Our Philosophy

Since 1948, Draffin Tucker has supplied a full range of professional accounting services to small businesses, large corporations, individuals, government entities, nonprofit agencies, and healthcare providers. Based in Albany, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Draffin Tucker is a regional firm providing much more than accounting and auditing services. At Draffin Tucker, we believe our success as a firm reflects the success of the communities where our clients and employees live and work. 

Our clients rely on us as partners, planning advisors, business strategists, and financial guides. As such, we frequently contribute to the fundraising efforts of our clients. These funds are typically used to purchase much-needed equipment and to expand or establish programs to benefit the communities our clients serve. It is our privilege to do our part to enhance the quality of life in those communities.

In fact, the concept of community support is a core value for our firm. For more than 70 years, we have worked hard at Draffin Tucker to build a company culture based on friendly, professional service and a tradition of giving back to our communities through our company’s volunteer and fundraising activities. We actively support our employees in their community involvement and leadership development, giving them the skills and experience they need to transform themselves, the organizations they serve, and their communities.

We believe in going beyond the profit to invest in our people and then to support them as they share their time and talents to strengthen the places where they live and work. We provide internal and external continuing education for our employees that far exceeds the minimum hours required by state licensing boards and other professional organizations. We also proudly support employees who are selected for area leadership programs. And while we work hard, we also play hard by organizing events both in and out of the office to benefit employees and their families. Our commitment to our staff’s continued professional growth and our attention to a healthy work-life balance are just two of the many reasons we were twice recognized as a “Best Place to Work” by Georgia Trend magazine.

“Here at Draffin Tucker, we pride ourselves on fostering a dynamic workplace environment,” says Human Resources Manager Cheryl Glover. “Our co-workers are friends at work, as well as outside of work. Loving your job and surrounding yourself with spirited professionals who help you grow and learn is important to us here.”

Our firm members serve as local ambassadors for Draffin Tucker, which allows us to impact our communities on many different levels. In 2020, Draffin Tucker firm members logged more than 1,000 service hours across 26 unique organizations, most serving in board positions.  

We encourage community participation, particularly any projects for which our employees have a personal passion, by sponsoring events, making donations, and excusing time during work hours for employees to attend monthly meetings and serve as board members. Our employees contribute to the strength of their communities through involvement with countless school organizations, church programs, and nonprofit and charitable organizations. Firmwide, we also regularly support activities such as food bank drives organized by the Georgia Society of CPAs. A sampling of organizations ranging from health care to wildlife conservation to children’s programs shows the broad impact Draffin Tucker employees continue to make.

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Draffin Tucker also boosts the economic growth of our communities through involvement in local business associations. Through firm membership, employees serving as board members, and employees participating in events sponsored by these organizations, we support chambers of commerce in both southwest Georgia and the Atlanta area, as well as business networks like the agriculture-based trade show, Sunbelt Ag Expo, “North America’s Premier Farm Show.”

When it comes to financial giving, Draffin Tucker’s single largest impact has been in response to Georgia’s Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program. Similar to the GOAL program for schools, this program seeks to drive private contributions to rural hospitals through a tax credit program designed to bolster the rural hospital community in Georgia by generating total contributions in excess of $300 million over a five-year term. Since 2017, the partners and employees of Draffin Tucker have contributed more than $830,000 to eligible rural hospitals within the state. In addition to these financial contributions, the firm has also spread the word about the program, providing many hours of education to communities through appearances at civic and other organizations.  

“As a firm that has worked with rural hospitals for over 50 years, we understand just how important these hospitals are to the rural communities they serve,” says Jeff Wright, Draffin Tucker managing partner. “We feel it is important to support them in any way we can – especially now with the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 – so they can continue to provide the care and services these communities so desperately need.”

At Draffin Tucker, we also see the value of investing in future financial professionals. Our annual THRIVE Summer Leadership Program (SLP), which targets 30 rising college sophomores and juniors seeking a career in accounting, is designed to prepare students for their careers by offering a host of activities consisting of panel discussions, presentations, mock interviews, and networking with professionals from Draffin Tucker.  Historically a two-day, in-person event, THRIVE 2021 was designed to keep the safety of students a top priority in the post-COVID world. 

“All of our past SLP events have included time set aside for students to serve the community in a hands-on setting – something fundamental to our firm,” remarks Glover. “At first, it seemed impossible to continue that aspect in a virtual format, but our leadership team brainstormed a solution.”

This year, the event incorporated a group project that allowed students to research, plan, and recommend a charitable organization to receive a $1,000 donation from Draffin Tucker. Students worked in randomly selected small groups to present their recommendations to a panel of judges comprised of Draffin Tucker team members. Presentations were made for Boy Scouts of America Georgia Council, Easterseals, and Open Hand Atlanta, which are among several organizations that the firm supports on an ongoing basis in Albany and Atlanta – the two locations of Draffin Tucker offices. Open Hand Atlanta was selected as the recipient.

“Through changing times, and especially during the challenging year of 2020, we always seek to meet needs where we find them, adapting our approach as needed,” says Wright. “I am proud to say that after 70 years, Draffin Tucker’s core principles still remain the same: an unwavering commitment to the outstanding quality of service and a proud tradition of investing in our people, and our communities where we live, work, and play.”