Professional Scope and Service Limitations

1. Purpose and controlling terms

This Professional Scope and Service Limitations statement applies to Lilly Financial Management Services, Inc. (“Lilly Financial” or the “Company”) and describes the Company’s general service boundaries as of the effective date. It is intended to prevent misunderstanding concerning website content, preliminary discussions, proposals and the nature of services the Company currently offers.

This statement is not an engagement letter, legal opinion, tax opinion, assurance report, professional certification or guarantee. If this statement conflicts with a fully executed written engagement, the executed engagement controls for that engagement, except that no agreement will be construed to authorize a service the Company is not legally or professionally permitted to provide.

2. Current service categories

Subject to a written engagement and the qualifications stated in that engagement, Lilly Financial may provide the following categories of service:

2.1 Non-attest bookkeeping support and management reporting

Bookkeeping support, account reconciliation, record cleanup, classification support, non-attest management-use financial reporting, close-process support, documentation and organization of financial records, and assistance designing routine financial workflows and internal controls. This work does not include a report or assurance under standards governing licensed public-accountancy services.

2.2 Tax-return preparation and filing readiness

Preparation of identified federal, state or local tax returns; organization of client-provided tax information; filing-readiness support; calculation support; and coordination of information required for a return, but only to the extent expressly stated in an accepted engagement.

2.3 Tax planning

Prospective analysis of lawful tax alternatives, timing, documentation, entity activity and filing considerations based on information supplied by the client and authorities reasonably available at the time. Tax planning does not constitute a guarantee of treatment, acceptance, savings or outcome.

2.4 Business advisory and financial systems

Cash-flow analysis, budgeting, management models, reporting design, workflow improvement, control design, operational-financial analysis, decision support and implementation planning. Management retains responsibility for all decisions, approvals, controls and implementation.

2.5 Administrative and professional coordination

Organization of records and factual information for delivery to attorneys, lenders, insurers, payroll providers, tax professionals and other advisers; assistance tracking requirements and deadlines; and coordination among professionals when authorized by the client and permitted by law.

3. Representation before the IRS or other tax authorities

Lilly Financial does not currently offer representation before the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities. The Company does not accept a power of attorney for that purpose, appear as a taxpayer’s representative, advocate or negotiate on a taxpayer’s behalf, or communicate with a taxing authority as an authorized representative.

When separately engaged, the Company may assist a client in organizing records, identifying factual issues, preparing schedules, explaining correspondence in general terms, or assembling information for the client or an authorized representative. Such assistance is not representation. Unless an appropriately authorized representative separately accepts the matter, the client remains responsible for responding, appearing, protecting appeal rights and meeting all governmental deadlines.

4. Audit, review, compilation, attest and assurance services

Lilly Financial does not provide independent financial-statement audits, reviews, compilations, examinations, agreed-upon procedures, attest engagements or other assurance services. The Company does not issue a report on financial statements or an auditor’s report, accountant’s review report, compilation report, attestation report, opinion, conclusion, certification or other form of assurance under professional standards applicable to certified public accountants or public accounting firms.

Financial statements, schedules, models or reports prepared or assisted with by Lilly Financial are intended for the use stated in the applicable engagement. Unless expressly issued by an independent qualified professional, they must not be described or presented as audited, reviewed, compiled, certified, attested or independently verified.

5. Legal services and legal conclusions

Lilly Financial is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, legal representation, legal opinions, privilege determinations, litigation strategy, contract drafting as legal counsel, or conclusions concerning legal rights or remedies. Discussion of statutes, regulations, forms, filing procedures, entity records or contractual provisions is limited to accounting, tax-preparation, administrative or business context and is not a substitute for advice from licensed counsel.

Clients must obtain qualified legal counsel for matters including ownership disputes, employment law, securities, insolvency, litigation, estate planning, immigration, criminal matters, legal privilege, contract enforceability and any question requiring a legal opinion.

