CAQ AND ACCOUNTING+ TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Last updated July 25, 2024

1. General

The website located at https://www.thecaq.org/, any of our other websites, including, but not limited to, https://antifraudcollaboration.org, and https://www.joinaccountingplus.com (the “Accounting+ Site”; collectively, with any webpages, content, functionality, and services offered on or through those websites, the “Website”) is offered by the Center for Audit Quality (“CAQ”, “we” or “us”). CAQ is affiliated with the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. As the context requires, references to accessing “the Website” shall be understood to refer to and include access to the applicable portion of the content, functionality, or services offered on or through the Website. Your access to and use of the Website is subject to the following terms and conditions (these “Terms”) and all applicable laws. We may also post or link additional terms, policies, rules or guidelines applicable to the Website, or certain features, such as end-user license agreements, or other agreements or rules applicable to particular features, promotions or the Website Content on the Website (such as interview tool, or educational resources available on the Accounting+ Site). Your access to and use of the Website is subject to all such additional terms, and such terms are hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms.

As a user, it is required that you review and accept these Terms. You also should regularly review our Privacy Policy. By accessing and using the Website, you accept, without limitation or qualification, these Terms, and the Privacy Policy, and agree to be bound by them.

IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND THE PRIVACY POLICY, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ACCESS OR USE THE WEBSITE OR WEBSITE CONTENT (DEFINED BELOW) AND YOU MUST REFRAIN FROM ACCESSING OR USING OUR WEBSITE AND WEBSITE CONTENT.

With our Website and services constantly evolving, these Terms, and the Privacy Policy may also change at any time in our sole discretion. Whenever there are changes, the modified Terms or the Privacy Policy will be posted on the Website and will be effective at that time. Consequently, each time you access or use the Website, you accept and agree to the most current set of these Terms and the Privacy Policy. It is your responsibility to be aware of any such changes. By continuing to use the Website after we post updated Terms, you agree to be bound by the updated Terms, and the Privacy Policy, and that, if you do not assent to the updated Terms or the Privacy Policy, you will immediately stop using the Website.

1.1 Website Not Intended for Children

The Website (other than the Accounting+ Site) is primarily offered and available to users who are eighteen (18) years of age or older. Where permitted by applicable law, we may permit individuals who are younger than eighteen (18) years of age to access or use portions of the Website. The Accounting+ Site is offered and available to users who are thirteen (13) years of age and older. Except for processing that occurs on or through the Accounting+ Site, we will not knowingly process personal information of individuals who are under eighteen (18) years of age unless we have obtained the requisite parental permissions or unless applicable law permits us to do so without parental approval. The Website, including the Accounting+ Site, is not directed to children under thirteen (13) years old. If you are under thirteen (13) years of age, you must not provide personal information to us or register on the Website. We will exercise commercially reasonable efforts to delete any information pertaining to individuals who are under thirteen (13) years of age, unless applicable law permits or requires us to retain such information.

By accessing or using the Website, you represent and warrant that you are of legal age to form a binding contract with us (or your legal guardian has agreed to be bound by such contract on your behalf) and to provide your own consent to our processing of your personal information without parental approval (or your parent has provided all consents required under applicable law). If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use the Website.

1.2 Disclaimer Regarding Content

While certain features of the Website (such as those available on the Accounting+ Site) may provide mock interview tools and AI-generated feedback based on your input (“Interview Feedback”), these features and Interview Feedback are for general guidance and informational purposes only. Nothing on the Website or within the documents available through the Website, nor any Interview Feedback, constitutes legal, investment, career or other professional advice. You should not rely on any information posted on or generated through the Website as if it were legal, investment, career or other professional advice. We cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that any of the Interview Feedback or other information that you may receive through the Website, or links to third party websites is accurate, up-to-date or complete and we do not accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions, or for any damage or loss you may suffer.

You understand and acknowledge that CAQ assumes no responsibility to screen or review white papers, podcasts or other Website Content (defined below) and/or Contributions (defined below) that were created by anyone other than CAQ, and CAQ shall have the right, but not the obligation, in its sole discretion to review, refuse, monitor, edit or remove any Website Content and/or Contributions that is available on the Website. Without limiting the foregoing, the views and opinions expressed in any Website Content or Contributions created by any other than CAQ (including those that may be presented through live streaming events presented through the Website) do not necessarily reflect the views or options of CAQ.

