Gregory J. Cook, EA, CPA Accredited Tax Advisor

What to expect on your visit to see us... First, call and schedule an appointment at a time that is convenient for you. We are open late through the week and on Saturdays during Tax Season. When you arrive at the office you will check in with the Receptionist in the lobby. She will get some general information from you and create a new file for us. Greg Cook will come to the lobby and greet you, give you a short briefing about the firm and our process, then escort you to the Tax Department to your assigned Agent.

In the short briefing, Greg explains that the Agent will ask a lot of questions. Greg will ask that you be patient with the interviewer because some of the questions border on the mundane, like "what did you pay for your car tags last year?", but explains that all of the questions are designed to allow us to take advantage of every tax break available to you under the tax code.

Cook will tell you, "if you have questions that pertain to last year, 2009, bring those up, but if you have questions about the current tax year 2010 or the future, try to hold those until the end of the interview process. Once the Agent has asked all of the questions and keyed that data into our computer system, he will have a snapshot picture of your tax and financial situation on his computer screen and be better equipped to answer those questions.

At the end of the interview process (usually 30 minutes to an hour) the Agent will give you an estimate of the results and go over a comparison of the outcome with your prior year results. The Agent will write those results on a card and give to you as he escorts you to the cashier with your file. At this point you're done (unless you have additional info to get back to us with a phone call, fax, email, follow-up appointment, etc.).

After you leave the office...

Your file goes to our Review Dept. next, where we review all of the information that the Agent entered into the computer system. We look to see which parts of the tax code are applicable to your tax return and how we treated those items. Once we are satisfied that we've done everything in our power to insure that you don't over-pay your taxes, we will transmit your returns securely and electronically to the federal and state governments.

We usually receive an acknowledgement that your returns have been accepted in 24 to 48 hours. Once we get that acknowledgement, we print and assemble your "keep copies" of your returns. Your assigned Agent then retrieves your file for one final review before he signs a cover letter to you and your "keep copies" of the returns.

Our Mail Clerk will check your file for anything that needs to be mailed to the federal or state governments. If you have anything to mail, she will put pre-addressed envelopes in your package. She will weigh it for postage and put the postage on there for you. We will mail the package to you in a big bright red envelope.

After you receive your package from us...

Greg Cook will tell you in the briefing that should you receive any correspondence from the federal or state governments on the tax returns, simply forward it to Cook & Co. by mail, fax, email or bring it to us... we will handle it for you. If you should be audited on the returns we prepare, we will assign an Enrolled Agent to go represent you. You stay at home, go to work or do whatever you normally do. We waive our representation fee as long as you are a current client in good standing with us (note: applies to individual clients, not business clients).

If you are being audited on tax returns that our firm did not prepare, we charge $125 an hour to represent you. Most individual audits can be resolved in 20 hours ($2,500).

What are your fees and rates for Individual Tax Preparation?

Our Fee Schedule is based on the Forms and Schedules required to prepare your returns. Below, is an excerpt from our Control Card (a work order that is attached to each file). The Control Card also has a place for each member of our firm that works on your file to initial off and date that your file passed through that station. We have a Ten Step Process that each file goes through from start to finish.  ...read more and see Fee Schedule

Why should I pay to have my taxes done, when  I can prepare them?

Save Time - The average person that prepares their own tax returns spends 16 to 81 hours on the project (IRS Reference). With us you spend 30 minutes to an hour. What's your time worth?  ...read more about the benefits of retaining us

We celebrated 50 years in business at the same location in 2007!

We celebrated 50 years in business in 2007, from the same location in Arab, Alabama, just 19 miles south of Huntsville. Cook and Company invites you to experience what life can be like, with a team of trusted professional advisors on your side, on call for you year-round, to help with business, tax and financial matters. Call us today. You'll be glad you did!

Listen to client testimonials...

Audio #1, Audio #2, Audio #3 or Audio #4- Listen to client testimonials. After clicking a link at left you may be prompted to "open" or "save", just click open.