6. Investment, fiduciary, valuation and other regulated services

Lilly Financial does not act as a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, investment manager, trustee, escrow agent, custodian or fiduciary. The Company does not recommend or transact securities, take custody of client funds, or provide individualized investment advice.

Business models, estimates and decision analyses are not formal appraisals or valuation conclusions. Lilly Financial does not issue certified valuations, fairness opinions, solvency opinions, appraisal reports or expert-witness opinions. A client needing any such service must engage an appropriately licensed or qualified professional under a separate agreement.

7. Credentials, licenses and professional titles

No statement on this Site should be construed as a representation that Lilly Financial, or any individual associated with the Company, holds a license, registration, designation or professional credential that is not expressly and accurately identified in an applicable written engagement or current individual biography.

Lilly Financial does not hold itself out as a certified public accountant, public accountant, enrolled agent, auditor, public accounting firm, attorney, registered investment adviser or broker-dealer. Website references to tax preparation, planning, non-attest bookkeeping support or financial management do not imply authority to practice law, unrestricted authority to practice before the IRS, authority to issue a report on financial statements or CPA attest or assurance work, or registration to provide investment-advisory or securities services.

8. Client and management responsibilities

Unless a written engagement states otherwise, the client and its management remain exclusively responsible for:

• providing complete, accurate and timely information, records and explanations;
• maintaining books, records, supporting documents and access to source information;
• reviewing and approving returns, reports, filings, classifications, assumptions and recommendations;
• establishing, authorizing, operating and monitoring internal controls;
• making business, tax, legal, financing, employment and investment decisions;
• preventing and detecting fraud, theft, unauthorized transactions and legal violations;
• determining whether information may lawfully be shared with the Company or another professional; and
• meeting all deadlines until the Company expressly accepts responsibility for a specified filing or deliverable in writing.

Lilly Financial may rely on information supplied by the client or the client’s other advisers without independent verification unless the written engagement expressly requires a defined verification procedure.

9. Forecasts, estimates, recommendations and outcomes

Budgets, forecasts, tax estimates, projections, scenarios, models and recommendations depend on assumptions, client-provided information, present circumstances and authorities that may change. Actual results may differ materially. Lilly Financial does not guarantee a tax result, refund, savings amount, financing decision, business result, governmental response, outcome of a tax examination or other government action, acceptance of a filing or future financial performance.

Advice is limited to the facts, period, purpose and law considered in the applicable engagement. The Company has no continuing duty to update prior work for later events or changes in law unless a written engagement expressly provides otherwise.

10. Written engagement required; no reliance on website content

Website content and preliminary communications are general information only and may not be relied upon as advice for a particular person, transaction, return, deadline or dispute. No engagement exists unless and until Lilly Financial accepts a written engagement specifying the service. Payment, document delivery, a contact-form submission or preliminary discussion alone does not require the Company to act.

Prospective clients should not assume that Lilly Financial is monitoring a deadline, preserving a right, preparing a filing or undertaking work unless that responsibility is expressly accepted in writing. Engagement acceptance may be subject to conflicts review, client identification, information review, scope confirmation, signed terms and initial funding.

11. Referrals and coordination with other professionals

When a matter requires legal advice, authorized representation, an attest or assurance report, formal valuation, investment advice or another regulated service, Lilly Financial may recommend that the client retain an appropriately licensed, registered or credentialed professional. Unless expressly stated in writing, that professional is independent of Lilly Financial, is engaged directly by the client, and is solely responsible for the professional’s work.

A referral is not a guarantee of availability, competence, outcome or fitness for a particular matter. The client is responsible for evaluating and selecting the professional. Lilly Financial may coordinate factual and financial information with the selected professional only with appropriate authorization and subject to applicable confidentiality and tax-information restrictions.

12. Questions and scope confirmation

Questions concerning whether a requested service is within Lilly Financial’s current scope should be raised before sensitive information is transmitted or any deadline is assumed. Scope inquiries may be directed to: