Review Moderation Policy

1. Who can review

Reviews are intended for people who have had a real interaction with the listed professional — typically a paid engagement, a consultation, or a comparable business relationship. We may require account sign-in, prior contact through the platform, or other reasonable evidence of an authentic interaction before publishing a review.

2. What's allowed

• First-hand descriptions of your experience: scope of work, communication, timeliness, value;
• Constructive criticism and praise;
• Factual statements you can support if asked.

3. What's not allowed

• Defamation, false statements of fact, or accusations of crimes without substantiation;
• Personal information of third parties (clients, staff, family) or any content that violates privacy law;
• Hate speech, harassment, threats, sexual content, or discriminatory remarks;
• Confidential or privileged information you obtained in another capacity;
• Reviews submitted by the professional, their staff, family, competitors, or anyone with an undisclosed financial interest;
• Quid-pro-quo reviews — including reviews exchanged for discounts, gift cards, refunds, or other consideration that is not disclosed;
• Reviews unrelated to the professional's services (e.g., complaints about an unrelated firm).

4. Moderation process

Reviews pass through an automated screen for obvious policy violations (slurs, contact-info leaks, spam patterns) and may be queued for human review when flagged by users or the screen. We target a 5-business-day turnaround for human review. We may contact the reviewer or the listed professional for additional information.

5. Right of reply

A listed professional with a claimed profile may post a single public reply per review. Replies must follow the same content rules above; in particular, they must not disclose client-confidential information.

6. Removals and appeals

We may remove reviews that violate this policy, that we determine in good faith to be inauthentic, or that we are legally required to remove. We will not remove a negative review solely because the listed professional disagrees with it or finds it unflattering. Both reviewers and listed professionals may appeal a moderation decision by emailing hello@cpazenith.com; appeals are reviewed by a person not involved in the original decision.

7. FTC compliance

We follow the FTC's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) and the FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465). We do not solicit or display fake reviews, do not suppress negative reviews based on content alone, and do not artificially manipulate review averages. Any incentivized review (where allowed) must be disclosed conspicuously.

8. Aggregate ratings

Star averages reflect all eligible published reviews. We do not weight reviews based on whether they are positive or negative.

9. Reporting and contact

To flag a review, use the in-product flag control or email hello@cpazenith.com with the review URL and the policy concern.