Cookie policy.

1. What cookies are

Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device when you visit. They let the site remember things between pages and visits: a choice you have made, or that a particular browser has been here before. Some cookies are essential for a site to work; others are used for analytics or advertising and are only set with your permission. Similar technologies, such as your browser’s local storage, are covered by this policy in the same way.

This site sets no analytics or marketing cookies until you choose “Accept” on the cookie banner. If you choose “Decline”, nothing beyond the strictly necessary item below is stored and the site works exactly the same.

2. Strictly necessary

The only strictly necessary item this site stores is your own consent choice. When you click “Accept” or “Decline”, the site saves that choice in your browser’s local storage under the name cookie-consent so that the banner is not shown again on every page. It contains nothing more than the word accepted or declined, is never sent to Finstem or anyone else, and stays on your device until you clear your browser data.

Finstem also counts page views through its own lightweight system for basic traffic monitoring. That system sets no cookies, stores no personal data, cannot identify individual visitors, and does nothing at all if your browser sends a Do Not Track signal. It is described in section 11 of the Privacy Policy.

3. Analytics cookies — Google Analytics 4

With your consent, this site loads Google Analytics 4, provided by Google LLC. It is loaded only after you choose “Accept” on the banner; if you decline, no Google Analytics code runs and no Google cookies are set.

Google Analytics sets first-party cookies (named _ga and _ga_*) to tell one browser from another and to group page views into a session. It records:

• the pages you visit and how long you spend on them
• approximate location, at city or country level
• device type, browser, operating system, screen resolution and language
• how you arrived at the site: search engine, direct visit, referral or campaign link

It does not record your name, email address or anything you type into a form. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store full IP addresses. Google processes this data on Finstem’s behalf, may do so on servers outside the UK including in the United States under Standard Contractual Clauses, and describes its own handling of data in the Google Privacy Policy and at How Google uses information from sites that use its services.

4. Marketing cookies — Meta Pixel

With your consent, this site also loads the Meta Pixel, provided by Meta Platforms. Like Google Analytics, it is loaded only after you choose “Accept”; if you decline, it never runs.

Finstem uses the Meta Pixel for one purpose: to measure whether its advertising on Facebook and Instagram leads to enquiries. The pixel records that a page on this site was viewed and, if you send an enquiry, that an enquiry was made, and reports this to Meta so that Finstem can see which adverts are working. Meta may set or read cookies on its own domain (such as _fbp) to do this and may link the activity to a Meta account if you are logged in to one. Meta’s handling of this data is described in the Meta Privacy Policy and its Cookies Policy.

5. Summary

6. How to withdraw your consent

You can change your mind at any time:

• Clear this site’s data. In your browser settings, delete the cookies and site data for www.finstem.co.uk. This removes the stored cookie-consent choice along with any Google or Meta cookies, and the banner will appear again on your next visit so you can choose afresh.
• Block the cookies at source. Most browsers let you block cookies from particular domains. Blocking googletagmanager.com, google-analytics.com, facebook.com and connect.facebook.net stops the analytics and marketing tools from working on this site.
• Use the providers’ own controls. Google offers the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, and Meta lets logged-in users adjust their ad preferences.

Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing that took place before you withdrew it, and the site remains fully usable without analytics or marketing cookies.

7. Contact and changes

Questions about this policy can be sent to Huw Davies at huw@finstem.co.uk, or by post to Finstem Ltd, 21 Hampton Road, Oswestry, Shropshire SY11 1SJ. Finstem may update this policy when the tools used on the site change; any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.

See also the Privacy Policy and Terms of Business. Finstem Accountants is licensed and supervised by the Association of Accounting Technicians (licence no. 1009866).