2. Intellectual Property Rights

2.1 The Website and its entire contents, features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video and audio, and the design, selection and arrangement thereof, collectively, the “Website Content”) are owned by us, our licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. We do not consent and specifically object to your use of the Website, including any and all content, to train artificial intelligence (“AI”) platforms or machine learning algorithms and to inclusion of content from the Website in the knowledge base of large language models (“LLMs”) and similar AI platforms.

2.2 These Terms permit you to use the Website and related Website Content for your personal, non-commercial use only. Specially, you are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable license to access and use the Website and Website Content for your personal use as expressly permitted by these Terms, but not for any other purpose or use. Any other use of the Website or Website Content is strictly prohibited, and you agree to not access or use the Website for any commercial purpose. You also agree to not reproduce, distribute, modify, de-compile, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any of the Website Content without our prior written consent, except as expressly permitted by these Terms. You may download material displayed on the Website solely for non-commercial, personal use, provided that you also retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained on the materials and not modify or create derivative works of the material. You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, repost or use the Website Content for public or commercial purposes, including the text and images, without our written permission. For information on how to obtain permission, scroll down to “Copyright Requests”.

2.3 Except as expressly permitted by applicable law and by Section 2.2 (above), you may not copy (except to the extent required in order to use the Website in accordance with these Terms), store in any medium (including in any other websites), distribute, transmit, re-transmit, broadcast, modify or show in public any part of the Website or Website Content or systematically extract material from the Website, Website Content, or any document available through the Website or in any other way exploit commercially all or any part of the Website or any document available through the Website without our prior written permission.

2.4 Unauthorized access to or use of the Website is strictly prohibited. If you print, copy, modify, download or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website or Website Content in breach of these Terms, or you otherwise breach these Terms, your right to use the Website and all Website Content will automatically terminate immediately and you must, at our sole option, return or destroy any copies of the Website Content you have made. No right, title or interest in or to the Website or any Website Content is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by us, our licensors or other providers. Any use of the Website or Website Content not expressly permitted by these Terms is a breach of these Terms and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. You must not attempt to circumvent security, tamper with, hack into or otherwise disrupt the Website or any computer system, server, router or any other internet-connected device associated with the Website.

2.5 Images of people or places displayed on the Website are either the property of, or used with permission by, us or the applicable licensor and may not be used except as provided in these Terms and with our written permission. For information on how to obtain permission, scroll down to “Copyright Requests”. As a reminder, any unauthorized use of the images may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity and communications regulations and statutes.

2.6 Our company names and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans, trademarks, licensed marks, logos, branding, and service marks (collectively the “Trademarks”) displayed on the Website are registered and unregistered Trademarks of us or our respective licensors. Nothing contained on the Website should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trademark displayed on the Website or in any Website Content without the prior written permission of the relevant trademark owner or the permission of such third party that may own the Trademarks displayed on the Website. Your misuse of the Trademarks displayed on the Website, or any other content on the Website, except as provided in these Terms, is strictly prohibited. You are also advised that we will enforce our and our licensors’ respective intellectual property rights to the fullest extent of the law, including the seeking of criminal prosecution.

2.7 We reserve the right, in our discretion, to withdraw, suspend, terminate or modify the Website, the Website Content, or certain features or parts of the Website or Website Content at any time and from time to time, with or without notice to you, at our discretion. There may also be times when the Website or certain features or parts of the Website become unavailable, whether on a scheduled or unscheduled basis. You agree that we will not be liable to you or to any third party for any withdrawal, modification, unavailability, suspension or discontinuance of the Website, the Website Content, or any service available on or through the Website.

2.8 Software from the Website is further subject to United States Export Controls. Software from the Website may not be downloaded or exported (i) into (or to a national or resident of) North Korea, Iran, Russia, Syria or any other country to which the United States has embargoed goods; or (ii) to anyone on the United States Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals, or (iii) the U.S. Commerce Department’s Table of Deny Orders. By downloading or using the software or purchasing products or services from the Website, you represent that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or on any such list.

