tel: 044 93 45900   info@stephenscooke.ie
 
Professional Service - Personal Approach

Stephens Cooke & Associates was established in 2004 by George Stephens and Gerry Cooke, both had previously been partners in a three partner Mullingar based accountancy practice which was established in 1982. The firm has grown steadily in the last number of years. It currently has two partners, Gerry Cooke and John O'Connell and a team of nearly 30 staff with offices in Mullingar, Trim, Athlone and Longford.

Stephens Cooke & Associates is one the largest practices in the Midlands. As our client base is wide and varied, we have been greatly exposed to property and development clients. We are therefore one of the few accountancy practices who are hiring and expanding in recent years. We believe this is a testimonial to our expert professional service in all areas of business, which meet the needs of our clients in a cost-effective manner.

The partners work closely with a team of highly qualified staff to ensure that problems and opportunities identified during the course of an assignment are analysed and reviewed, having regard to the business needs and objectives of the client. Together we provide a focused, quality service to our clients.

 
 
 
 
 
Meet the Team
 
 

Gerry Cooke
Partner

Gerry, originally from Trim, became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1989 and has worked in practice in Mullingar since then.

Gerry has extensive experience, having worked on many large client assignments throughout his career. Gerry has built up a close working relationship with other professional firms and financial institutions throughout Ireland which brings added value to services offered to the firm’s clients and enables them to obtain the best deal in the market place.

He has developed a strong reputation for his expertise in the areas of audit, business planning & consultancy and taxation.

 
John O'Connell
Partner

John is a Partner in Stephens Cooke & Associates, Chartered Accountants & Registered Auditors, since 2009 as well as being appointed a Director of Blackhall Financial Services Limited, a Wealth Management business.

John is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland (FCA), as well as being a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA). In addition to these, he holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Studies (Accounting) (BBS) from Waterford IT, Diploma in Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency from the Law Society of Ireland, Diploma in Managing People and a Certificate in Personal Insolvency with Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Before joining Stephens Cooke, John was group financial controller to a large manufacturing group with over 500 employees, with operations in Ireland & Eastern Europe. During this time, he was involved in the design and implementation of the restructuring of the group. This role gave an invaluable insight into the practical mechanics of restructuring businesses, and into the difficulties in operations, from a view point other than a purely advisory capacity.

With over 17 years’ experience in the Finance & Accounting areas, with the support of his team of accountants, he advises companies and individuals in relation to business development, restructure and taxation in addition to overseeing the general business advisory and compliance for his clients.

 
 

Joe McDonnell
Manager

Joe attended the National University of Ireland Galway where he attained an Honours degree in Microbiology in 1999. He worked as a Senior Laboratory Technician in the Food Industry over 2 years before returning to Galway to complete a Higher diploma in Business studies.

In 2005 he was admitted as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland and became a member of the Irish Taxation Institute in 2010 following successful completion of his professional taxation.

Joseph has considerable expertise and experience in assisting corporate and non-corporate clients from setup, financial reporting, business reorganisation and tax & estate planning. He works closely with his team to ensure the delivery of an efficient and timely service for our clients.

 

Raymond Ryan
Manager

Raymond graduated with an Honours Degree in Accountancy & Human Resource Management from National College of Ireland in 1998 and subsequently trained as a Chartered Accountant, qualifying in 2003.

Raymond completed his accountancy training in a medium sized practice based in the Dublin and moved to Limerick as compliance manager for a small sized firm. He joined Stephens Cooke & Associates in 2007 and manages a diverse portfolio of corporate and non-corporate clients.

He is responsible for year-end accounts, management accounts, tax returns and financial projections, as well as formulating business strategies for new and existing companies. He believes in working closely with clients to ensure that their business needs are understood and fulfilled.

 

Mary Glynn
Senior Accountant

Mary, from Mullingar is the longest serving member of staff, she qualified as an Accountancy Technician in 1990 and has worked with Stephens Cooke & Associates since commencement.

Mary is responsible for a large portfolio of clients but deals mainly with sole traders and companies in various sectors. Her responsibilities includes year-end accounts, management accounts, VAT, PAYE and financial projections. Mary works closely with her clients to meet their individual and often unique requirements.

 

Joy Whitten
Senior Accountant

Joy qualified with a Bachelor Degree in Business Studies (BBS) specialising in Accountancy from Waterford Institute of Technology in 1999. In 2006 she was admitted as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland and later joined Stephens Cooke & Associates in 2011.

Before joining Stephens Cooke & Associates, Joy worked both in Ireland and internationally within both practice and industry, giving her a wide variety of experience and knowledge of businesses.

Joy has over 15 years’ experience in accountancy working on an extensive range of clients, and specialises in Small & Medium Sized Businesses, delivering the business advisory & compliance requirements of these.

 

Catherine Heduan
Senior Accountant

Catherine qualified with a Bachelor of Business Studies from the University of Limerick in 2006. She has been a Chartered Accountant since 2010 and became a member of the Irish Taxation Institute in 2012 following successful completion of these professional taxation exams. Catherine has over 12 years experience in practice and has gained a wealth of experience with exposure to various tax planning & restructuring assignments.

Catherine specialises in revenue audits, estate planning, formulating taxation strategies, property taxes, business expansion schemes, research and development tax credit applications and other grant applications.

 

Rachel Heffernan
Senior Accountant

Rachel attended Athlone Institute of Technology where she attained both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Master of Arts (MA) in Accounting.

Rachel spent over 3 years training and working in a small practice just outside of Galway City, during which time she passed her professional exams. In 2015 she was admitted as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant Ireland.

Rachel returned to Mullingar and joined Stephens Cooke & Associates in July 2016. She deals with a number of clients, both corporate and non-corporate which operate in various industries. She is responsible for year-end accounts, management accounts, VAT, income tax, corporation tax and various other assignments.


Alan Mills
Consultant

Alan is a Business Studies Graduate and a Chartered Company Secretary with over 30 years’ experience both in industry and practice.

He works closely with our company clients to meet their statutory compliance obligations, covering all areas from company incorporation to strike-off as well as all company secretarial changes and compliance requirements in-between. In addition, he has extensive experience on the preparation of company history reviews, looking at transactions that have occurred over the years and identifying issues.

This has proven to be a particularly useful and necessary resource to draw upon in relation to due diligence assignments.

 

Declan Cox
Consultant
 
 
 

Declan has been a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA) since 2008 and worked in the banking sector for several years. He worked with National Irish Bank, a component of the National Australia Banking Group and continued with them when it later became Danske Bank in Ireland.

He has worked in several areas of the retail banking industry and as a relationship manager dealing with both Small to Medium Enterprises (SME’s) and corporate customers. This involved providing financial solutions to their business needs including transactional and cash management solutions in addition to their lending requirements.

Declan joined Stephens Cooke & Associates in May 2015 and is working as a banking and financial consultant. He assists business and private clients with financing solutions for both new money as well as the restructure and refinance of existing facilities.




 
Stephens Cooke & Associates
Blackhall Court
Blackhall
Mullingar
Co. Westmeath
P: 044 934 5900 info@stephenscooke.ie
Stephens Cooke & Associates
Halpin House
High Street
Trim
Co. Meath
P: 046 943 7000 info@stephenscooke.ie
Stephens Cooke & Associates
Duigean House
N4 Axis Centre
Longford
Co. Longford
P: 043 3342 333 info@stephenscooke.ie
Stephens Cooke & Associates
1 Garden Vale
Ballymahon Road
Athlone
Co Westmeath
P: 0906 491445 info@stephenscooke.ie