submit in these forums nor the communications or acts of third parties who use or view information you have disclosed in such forums.

Non-Personal Data: We use non-personal data collected through your use of our Sites to administer our Sites, to perform troubleshooting and help improve the quality and design of our services. We also use non-personal data to analyze trends and statistics, protect the security of our Sites and evaluate our services. Non-personal data (such as demographic and past transaction information) may be combined with your personally identifiable information from our records and other sources.

Opt-out

We support the right of visitors to choose. For domestic applicants using the UTS online application to register to take the CPA examination, if you do not want to give CPA Examination Services permission to release your name and address to course providers, firms and other organizations, please select “No” from the drop down menu.

For international applicants using the UTS online application to register to take the CPA examination, this option is not available. Instead, international applicants must read and attest to all sections of the Informed Consent agreement.

For both domestic and international applicants, if you receive a specific email from UTS regarding special offers, products, conferences or other communications, and no longer want to receive these types of emails from us, please click the “opt out” link located at the bottom of the UTS email that was sent to you. You may also send an email marked "remove from email list" in the subject line to bill@arbsuccess.com. Once this information is shared with our Communications Department and UTS has finished processing your request, we will make reasonable efforts to remove personally identifiable information from our databases. Please note that while you will no longer receive communications from UTS, you may still receive emails containing important or relevant information specific to your individual account.

Sharing of Information Collected

UTS reserves the right to disclose to third parties information about usage of our Sites and any related services for purposes including performing services for us with respect to our Sites as well as our existing and prospective business partners.

Disclosure of Personal Information: We may disclose personal information collected about you to third parties that we have contracted to assist us. Third parties may be contracted to review personal information available online, to assist UTS to better provide you with services and information.

We may contract with service providers to facilitate our services, to provide services on our behalf, or to perform services that assist us in analyzing how our services are used. These third parties have access to your personally identifiable information; however, they are bound by law or contract to protect your personal information, and can only use your information according to our instruction, in connection with the services performed for us, and not for their own benefit. We do not share personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Please note that we may also use and disclose information about you that is not personally identifiable. For example, we may publish reports that contain aggregated and statistical data about our candidates or website visitors. These reports do not contain any information that would enable the recipient to contact, locate or identify you.

We may also share your personal information with our third-party partners who may send you information about products and/or services that may be of interest to you.

In addition, as required by law, we may disclose personal information about you in the following circumstances:

1. To comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; and

2. In special cases, such as to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, to protect and defend our rights and property, to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our sites, to protect against potential threats to the physical safety or property of any person.

* Please note that we may not provide you with notice prior to disclosure in such cases.

Also, our parent, subsidiary and affiliate companies, entities into which our company may be merged, or entities to which any of our assets, products, sites or operations may be transferred, will be able to use personal information we collect and may be one of the transferred business assets.

Users should also be aware that courts of equity, such as U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, may have the authority under certain circumstances to permit personal information to be shared or transferred to third parties without permission. We may share aggregate information, which is not personally identifiable, with others.

Notice to Non-U.S. Users:

If you are located outside the United States and are visiting the Sites, you should be aware that your personal information will be transferred to the United States, the laws of which may be deemed by your country to have inadequate data protection. If you are located in a country outside the United States and voluntarily submit personal information to us, you thereby consent to the general use of such information as provided in this Policy and to the transfer of that information to, and/or storage of that information in, the United States.

Do Not Track: Some browsers have a “do not track” feature that lets you indicate that you do not wish to have your online activities tracked. These features are not yet uniform, so we do not currently respond to such features or signals. Therefore, if you select or turn on a “do not track” feature in your web browser or block or delete tracking cookies, we and our third-party providers may continue collecting information about your online activities as described in this Privacy Policy.

Accessing and Correcting Personal Information

You have a right to know about the personal information we collect from you, including the right to correct, amend or delete the information we have on file if it is incorrect. You may also change the status of whether you wish to receive alerts, newsletters and communications at any time. If you wish to exercise these rights, feel free to contact us at bill@arbsuccess.com or by calling 1-704-689-9196.

Security

We use reasonable precautions to protect information about our customers while it is stored on our servers or in transit to our vendors processing on our behalf. We have put in place reasonable safeguards to protect the security, integrity and privacy of the personal information we collect via our sites, including Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. In addition, access to all of our users' information is restricted. Only employees and business partners who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, an application processor or candidate service associate) are granted access to personally identifiable information. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or through our sites.

Lost or stolen information

If you believe your credit card and/or password are stolen from or used without your permission on any of our Sites, immediately notify your card provider in accordance with its rules and procedures, and contact us. Upon notification, we will further investigate and, if necessary, cancel any verified false transactions and compromised passwords, and will update any affected records.

Governing law

Our Sites are controlled, operated and administered entirely within the United States. By using our sites, you signify your agreement to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, please do not disclose any personal information through our Sites. This Privacy Policy and the use of our Sites are governed by Tennessee law and United States federal law. Any claim related to our Sites or this Privacy Policy shall be brought only in a federal or state court in Davidson County, Nashville, Tennessee, within one year after the claim arises. Users of our Sites consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of such courts as the most convenient and appropriate for the resolution of disputes concerning this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy and the notices outlined herein are not intended to and do not create any contractual or other legal rights in or on behalf of any third party.

To facilitate our international business, this Privacy Policy shall also apply to the use of your data in countries other than the United States. The information we collect from you through our Sites may be collected and transferred by and to our affiliates located throughout the world, in particular in countries outside the European Union, to the extent necessary to provide services and/or products that you have requested.

SPECIAL NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

Under the California Civil Code, residents of the State of California that have provided any personally identifiable information to us have the right to request a list of all third parties to which we have disclosed personally identifiable information during the preceding year for direct marketing purposes. Alternatively, the law provides that if we have a privacy policy that gives either an opt-out or opt-in choice for use of personally identifiable information by third parties (such as advertisers or affiliated companies) for marketing purposes, we may instead provide you with information on how to exercise your disclosure choice options free of charge. We qualify for the alternative option and have adopted a policy of not disclosing the personal information of users of our Sites to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes if the user has exercised an option that prevents that information from being disclosed to third parties for those purposes. We have established this Privacy Policy that provides you with details on how you may either opt-out of the use of your personally identifiable Information by third parties for direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and would like to request information about how to exercise your third party disclosure choices, please call us with a preference on how our response to your request should be sent.

Children

We do not knowingly solicit data online from or market online to children under the age of 13. If you are under 18, you may purchase products through our sites only with the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change or update this Privacy Policy, or any of our governing Privacy Policies at any time. You are responsible for reviewing this Privacy Policy periodically, and your continued use of our Sites following changes to this Privacy Policy will be considered acceptance of any changes. Any changes or updates will be effective immediately upon posting to the site.

Contact us

We welcome comments and questions about this Privacy Policy and about UTS. Feel free to contact us at bill@arbsuccess.com or by calling 1-704-689-9196 for any questions or comments that you may have.