3. Prohibited Uses & Your Warranties

3.1. You warrant that:

3.1.1. you will only use the Website and the Website Content in accordance with these Terms and only for lawful purposes and in a lawful manner;

3.1.2. all emails, comments, discussion posts, blogs, news postings, information, document, file or any other material that you intend to post to the Website or provide to us via the Website does not and will not contravene any applicable local, national or international laws or regulations or contravene any person’s legal rights, is not offensive or defamatory, is true, accurate, current and complete in all respects and that you will notify us immediately of any changes to that information, document or file;

3.1.3. you will not transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam) via the Website;

3.1.4. you will not use the Website or Website Content in a manner that infringes, misappropriates, or otherwise violates any third party’s rights;

3.1.5. you will not transmit any data, send or upload any material constituting personal information of children under the age of thirteen (13) or the applicable age of digital consent or allow minors to use the Website or Website Content without consent from their parent or guardian;

3.1.6. you will not reverse assemble, reverse compile, decompile, translate, engage in model extraction or stealing attacks or otherwise attempt to discover the source code or underlying components of the any portion of the Website, Website Content or any and third-party services, algorithms or systems used by the Website or Website Content (except to the extent these restrictions are contrary to applicable law);

3.1.7. you will not use output that you receive from the Website or Website Content, including, but not limited to, any AI-generated feedback you receive through the mock interview tool offered on the Accounting+ Site, to harm others or develop any AI models that compete with the products and services of any providers of third-party AI platforms used by the Website or Website Content;

3.1.8. with respect to third-party AI platforms used by the Website or Website Content, you will not buy, sell or transfer application programming interface (“API”) keys from, to or with a third party;

3.1.9. you will not knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware; and

3.1.10. you will not collect information about users, including email addresses, without their prior consent.

3.2. Without limiting any other provision of these Terms, you shall not use the Website or Website Content, nor shall you permit or assist any third party in using the Website or Website Content:

3.2.1. in any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the United States or other countries);

3.2.2. for the purpose of exploiting, harming or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information or otherwise;

3.2.3. in any manner that harms yourself or others;

3.2.4. in any manner to circumvent safeguards or safety mitigations set in place by a provider of any third-party AI platform used by the Website or Website Content;

3.2.5. to send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material that does not comply with the standards set out in these Terms;

3.2.6. to transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material, including any “junk mail”, “chain letter”, “spam” or any other similar solicitation;

3.2.7. to impersonate or attempt to impersonate us, any of our employees or agents, another user or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses or screen names associated with any of the foregoing);

3.2.8. to engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Website, or which, as determined by us, may harm us or users of the Website, or expose them or us to liability of any kind;

3.2.9. in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage or impair the Website or interfere with any other party’s use of the Website, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website;

3.2.10. through means of any robot, spider or other automatic device, process or means to access the Website or any Website Content for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website;

3.2.11. through means of any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website, or for any other purpose not expressly authorized in these Terms;

3.2.12. using any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website;

3.2.13. in a manner that attempts to introduce or actually does introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful;

3.2.14. in order to attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Website, the server on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer or database connected to the Website; or

3.2.15. to attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.

3.3. You shall not, except as part of standard search engine or Internet browser usage, conduct, facilitate, authorize or permit any text or data mining or web scraping in relation to the Website or any services provided via, or in relation to, the Website. This includes using (or permitting, authorizing or attempting the use of): (a) any “robot”, “bot”, “spider”, “scraper” or other automated device, program, tool, algorithm, code, process or methodology to access, obtain, copy, monitor or republish any portion of the Website or any data, content, information or services accessed via the same; or (b) any automated analytical technique aimed at analyzing text and data in digital form to generate information which includes but is not limited to patterns, trends and correlations. The provisions in this Section 3.3 should be understood and treated as an express reservation of our rights in this regard. This Section 3.3 shall not apply insofar as (but only to the extent that) we are unable to exclude or limit text or data mining or web scraping activity by contract under the laws that are applicable to us.

4. Contributions

The Website may contain message boards, chat rooms, personal web pages or profiles, forums, bulletin boards, and other interactive features (collectively, “Interactive Services”) that allow or may invite users to chat, blog, post, submit, publish, display, or transmit to the Website or other users or other persons (hereinafter, “post”) content or materials (collectively, your “Contributions”) on or through the Website. The Interactive Services include, but are not limited to, mock interview and associated AI-based tools available through the Accounting+ Site, which may, among other things, allow you to enter into the Website responses to mock interview questions, and interact with such AI-based tools.

