Shannon & Associates LLP - Kent, Washington

Mark S.

This is our second year of returns with Shannon & Associates and our experience has been good. Over the years, working with accounting firms has often been challenging. During the heaviest part of tax season, it has typically been difficult to get anyone's attention. Unfortunately, business doesn't pause for us business owners during tax season and we often need help. I'm glad to report that Shannon & Associates has remained available consistently, which is what we really need. Also, we needed a quick turnaround on some tax documents due to a crisis recently and the firm really came through. I was impressed!

Jill J.

5 stars for this accounting firm. I became a Shannon and Associates client as the POA for my mother and later the representative of her estate. Over the years I have found S&A to be professional, responsive, and knowledgeable. With the passing of my mother the team was so compassionate, guiding me through the often-complex world of estate taxes. I’ve been so impressed that my husband and I have moved our tax return needs to this top-notch organization.

Larry J.

We had used Shannon and Associates for our tax returns for many years. This year I had left 3 phone calls requesting a call back to set an appointment, first with the office, second with the individual who did our taxes the previous year and third to the office again. These calls had been placed over about a 3-4 week time span. On the third call I said in the message, "If you guys can't return my call should I get another firm to do my taxes"? I finally got a return call from someone named Julia who said my previous tax preparer had not gotten to his Monday messages yet, (this was on a Wednesday), also she thought my message was rude and maybe I should get another tax return firm. I answered, "fine, I will" and hung up. Shannon usually took weeks to finish my return, the new company took less than 5 days! Shannon usually charged around $500, the new company charged me $275. My new tax preparer holds a 4.5 Google star rating, now I understand why Shannon has only 3.3 Google rating. My new tax preparer is looking at my 2019 and 2020 returns for Shannon errors, if there are any I'll update this review.

Richard

Shannon and Associates acquired or merged with Hale and associates. My CPA at Hale and associates has prepared my tax return for over 35 years. At Shannon and Associates my accountant was not allowed to prepare my tax return and the owner assigned me to a total stranger who never contacted me to at least introduce himself. I had no idea who was preparing my return. Totally unprofessional. I contacted the owner of Shannon and Associates and she explained that I should find another CPA firm. My former accountant at Shannon and Associates was even unhappy with procedures and the leadership at Shannon and Associates. DO NOT USE SHANNON and ASSOCIATES.

Kyndra D. H.

This is the most unprofessional firm I have ever worked with. I was with Hale and Associates when they merged firms and had nothing but negative experiences for the next 3 years that followed before ultimately parting ways.

After the merge, the rates for my personal and corporate returns, quarterly filings and everything were raised exponentially without ever telling me there would be a price increase. They just started sending bills at a much higher rate. Their bills are also not itemized, so you never really know what you are paying for. They do not care about their clients at all and are purely transaction. They will charge you for every single question you ask or email you send. I’m sorry, but if I am going to trust someone with such an important aspect of my business, I should be able to ask my CPA tax related questions throughout the year. Also, multiple times they sent bills to an old address that I never had while working with them and then years later when they realized, they tried to charge me years worth of interest on top of the bills. I can’t pay bills I never received and why did it take them over a year to realize I had an outstanding bill? I paid the invoices the very day it was brought to my attention. Then 6 months later, I was sent another bill (with more interest tacked on) for the invoice I had already paid and received payment confirmation for. Why would I continue to trust my corporate and personal taxes with a firm that can’t even manage their own billing department.

Also, after the merge, my CPA of years was no longer my preparer during tax season. I would get emails from multiple random Shannon & Associate employees that I have never met. No introduction, no explanation as to why they were reaching out, just requests for sensitive documents from people I had never heard of. This might not have been a red flag, but when you have 5 or 6 different people emailing you about different aspects of your tax filings, there are too many hands in the cookie jar and it’s a recipe for errors. Also, you would think that with this many people involved, their filings would be quick, but they were always down to the wire with deadlines.

They are rude, unprofessional, and only care about money. Also, Julie Campbell who left a five star review above is an employee. Having employees leave positive comments to offset the truthful negative reviews should tell you everything you need to know about this firm.

Stephanie E.

This company does not care about small businesses or their own long-time clients. We've used Shannon & Associates since our CPA of 13 years merged with them 6 years ago. Since he retired, our experience has been horrible but this year it hit its all-time low. As of today, our taxes have not been filed according to the IRS, though S&A claim they were filed and accepted a week ago. When I asked for proof, they did not provide what they had supposedly received from the IRS, since we supposedly received the same communication (we did not). This is a serious breach of our trust and long-term relationship. What's worse is that we could be incurring even more penalties than we already had to pay because they had to file an extension and didn't bother to let us know that we should make an estimated payment. We've never had to pay before, so we had no idea, since we're paying a CPA to know these kinds of things for us and to give us advice. We've spent hours trying to research our return on our own, but it's virtually impossible to get in touch with the IRS. However, our IRS accounts say that nothing has been filed, which is in contrast to what Shannon & Associates claims.

Other reviewers have stated that there is no personal care, which has been our experience as well. They raised the rates without notifying us on our engagement (agreement) letter. Their bio says the company is, "small enough to take a personal, one-on-one approach to managing your financial needs," but you are just a number and your small businesses (we have multiple) are nothing to them. We have received random emails from 4 different people, have not received answers from emails we sent directly to "our" CPA, and when they send an email it goes to junk mail because it's someone new. I have to keep checking my inbox and junk mail daily to see if they have replied or filed. Before our CPA retired, we would get a personal email and a phone call from him saying that our taxes were finalized and were ready for review. We weren't even notified when our return was completed and ready for review.

I have sent emails to one of the partners and her responses have been just like the responses on here. Basically they're sorry we feel this way, we should check our junk mail, they've taken care of (problem), and to let them know if we have any other questions. No acknowledgement of the actions/inactions of their employees or the stress it has caused us. And all of it said in a demeaning, condescending manner.

I cannot recommend this company. Please don't trust them with such an important aspect of your business or personal finances.

Brian Q.

After 25 years, we moved our CPA relationship from a ‘Downtown’ firm to Shannon & Associates. This change was four years ago, and there is no looking back.

The Shannon & Associates team prepares our business, personal, and trust returns (12 entities in total). They also advise me and other family members on financial and tax-related matters.

Shannon & Associates is responsive, accessible, practical, and efficient—all important factors in a Professional Advisor relationship.

Julie C.

The team at Shannon & Associates does top-notch work! That’s a given, but there are other reasons we love working with them: They think strategically and are always there to provide helpful and actionable advice. KBA needs advisors we can count on to answer critical questions and get back to us promptly. They excel at that. Plus, they have the soft skills we love, and I feel like a partner with the Shannon team, not just a client.