Established in 1965.

  • Proudly serving Greenville & upstate South Carolina for over five decades.

Services

Jennings Cook & Co., CPAs is a full-service accounting firm dedicated to providing professional, personalized services for a wide range of business and financial needs. We are committed to offering quality services and financial expertise to our clients. Our firm has been serving the upstate of South Carolina for over five decades and we believe our success is a direct result of our quality staff and our responsiveness to our clients’ needs. We pride ourselves on partnering with our clients to help them meet their financial goals and grow their businesses.

Our professional services include:

Entrepreneurial services

Starting and growing a business is exciting! But business owners often need help with the tax, license, and record-keeping side of owning your own company. We offer services that can help your business get started. Our services include:
  • New business formation services including choice of entity assistance, and completing necessary initial filings with the IRS, the Secretary of State, and the Department of Revenue
  • Monthly bookkeeping
  • Income tax return preparation
  • Property tax filings
  • Quarterly payroll tax return preparation
  • Annual W-2's and 1099's
  • Preparing financial statements for credit or licensing needs
  • Assistance in developing accounting systems and controls

Audits, reviews, compilations & agreed-upon procedures

Financial reporting under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) is important for many businesses whether the need is for internal, managerial purposes or for external purposes, such as creditors or licensing agencies. We offer all levels of assurance services and can help you determine which level you need:
  • Audits – Audits offer the highest level of assurance to third parties. An audit is an objective examination of the financial statements and the underlying financial records.
  • Reviews – Reviews provide a less extensive level of assurance than an audit, but more assurance than a compilation and involve inquiries and procedures to analyze the integrity of the financial data.
  • Compilations – In a compilation, financial information provided by company management is prepared in proper financial statement format. No assurance or opinion is offered with a compilation.
  • Agreed-upon procedures – Agreed-upon procedures can be tailored to address a specific need or concern of a business.

Tax planning, compliance & preparation

Tax planning is an essential part of the tax preparation process. Our tax professionals understand the complexities and dynamic nature of taxation and are committed to helping our clients maintain compliance while minimizing risk and maximizing savings. We offer comprehensive tax planning and preparation services:
  • Individual income tax returns – federal and all states
  • Business entity income tax returns – federal and all states
  • Estate and trust income tax returns – federal and all states
  • Gift tax returns
  • Nonprofit entity returns
  • Property tax returns
  • Maintenance of fixed asset depreciation records
  • Tax planning
  • Tax projections
  • Tax problem resolution including IRS and state audit assistance
  • Choice of business entity
  • Nexus determinations

Accounting services

Maintaining meaningful, well-organized financial records is critical to running a business efficiently and effectively. However, many small business owners do not have the time or expertise to maintain such records. Our firm assists numerous clients by providing comprehensive, cost effective and timely bookkeeping and accounting services to help them manage their businesses:

  • Monthly bookkeeping services
  • Financial statement preparation
  • Payroll tax reporting
  • Maintenance of fixed asset depreciation records
  • QuickBooks™ consulting

Estate & trust services

Estate planning and trust formation requires complex analysis of each individual’s or family’s resources and future needs. Developing a reliable, comprehensive estate plan should include consulting with both an attorney and a CPA. Our firm offers essential services for the formation and maintenance of estate and trust matters:

  • Tax planning and preparation
  • Personal representative services
  • Trustee services
  • Estate and trust accounting

Principals

Russell E. Padgett

Russell E. Padgett, CPA    

Managing Partner
Russell has been with the Firm since 2012 and is currently our managing partner. Prior to joining Jennings Cook & Co., Russell worked for Big 4 accounting firm Ernst & Young for fourteen years primarily with manufacturing, real estate, retail businesses, and high net worth individual clients. He also spent nine years with a tax consulting firm working with state tax issues including nexus, apportionment and state credits. Russell specializes in tax consulting and compliance services for businesses, individuals, trusts and estates, and nonprofit entities. Russell earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Furman University in 1981 and a Master of Accountancy Degree from the University of South Carolina.