4.1. You are solely responsible for your Contributions and you shall ensure that your Contributions do not:

4.1.1. contain any material which is defamatory of any person;

4.1.2. contain any material which is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory;

4.1.3. promote sexually explicit material;

4.1.4. promote violence;

4.1.5. promote discrimination based on race, color, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, religion, disability, sexual orientation or age;

4.1.6. infringe any copyright, database right or trademark of any other person;

4.1.7. deceive or be likely to deceive any person;

4.1.8. breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence;

4.1.9. promote any illegal activity or violate any applicable law, regulation, or rule;

4.1.10. threaten, abuse or invade another’s privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;

4.1.11. harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person;

4.1.12. impersonate any person, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person;

4.1.13. give the impression that they emanate from us, if this is not the case;

4.1.14. advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse;

4.1.15. involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, and other sales promotions, barter, or advertising; or

4.1.16. includes or promotes content which involves child sexual exploitation/abuse or terrorist content.

If you become aware of any material that could comprise or be connected to child sexual abuse or exploitation or that could comprise terrorist content or be connected to terrorism, please contact us immediately. If you want to provide feedback about any other content, please email info@thecaq.org.

4.2. Each time you create, provide or otherwise make available any Contributions, you thereby represent and warrant as follows:

4.2.1. the creation, distribution, transmission, public display or performance, and the accessing, downloading or copying of your Contributions do not and will not infringe the proprietary rights, including, but not limited to, the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or moral rights of any third party;

4.2.2. you are the creator and owner of or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, releases and permissions to use and to authorize us, the Website, other users of the Website and third parties to use your Contributions in any manner contemplated by the Website and these Terms;

4.2.3. you have the written consent, release and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in your Contributions to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion and use of your Contributions in any manner contemplated by the Website and these Terms; and

4.2.4. your Contributions comply with the rules set forth in Section 4.1.

4.3. The Website may track, record and produce transcripts of your use of Interactive Services, including, without limitation, any video captured or other communications between you and the mock interview tool offered on the Accounting+ Site. Such recordings, transcripts or tracked communications on the Website are the property of CAQ and you consent to our using them for any lawful internal business purpose, including, but not limited to, improving the Website and our services.

4.4. Your Contributions may be visible to others on the Website or transmitted to third-party websites. Any Contribution you post to the Website, including but not limited to, those submitted through mock interview tools offered on the Website, will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. You agree that you will not post any confidential or proprietary information. By providing any Contribution, you grant us and our, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensors and service providers, and each of their and our respective officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, licensees, successors and assigns (collectively, the “CAQ Parties”) the non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid up, sublicensable (through multiple tiers) and transferrable right and license to: (i) exercise all of the copyright, publicity, trademarks, database rights and intellectual property rights you have in the Contributions (including, without limitation, your image and voice), in any form and in any media, whether known now or in the future; and (ii) use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, perform, display, distribute and otherwise disclose to third parties any such Contributions for any lawful purpose, including, but not limited to, showcasing testimonials, success stories or unique use cases we uncover while delivering our offerings. This license continues even if you stop using the Website. In addition, you shall and hereby do waive all moral rights you have in the Contributions to the fullest extent permitted by law. You represent and warrant that you are entitled to grant such a license to us without the consent of any third party. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge and agree that we have the right, in our sole and absolute discretion, to edit, redact or otherwise change any Contributions; to re-categorize any Contributions to place them in more appropriate locations on the Website; and to pre-screen or delete any Contributions at any time and for any reason, without notice.

4.5. We reserve the right to, but will have no obligation to, remove or edit any Contributions as we see fit, for any reason or no reason, at any time or from time to time, without warning or notice and without being required to provide reasons, and/or to make such information available to regulatory bodies or law enforcement authorities. Our decision on this shall be final. Further, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate, or bar access to, all or part of the Website. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may, but have no obligation to, monitor the Website for your Contributions, to review Contributions prior to posting them on the Website, or to remove any Contributions.

