I worked with Chris Whitaker and his firm for a professional business valuation and support calculations. Unfortunately, my experience was disappointing. The engagement took 3 years longer than expected, communication was inconsistent at best, and several key documents had to be corrected after submission. I felt the process lacked transparency and that my questions about methodology and assumptions weren't clearly addressed. read more

Whitaker & Associates - Whitaker accounting llc. Poor service over and over and over unfortunately. - Accountants Near Me - Sacramento, California

Updated as Chris requested this from me today... If you're considering working with Chris Whitaker, beware of how your sensitive information will be handled. Chris asked me to upload documents--including tax returns and other private financial info--to his Dropbox. After his office mishandled and exposed my personal data last year, he showed zero concern. His response was essentially, "tough luck." Even after the breach, he continued requesting I upload more documents to the same unsecured Dropbox folder. Either he doesn't understand basic data security, or he simply doesn't care. If you value your privacy or expect any accountability, I'd recommend looking elsewhere. read more

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I'm not saying Chris himself is incompetent. However, this office is way too busy to provide reliable and efficient service. If time is important to you, do not use this firm. I lost a real estate transaction waiting on Whitaker & Associates. They knew my need was urgent and were not concerned. They only work four days a week. After submitting all of my information to his office for the preparation of a simple, uncomplicated return, it took Chris two weeks to call me. Later that day, he sent me an incorrect return and a bill. I paid his bill of $395.00 online within four minutes. I never complained, I waited. Apparently, Chris himself only spent a short time reviewing my return because the incorrect return was sent within a few hours of our conversation. The office manager repeatedly refused to answer a simple question when confronted with their mistake. She would not connect me to Chris, as he was unavailable. Shockingly, he called me within minutes. [EDIT] Chris called me after he saw this review and wanted me to take it down or that he would respond and I would look bad. His defense was that he would not tolerate a client raising their voice at his staff. His office manager Candace claimed I was screaming. False. Did I raise my voice? I denied it, but I can live with saying I probably raised my voice. No screaming. All his staff had to do was to realize there was something worth re-examining and pass the call to someone with more ability. Not to argue and frustrate clients. Chris says that taking 14 days to prepare a simple return is not uncommon. Okay, tell me upfront that I should be happy for the privilege of waiting. (By the way, I never complained to them about waiting, and I'm sorry if it offended stating that two weeks was the time I waited.) Then he threatened me that if I did not take the review down, he "had to respond." What facts are in error, Chris? It's Chris's and his staff's responsibility to answer questions and not argue. I've been fair; I did not question Chris's competence or say his staff was discourteous, so the review stands. They reek of courtesy while telling a client how wrong you are. When I called about the numbers not adding up, I was told I had not sent the correct year's 1099. If so, how did they prepare the return without contacting me? I sent a second 1099 while I was on the phone. In the initial conversation, my file cover sheet included all of the correct info. Why wait until the client calls to then say something is missing? Mind you, they prepared an incorrect return, and I called alerting them to a problem. It was a simple mistake; just fix it and move on. I've owned multiple businesses over a 40-year business career, and I am not unfamiliar with dealing with CPAs. I'm retired now, so I haven't had a current need. Simple returns are easy, but I wanted a CPA for the property transaction. At NO time did Chris ever offer to review and amend the incorrect return, but he wanted me to delete the review. [END EDIT]. The service is courteous, but they are imperious, won't consider they made any error, and care less about the client's opinion. They should not offer services to individuals, only large corporations with staff accountants. I'm not surprised they have not received a positive review in over 2 years. read more

Very poor customer service with not clear communication from different staff members. They made a couple of discrepancies with my taxes and refused to fix them. read more

Like another reviewer I was only working with Whitaker by default as well. Our previous tax professional retired and I decided to give them a shot. It was a huge mistake . If I could give zero stars I would. Constant mistakes and inconsistent preparing of materials. If you ask three employees the same question they give your different responses. They don't keep good financial records and to top it off, when there is confusion the office manager Candace speaks over you and is very rude. It's scary to think that people with this lack of attention to detail are preparing taxes. read more

We started using this firm by default. Our Tax person retired her business and joined Whitaker and Associates. Shortly after she retired, and we chose to stay. Big mistake. This year was the icing on the cake, we will be looking for another firm. Not only did they combine my adult daughter's W2 with ours, they sent all of original documents to the wrong address. Luckily whoever's house it was did not steal our identity. I am so disappointed that I took the time to write a review. This is the first Yelp review I have ever written. Be very cautious when using this firm for your returns. They are careless. read more

Whitaker and Associates are just plain awesome. Always professional, patient and have insight into the latest tax laws to help me get more money back. Anyone can input numbers on a screen, charge you any amount and call it a day. Chris takes the time to find you all the deductions he can and will even call you with questions to help you, if he can, get even more money back. Every year with Whitaker and Associates I have gotten money back! I highly recommend them. read more

My husband and I have been using Whitaker and Associates for 5 years now. My husband is a teacher with a 10 month paycheck, and a couple years ago bought and runs a cleaning business as well. We have Chris and his staff do both our personal and business taxes. I love that Chris offers a deep understanding and advice of navigating the tax code but in the end he lets us make our own decisions. Also, there is no high pressure sales of any extra services like some offices try to do. I've even contacted Chris multiple times throughout the year with questions about how changes might affect my taxes, and he always returns my calls quickly, and answers my questions at no extra charge! I recommend Chris to anyone I know looking for a good CPA! read more

Professional, knowledgeable and courteous. Chris has been our CPA for the last 10 years, and we have been following him as he moved his office throughout the years. Every January, he will give out a worksheet for us to fill out, so we may list necessary documentation and deductions for the previous year. We get a free 15-minute consultation every year discussing how we can best maximize our IRA and how to better do our documentation. Catrina has always been awesome, and revised our return free of charge when one year we forgot to include our newborn son haha. Sure, there will be errors here and there, but it is my final responsibility to double check, triple check, everything. After all, they email us the draft before submission. Chris cannot do anything if your information is incorrect, incomplete or last minute. For a CPA his charges are reasonable, since I referred two other small business owners who complained they have been charged a lot for the same work. read more

Run, do not walk, away! In four years of having them prepare my tax returns, two years were in error, I was contacted by the IRS and had to pay. Upon complaining, I was told that I was taking the IRS too seriously and a joke was made that "they just won't leave you alone, will they?" They are responsible for the penalties and I still have not received the reimbursement check from them. The most recent error was them not including a 1099 income. Isn't that the first thing they should check -- that all income is properly reported? Their work is careless and I do not recommend them. read more

I've done my taxes various ways over my adult life, started with turbo tax, did H&R Block for a couple years, tried some private accountants and finally Whitaker this year. I felt comfortable filing, knowing they cared about more than just imputing w-2's, we discussed common deductions I had forgotten about and gave me time to gather all the information and followed up with filing right away. Somehow I got my return in less than two weeks, the largest to date (when I wasn't expecting much) and my paperwork was presented to me very professionally. Very thorough work from start to finish. read more

Although January means new beginnings to most, it means tax time to me. With two kids in college, it's all about getting ahead of the FAFSA deadline! Chris Whitaker has prepared my tax returns for the last seven years and has had to put up with last minute questions, miscellaneous pieces of paper, seven rental properties in two different states, two primary residences in different states, and he still manages to meet my timeline. Thankfully Chris and Catrina have always been accessible, communicative and patient because every year I have a new set of questions relative to how I can get the most from my tax return. That said, I need to get busy preparing for my upcoming meeting with Chris! A little front end work on my part helps Chris make my deductions work for me! read more