Privacy and Confidentiality
Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants
At the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants (SOCPA), we are a professional organization that leads, develops, and oversees the accounting and auditing profession in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through our expertise and available resources. We aim to improve and advance the practice of the profession, monitor its quality standards, raise awareness of its rules and professional conduct, and strengthen its contribution to serving the national economy and society. We work diligently to develop and support individuals, institutions, and various business-related groups to enhance trust and transparency in financial statements and protect investors and financial statement users.
At SOCPA, we recognize the importance of protecting personal data and treating this information with complete privacy and confidentiality. Therefore, we strive to take all necessary measures to safeguard it. This policy outlines how we handle these matters.
1. Contact Information:
Relevant Department:
Customer Service Center
Riyadh - Al-Yasmin District - Al-Olaya Road P.O. Box 22646, Riyadh 11416 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Phone Number:
- 8004404444
- E-mail:
- info@socpa.org.sa
- Registration Number:
- 7001359962
2. Last Update:
The privacy policy was created on 08/08/2022, and its last update was made on 20/11/2024.
3. Personal Data to be Collected:
The SOCPA website does not collect personal information about you when you merely visit the website or any of its sections. The website includes applications that provide you with the opportunity to request forms, ask questions to receive answers, subscribe to electronic newsletters, and access related information. If you choose to share personal data with us through other communication channels such as: Social media - instant messaging - electronic forms - email - phone calls to our unified number - surveys, this information will be treated confidentially. The use of these services is optional and may require you to provide additional personal information. By providing the requested information, you consent to SOCPA using it to respond to your specific request and serve you appropriately.
Data Categories Collected:
- Account Data: This is the primary information requested when you create an account or profile on SOCPA's website
- Payment Data: This is the information collected for payment processing or fee refund purposes
- Data obtained from third parties due to your use of services that require information about you, such as services provided by government agencies. (National Single Sign-On Services and other government services)
- Cookie and Analytics Data
- Geographic Location Data
- Educational Qualification Data
4. Methods of Personal Data Collection and Processing Purpose:
Personal data is collected and processed to complete the application process for SOCPA services, to conduct studies, to respond to applicants' inquiries, and to improve customer experience. By providing the requested information, you consent to SOCPA using it to respond to your specific request and serve you appropriately.
Data Collected Directly:
- When registering as a new user on SOCPA's website, we collect "ID type and number, name, email address, mobile number, and gender" as mandatory elements, along with other elements as needed.
- When updating your profile, we collect "contact details (mailing address - mobile number), residential address, and other information"
- When applying for membership, we collect "name, email, mobile number, qualification type, country of study, university, GPA, and other mandatory or optional elements necessary to complete the application such as attachments, authorization letter, and payment of fees"
- When applying for professional licenses, we collect "name, ID number, gender, mobile number, email, mailing address, qualification type, specialization, type of work, license type, attachments, and other mandatory or optional elements necessary to complete the application"
- When applying for professional examinations and fellowship, we collect "full name in English, phone number, date of birth, gender, preferred city and exam location, exam subject, and other mandatory or optional elements necessary to complete the application such as attachments and payment of fees"
- When applying for training courses, we collect "name, ID number, and other mandatory or optional elements necessary to complete the application such as attachments and payment of fees"
- When submitting a refund request, we collect "name, ID number, mobile number, email, reason for refund request, amount to be refunded, bank name, IBAN number, account holder's name, payment information, and other mandatory or optional elements necessary to complete the application such as a copy of the IBAN"
- When you request to add Continuing Professional Education (CPE) points, we collect information such as the nature of the activity, type of activity, hours, points, start date, end date, activity title, activity description, and other required or optional information necessary to complete your request, such as attachments.
- When applying for Professional Performance Quality programs for Certified Public Accountants or those licensed to provide Zakat, Tax and Accounting services, we collect "operational data, client data, employee data, and other mandatory or optional elements necessary to complete the application"
- When registering on the employment website, we collect "name, ID number, mobile number, email, gender, date of birth, educational qualification, and other mandatory or optional elements necessary to complete the application"
- For electronic newsletter subscriptions, SOCPA sends emails after users subscribe through the mailing list, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
- When participating in surveys and opinion polls.
- When using electronic payment services to purchase any service or product.
Data Collected Indirectly:
Cookies:
The SOCPA website uses cookies to enhance user experience. The service automatically displays statistical data such as number of visits and clicks on specific sections or files without identifying individual users. Users can disable cookies during their first visit to the website.