4.6. We shall not be liable to you for any Losses (defined below) you may incur as a result of us taking any of the actions described in Section 4.3 nor for the actions or inactions of other users, including, but not limited to, anything contained in your or any third party’s Contributions. You understand and acknowledge that you are solely responsible for any Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not us, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness. We are not responsible or liable to you or any third party for the content or accuracy of any Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Website.

4.7. In the course of using the Website, you may submit your personal data and/or the personal data (such as the name and email address) of others. It is your responsibility to ensure this information is and remains accurate and up to date. It is solely your responsibility to create and maintain your own backup copies of your Contributions if desired.

4.8. You are responsible for the personal data that you submit to the Website, including the personal data of others. If you submit the personal data of others to the Website, you must ensure that you have all the rights and permissions needed to use that personal data in connection with the Website and any services offered through the Website. We are not responsible for any actions you take with regards to submitting the personal data of others to the Website. Please do not add the personal data of others to the Website unless you have first obtained consent to do so.

5. Online Privacy

5.1. We respect your privacy and will only process information about you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. By using the Website, you agree to such processing, and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.

5.2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we have the right to cooperate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Website. We may disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy, and to any law enforcement officer, without liability.

6. Linking

6.1. From the Website you may be able to obtain access to websites operated by others. The content of such third-party websites to which you may navigate, by means of hypertext links, from the Website is beyond our control. You proceed entirely at your own risk. We do not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss you may suffer arising out of access to those websites, including, but not limited to, damage or loss arising from your use of documents or other information found on those websites. These links are not monitored or maintained by us nor are we responsible for the content of any third-party websites. Please read all copyright and legal notices on our Website prior to downloading or printing items to ensure that such actions are permitted under the third-party’s copyright notices, legal notices and terms of use.

6.2. Any links to such third-party websites are for your convenience and the inclusion of the links on our Website does not imply any endorsement, guarantee, warranty or representation by us of the quality or accuracy of the information, products or services provided to you on those third-party websites.

7. Restricted Access

7.1. Access to parts of the Website is restricted to authorized persons. If you believe you have been granted access to any document or file by mistake, please exit the restricted section immediately and contact us as soon as possible.

7.2. You may be required to create an account and enter your username and password to enter restricted areas of the Website. In some cases, you may be required to create different accounts for different areas or features of the Website (such as an account to subscribe to receive notice of newsletters, and an account for use of the mock interview tools on the Accounting+ Site). Account registration may require you to submit certain personal information, such as your name, email addresses, and mobile number. In return for being allowed access to the Website, you agree to (i) provide true, accurate, current and complete account information, and (ii) maintain and promptly update your information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. We have the right to block your current or future use of the Website if you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or we have reasonable grounds to suspect that the information is false, inaccurate, not current or incomplete. You may only have one account unless otherwise permitted by us in writing. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your account and for all activities or any other actions that occur under, or someone takes in connection with your account or password. You must not allow any other person to use your password. If you believe someone else knows your password, you must change it immediately. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your username or password or any other breach of security related to the Website. You also agree to ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. You should use particular caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information.

7.3. We reserve the right to remove users from the authorized list of users at any time.

7.4. Parts of the Website incorporate encryption technology, but even if there is encryption technology in place, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized individuals will not be able to access confidential information hosted on or downloaded from the Website.

7.5. The documents and files hosted on restricted parts of the Website are confidential. You must not distribute the documents and files hosted in these areas except to persons authorized to read them. If you believe that you may have been granted access to a document or file by mistake you must not download it, copy it, use it for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person.

7.6. If you access the Website from a shared computer, during your access to the Website you will be responsible for all instructions received by us between the time you pass the security procedure until you exit the Website. This includes any input errors or instructions sent by someone other than you while you are still logged onto the Website.

7.7. Email communication is not secure and there is no guarantee that an email will be delivered within a reasonable time, or at all. We advise you to contact us by telephone with any information that must reach us by certain deadlines.