Follow on LinkedIn

Russell E. Padgett

Jennifer E. Neff, CPA    

Partner
Jenny joined Jennings Cook & Co. in 2005. Prior to joining the firm, Jenny gained experience as an auditor at two Big Four firms, KPMG in Roanoke, VA and Ernst & Young in Greenville, SC and also several years of experience in private industry. Jenny focuses on the tax and accounting needs of closely held businesses and business owners across a variety of industries in the Upstate. She also specializes in the accounting, audit and tax needs of nonpublic and nonprofit entities including single audits under the Uniform Guidance. Jenny earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Virginia Tech and has lived in Greenville since 1991.

Follow on LinkedIn

Our Staff

    Douglas P. Schmieding, CPA

Doug joined Jennings Cook & Co. in 1989. He became a partner in 1994 and served as managing partner from 2005 through 2022. In 2023 Doug semi-retired and is no longer a principal in the firm. He began his career with Big 4 accounting firm KPMG in 1982. Doug has dedicated his career to meeting the accounting, tax, and financial statement needs of businesses in the Greenville area. He specializes in closely held entities and has helped them with business formation, growth of business, sale of business, and transfer of ownership issues. He works full-time during tax season and part-time throughout the rest of the year.

    Jennifer M. Littrell, CPA

Jennifer joined Jennings Cook & Co. in January 2019. She specializes in the needs of high net worth individuals, closely held businesses, trusts and estates. Prior to joining the firm, she worked for Dixon Hughes Goodman for eleven years. She also spent twelve years with Big 4 accounting firm Ernst & Young. Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Accounting from Presbyterian College and a Master of Accountancy from University of Georgia.

   Deborah K. Zabrocki, CPA

Deb relocated from Omaha, Nebraska with over 30 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant and joined Jennings Cook in December 2022. She specializes in assurance and attestation services for non-public companies, employee benefit plans, not-for-profit organizations, and governmental entities. Deb graduated summa cum laude from Wayne State College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. She volunteers as treasurer of her homeowners’ association in Greer.

   Robert R. Malone

Robert joined the Jennings Cook & Co. team in 1990. Robert’s area of concentration is accounting, auditing and tax services for closely held businesses. He also specializes in single audits under the Uniform Guidance for governmental and nonprofit entities. Robert earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Clemson University.

   Kimberly D. Coster

Kim joined the Jennings Cook & Co. team in 1990. Kim works in the bookkeeping department and provides QuickBooks™ consulting services to our client base as needed. During tax season, she also handles the electronic filing of federal and state tax returns.

   Melissa A. Gilbert

Melissa joined the firm in 2020 and works in the bookkeeping department. She is a QuickBooks™ consultant. She also prepares business and individual tax returns.

   Gail Leichty

Gail joined the firm in 2016 and works during tax season and part-time throughout the year. Gail holds a bachelor degree in accounting and an MBA. She is also a QuickBooks Pro Advisor. Her concentration is in business and individual tax preparation.

Follow on LinkedIn

   Donna P. Weathers

Donna joined Jennings Cook & Co. in 1995 and works during tax season. Her concentration is in individual tax preparation.

   Elizabeth P. Henry

Liz joined Jennings Cook & Co. in 2020 and works during tax season. Her concentration is in individual tax preparation.

   Jennifer B. McCalla

Jennifer joined Jennings Cook & Co. in 2000 as the firm’s Administrative Assistant. She handles client communications, client billings, tax return processing and financial report proofreading. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Winthrop University.

Follow on LinkedIn

    Susan M. Burton

Susan joined Jennings Cook & Co. in October 2024 as an Administrative Assistant. She handles client communications, client billings, tax return processing and financial report proofreading. Susan holds a Secretarial Science degree from Greenville Technical College.

   Donna T. Schmieding

Donna works during tax season assisting with tax return processing and clerical duties. She joined Jennings Cook & Co. in 2006.

    Cathie Starr

Cathie is a tax preparer and bookkeeper and works part-time throughout the year. She joined our firm in 2022.

Contact Us

We would like to hear from you. Give us a call or email us.

Our Office

Physical Address:

1212 Haywood Road, Suite 500 | Greenville, SC 29615

Mailing Address:

PO Box 25937 | Greenville, SC 29616

Phone: (864) 297-4700

Fax: (864)676-1502

Email: administrator@jenningscook.com

Jennings Cook and Company
Jennings Cook and Company
Latest Peer Review Report