meet tony huffman
Anthony L. Huffman, CPA, Owner
MS CPA License No. 3553
Anthony (Tony) L. Huffman is the owner and founder of Huffman & Company. A Florida native, Tony spent his childhood in Pensacola, where he graduated from Tate High School in 1980. Upon graduation, he attended Mississippi College on a track scholarship, where he majored in accounting; receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and graduating with distinction. In addition to being the recipient of the Wall Street Journal Award (recognizing the top overall School of Business senior), Huffman was a member of several national honor and business fraternities, a student body senator, co-founder of the Mississippi College Accounting Society and a four year track and cross-country letterman (including several all-conference and national awards). In 1984, Tony finished eleventh in the nation in the NCAA Division II National Track & Field Championships and was second team All-American in the steeplechase in 1984.
In 1984, Tony went to work for the Jackson, Mississippi office of Ernst & Young (Ernst & Whinney), a large international accounting firm. During his six and a half year tenure with Ernst & Young, Huffman reached the level of Tax Manager, and gained valuable experience in the areas of individual, multi-state corporate, partnership and fiduciary income tax. His expertise in the area of expatriate taxation led to his four month assignment in the Ernst & Young London and Brussels offices. He also published an article for the "Tax Planning International Review" entitled "State Tax Planning for U.S. Expatriates." Huffman left Ernst & Young in 1991 to start Huffman & Company, CPA, P.A.
Since its formation, Huffman & Company, CPA, P.A. has grown to a staff of ten, of which three are Certified Public Accountants. The Firm services nearly 1,000 individual and small business clients. Industries served include: video and film production, construction, auto service, medical, publishing, retail, manufacturing, restaurant, real estate, law income housing tax credits and charitable/financial planning, not-for profits, finance companies and service industry clients (Janitorial, advertising, legal, insurance, hair salon, etc.).
In addition to his client services responsibilities, Huffman also serves the small business community by publishing a periodic tax column geared toward small business owners in the "Metro Business Review," "Delta Business Journal" and "Metro Business Chronicle." He serves on the Advisory Board of the Chronicle. Huffman was featured in their Pathfinders Profiles, CPA Vision Project sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as one of their leading accountants with a vision to the future. Tony has been very active in his community, serving with Junior Achievement, Jackson Friends of the Library, the Capitol Exchange Club, the Jackson Tax forum, Habitat for Humanity and several other civic projects.
Tony is a founder of The Mississippi Blues Marathon which continues to be one of the foremost tourism attractions for the city of Jackson, MS.
Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters as President and Chairman, Treasurer and Fundraising Chairman from 1985-1993. As a founding member of the Big Brothers program, Tony served with the organization for seven years. During his tenure on the Board, he was responsible for raising over 200,000 for the program through fundraisers such as the Great Jackson Duck Race and Adopt-a-Match. He rejoined the Board in 1999 and served an additional two year term.
Tony was an active member with the Mississippi Olympic Committee where he served as coordinator for the Olympic Torch Run. He was a member of the 1993-94 Leadership Jackson Class. He also serves on the Mississippi College School of Business Advisory Board and Estate Planning Council, and was named as one of the Top 40 Under 40 business persons in the state by the "Mississippi Business Journal" for 1994. Tony has remained a competitive runner since college, winning more than 50 road races (ranging from 5k to marathon) and representing the State of Mississippi in regional and national events. He served as Public Relations Chairman of the Mississippi Track Club. His participation in the Leukemia Society's Team in Training Program allowed him to raise $50,000 for the Society from 1996-1999 by running three marathons. He was recognized by the Society in "Runner's World" magazine as one of the top three Team in Training fundraisers for 1996. In addition, Tony finished 3rd overall in his first marathon (Napa Valley) with a personal best time of 2:32.23 (averaging 5:42 per mile for 26.2 miles). He has completed four marathons never running slower than 2:45. He won the 1996 Mississippi Marathon. Tony was inducted into the Mississippi College Sports Hall of Fame in May, 2015. He serves on the selection committee for the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
Tony was selected as a 1996 Olympic Torchbearer to carry the Olympic Flame as it passed through Jackson. Additionally in 1996, he was selected as an initial honorary member of the Mississippi College chapter of Delta Mu Delta (a national business honor society) and was selected to serve on the Executive Board and Treasurer of the Make a Wish Foundation.
Tony is past Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Chapter of the Leukemia Society of America (LSA). He served as the Initial Board Chairman for three years from 1996 to 1999. He was honored by the LSA in 1996 with their Chairman's Citation Award (the highest award given by the LSA for individual service). Under his Chairmanship the Chapter's annual operating budget grew from zero to in excess of $625,000. During his three year tenure as Chairman, Tony raised almost $1,000,000 for the Mississippi Chapter. Additionally, Tony served on the National Board of Trustees (a first for any Mississippian) on the legislative, chapter development and audit committees.
Tony was honored by the Small Business Administration as recipient of the 1997 SBA Accountant Advocate of the Year for the State of Mississippi and was nominated for the Regional Accountant Advocate of the year. Tony recently served a four year term as a Board Member of the Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce. He was on the Membership Services committee. Tony was selected as the Mississippi College School of Business Distinguished Alumnus for the year 1999 and the Mississippi College Young Alumnus of the year for 2004. Tony has been appointed to the Mississippi College Board of Trustees for two three-year terms, beginning in December, 2013. Huffman has served on the Board of the Patriot Committee and serves as President of the Booster Club for Jackson Prep School.
Tony is married to the former Laurie Planch and they have three children and two granddaughters. David works with New York Life and resides in Madison with his wife, Mary Kate, and their daughter, Blake. Rob also lives in Madison, with his wife, Allison, and their daughter, Maggie; and he works at Forvis as a CPA. Sarah Avery, a recent graduate of the Ole Miss Accelerated Nursing Program, resides in Dallas and works at Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Health Hospital. When his children were younger, he volunteered his time as coach and assistant coach for numerous sports teams, soccer and basketball. Laurie Planch Huffman, CPA is also an accountant at Huffman & Company, CPA, P.A. and her Mississippi License Number is 3461.
Meet Our Staff
Director
Ginger Carter, CPA
MS License No. 3545
Ginger has been at Huffman & Company since 1997 and is fully devoted to making sure each of our clients have the utmost guidance in their financial affairs. Ginger received the honor of being named one of Mississippi Business Journal's Fifty Leading Business Women in 2009. Ginger and Tony share the goal of total client satisfaction. She is also a Quickbooks Pro Advisor, which makes her more than qualified to handle any of your Quickbooks questions or needs.
Part-time Students
For over a decade, we have taken great joy in helping high school and undergraduate student workers learn the ins and out of a professional environment. Our local part-time students help in filing, running errands, and maintaining the large number of records an accounting firm of our size accumulates.