Web Analytics (Google Analytics):
The SOCPA website uses Google Analytics to gather statistics about website visitors and understand their behavior to evaluate and improve our services.
The SOCPA website contains links to external parties, and SOCPA is not responsible for verifying the privacy policies of those websites.
5. Data Sharing and Disclosure:
SOCPA reserves the right to share data with third parties for legitimate purposes based on regulatory or legal procedures, to serve public interest, or to conduct research or studies without compromising individual privacy, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. We may share your data with the following parties:
- Government and non-government entities. For example, but not limited to (Ministry of Human Resources through the Digital Government Authority...).
- Entities with which SOCPA has data-sharing agreements. For example, but not limited to (Universities and educational institutes - National Center for Assessment - Certificate verification companies...)
- SOCPA commits not to disclose any personal information about you without your consent for disclosure, such as publishing data of licensed practitioners or names of professional certificate holders on SOCPA's website or any other publication medium.
6. Legal Basis for Personal Data Collection and Processing:
According to the Personal Data Protection Law, our legal basis for collecting and processing this data includes:
- Your explicit consent, which you may withdraw at any time without affecting processing operations carried out based on other legal grounds. To do this, you can contact the Personal Data Protection and Data Management team through the information provided below.
- Implementation of Legal Obligations:
- First: Regulation of (Professional Examinations and Professional Performance Quality Control): Based on SOCPA's authorities stated in Paragraphs (3) and (5) of Article (3rd) of the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants Regulations.
- Second: Organization and conducting (Training Programs and Courses): Based on SOCPA's authorities stated in Paragraph (4) of Article (3rd) of the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants Regulations.
- Third: Regulation of (Accounting and Auditing Profession): Based on SOCPA's authorities stated in Paragraph (7) of Article (3rd) of the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants Regulations.
- Fourth: Regulation of (Membership): Based on SOCPA's authorities stated in Article (4th) of the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants Regulations.
- Fifth: Regulation of (Continuing Professional Education Program): Based on SOCPA's authorities stated in Paragraph (10) of Article (9th) of the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants Regulations.
- Sixth: Regulation of (Professional Licenses): Based on SOCPA's authorities stated in Article (4th) of the Accounting and Auditing Profession Law.
- Achieving the public interest of the personal data owner by issuing memberships and licenses that enable them to practice the auditing and accounting profession for the purpose of regulating the profession.
7. Data Storage, Retention Period, and Disposal:
Your personal data will be retained and used for the period necessary to comply with legal requirements. Your personal data will be destroyed and disposed of once the purpose for which it was collected has been fulfilled or upon your request. Your personal data is stored through secure solutions at SOCPA or with legally authorized third parties within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including the government cloud "Deem Cloud". No data will be stored outside the Kingdom except in accordance with the binding shared rules for personal data transfer and standard contractual clauses for personal data transfer.
8. Your Rights Regarding Personal Data Processing:
Under the Personal Data Protection Law, you have the following rights, which primarily depend on the purpose of collecting and processing your personal data:
- Right to Know: You have the right to know how we collect your personal data, the legal basis for its collection and processing, how it is processed, stored, and disposed of, and to whom it will be disclosed. You can review all details through the privacy policy.
- Right to Access Your Personal Data: You have the right to request access to your personal data through your profile on SOCPA's website.
- Right to Request Your Personal Data: You have the right to request your personal data available at SOCPA in a readable and clear format when technically possible, by contacting the Personal Data Protection and Data Management team through the information provided below.
- Right to Correct Your Personal Data: You have the right to request correction of your personal data that you believe is inaccurate, incorrect, or incomplete, by contacting the Personal Data Protection and Data Management team through the information provided below.
- Right to Delete Your Personal Data: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data by contacting the Personal Data Protection and Data Management team through the information provided below.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: You have the right to withdraw your consent for processing your personal data by contacting the Personal Data Protection and Data Management team through the information provided below.
9. Personal Data Protection Officer:
Data Management Office Team
Riyadh - Al-Yasmin District - Al-Olaya Road P.O. Box 22646, Riyadh 11416 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
10. Complaints and Objections:
If you have concerns or if we fail to comply with the Personal Data Protection Law, you can submit a complaint to SOCPA's Data Management Office via email:
DMO@socpa.org.sa
If you are not satisfied with our handling of the complaint or if we do not respond within (15 business days), you can submit a complaint to the competent authority (Saudi Data and AI Authority).