8. Mock Interviews on the Accounting+ Site.

8.1. Certain features offered on the Accounting+ Site offer tools for participating in mock interview tools (the “interview tools”) using, among other things, third-party AI platforms, such as OpenAI. The particular third-party AI platforms leveraged by the Website may change from time to time. These platforms assist in analyzing your responses and providing feedback. By accessing or using the interview tools, you agree as follows:

8.1.1. you agree to the processing of your data, including audio and video, by such third-party AI platforms under their respective data use policies, which are designed to protect and responsibly handle your information;

8.1.2. you will comply with any acceptable use policies and other requirements of use required by such third-party AI platforms, including, but not limited to, OpenAI’s Service Terms, Sharing & Publication Policy, Usage Policies and any other guidelines or policies Open AI may provide in writing, as may be amended from time to time;

8.1.3. these interview tools are provided by us to assist users in preparing for job interviews, but there is no guarantee any results or outcomes from using these tools and you are solely responsible for your own interview performance;

8.1.4. you will use your own judgment in applying any guidance, comments or other output provided through the interview tools, use of the interview tools is at your own risk, and we are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken, or not taken, based on the guidance, comments or other output provided through the interview tools;

8.1.5. you will not use the interview tools or any other part of the Website for any illegal activities, to harass others, or to violate any rules or regulations; and

8.1.6. all content generated by these tools is part of the Website Content and the intellectual property of CAQ, and you will not, except for your personal use, reproduce, distribute, or otherwise use this content without the express permission of CAQ.

8.2. In using the interview tools, you acknowledge that your interview responses and related interaction data will be shared with these third-party AI platforms and these third-party AI platforms may use this data in accordance with their own privacy policies and data use requirements, including possibly being used to improve the interview tools. We take measures to ensure that any data shared adheres to our Privacy Policy.

8.3. Your access to and use of AI-driven features is contingent upon your explicit consent to the sharing and processing of your data as described in these Terms and on the Website, and you must not access or use the AI-driven features if you do not consent to the sharing and processing of your data as described.

9. Limitation of Liability & Indemnity

9.1. We shall not be liable to you for any communication you send to us by email that is either received late or not received at all.

9.2. We shall not be liable to you for any Losses arising out of the inaccuracy or incompleteness of information, including the Website Content or any of your or any third party’s Contributions, contained on the Website or in the services available through the Website.

9.3. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE WEBSITE AND/OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ALL WEBSITE CONTENT AND CONTRIBUTIONS ARE PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS”, WITH ALL FAULTS, AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. ALSO, WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR GUARANTEE REGARDING THE RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, QUALITY, SUITABILITY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE AND/OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE, OR THE WEBSITE CONTENT, OR THAT THE WEBSITE AND/OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE, OR THE WEBSITE CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR APPROPRIATE FOR ANY PURPOSE. CAQ CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE QUALITY, SUITABILITY, SAFETY OR ABILITY OF ANY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES OR SERVICES, OR ANY RESULTING OR ASSOCIATED CONTENT. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR WEBSITE CONTENT REMAINS SOLELY WITH YOU, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

9.4. While we will endeavor to maintain the availability of the Website, we make no warranty that the Website will meet your requirements or will be uninterrupted, timely, or error-free, that defects will be corrected or that the Website or the server(s) that make the Website and/or the services available through the Website available are free of viruses or bugs. If you are aware of any error on the Website please contact us and we will endeavor to correct it.

9.5. We will not be responsible or liable to you for any loss or disclosure of material uploaded or transmitted through the Website. The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents. This Website may include content provided by third parties, including materials provided by other users, bloggers, third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content created and provided by us, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of us. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties.

9.6. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL ANY OF THE CAQ PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY WEBSITE CONTENT, CONTRIBUTIONS, OR OTHER CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE. CERTAIN US STATE LAWS AND INTERNATIONAL LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

9.7. You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to Website for any reconstruction of any lost data. To the fullest extent provided by law, we will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a distributed denial-of-service attack, virus or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment or mobile device, computer programs, data or other material due to your use of or downloading of the Website or any Website Content.

9.8. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the CAQ Parties from and against any claims, demands, suits, or proceedings, and all resulting liabilities, damages, judgments, settlements, awards, losses, costs, expenses, fees (including reasonable legal fees) and fines (collectively, “Losses”) in connection with, arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms, or your use of or inability to use the Website or Website Content, including, but not limited to, your Contributions, any use of the Website’s content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms, or your use of any information obtained from the Website. We reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims. You shall not settle any matter without the prior written consent of CAQ. CAQ will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action or proceeding upon becoming aware of it.

10. Governing law & Jurisdiction

10.1. All matters relating to the Website, Website Content, and these Terms, and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto (in each case, including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule. Any legal suit, action, or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms, the Website, or any Website Content shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the State of New York, in each case located in or having jurisdiction over the City of New York. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts, unless such waiver violates applicable law.

10.2 At our sole discretion, we may require you to submit any disputes arising from these Terms or use of the Website or Website Content, including disputes arising from or concerning their interpretation, violation, invalidity, non-performance, or termination, to final and binding arbitration under the Rules of Arbitration of the American Arbitration Association applying New York law.

10.3 Notwithstanding the provision of Section 10.1 above, you acknowledge and agree that a breach or threatened breach by you of any of any provision of these Terms would cause us irreparable harm for which monetary damages would not be an adequate remedy and agrees that, in the event of such breach or threatened breach, we will be entitled to equitable relief, including a restraining order, an injunction, specific performance, and any other relief that may be available from any court, without any requirement to post a bond or other security, or to prove actual damages or that monetary damages are not an adequate remedy. Such remedies are not exclusive and are in addition to all other remedies that may be available at law, in equity, or otherwise. We may request or seek such equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 10.1 above.

10.4 ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS, THE WEBSITE, OR ANY WEBSITE CONTENT MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES; OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.

11. Miscellaneous.

11.1. No waiver by CAQ of any term or condition set out in these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of CAQ to assert a right or provision under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. No waiver shall be effective unless it is set forth in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the entity so waiving, and the waiver shall only be enforceable against the specific entity signing the wavier.

11.2. If any provision of these Terms is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms will continue in full force and effect.

11.3. These Terms and our Privacy Policy constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and us regarding the Website and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral, regarding the Website.

11.4. CAQ shall not be liable or responsible to the other, nor be deemed to have defaulted under or breached these Terms, for any failure or delay in fulfilling or performing any term of these Terms, when caused by or results from a Force Majeure Event. The term “Force Majeure Event” means acts beyond CAQ’s control, including, but not limited to, acts of God; flood, fire, earthquake or explosion; war, invasion, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), terrorist threats or acts, riot or other civil unrest; actions, embargoes or blockades in effect on or after the date of these Terms; action by any governmental authority; global health pandemic; and national or regional emergency, Internet problems or interruptions, security breaches, downtime or errors or other problems in third-party websites.

11.5. By entering into and accepting these Terms, you agree and consent to receive electronically all communications, agreements, notices, documents and disclosures relating to these Terms and your use of the Website (collectively, “Communications”) as permitted by the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 USC §7001, et seq. (“E-SIGN Act”) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. Communications include agreements and policies you agree to (for example, and not by way of limitation, these Terms, including the Privacy Policy), including updates to these agreements or policies; annual disclosures; transaction receipts or confirmations; statements and transaction history; and any other transaction information or other information related to the Website. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. To withdraw consent, you may send a written request by certified mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to CAQ at 555 13th Street NW, Ste 425 E, Washington, DC 20004. If consent is withdrawn, CAQ reserves the right to discontinue your access to the Website, terminate any and all agreements with you, and/or charge you additional fees for paper copies. Notices to us under these Terms will be provided via email to info@thecaq.org.

11.6. You will not assign, delegate, or otherwise transfer these Terms. Any attempt by you to assign, delegate, or transfer these Terms will be null and void, ab initio. We may assign, delegate, or otherwise transfer these Terms, in whole or in part, without your consent. Subject to this Section 11.6, these Terms will be binding on each party and each party’s successors and assigns.

Copyright Notice

© 2023 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants®

ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. You may not reproduce or transmit in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, and storage in an information retrieval system, nor may you modify or create derivative works based on the text of any file, or any part thereof, except as otherwise specifically authorized by these Terms.

ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS and the Stylized A logo are trademarks of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other jurisdictions.

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and AICPA are trademarks of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other jurisdictions.

THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS and CIMA are trademarks of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other jurisdictions.

CONTACT US

In order to resolve a complaint regarding the Website or to receive further information regarding use of the Website, please contact us at: website@thecaq.org.