Knoxville, Tennessee · Tue–Fri 10:30a–6p, by appointment · 865.359.0228
— MEET THE TEAM
A behind every return, not just one set of hands.
HB Financial Group is a team, not a solo act. Every preparer here is highly skilled, shares the firm's values, and works to the standard our Enrolled Agent sets — and every return gets a second review before it's filed.
Our preparers support individuals and businesses through the firm's tax preparation services for clients in all 50 states.
— FOUNDER & LEAD PREPARER
Melissa Griffin, EA
Enrolled Agent · IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent
Melissa is an Enrolled Agent, licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all fifty states, and an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent for ITIN applications, so identity documents are verified in office instead of mailed away.
She founded HB Financial Group in 2018 and built it one client at a time into a practice voted Community Votes Knoxville Winner in Tax Preparation & Bookkeeping two years running, 2025 · 2026. She's also the instructor behind HB Academy, IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider SGOXP.
Every return prepared under the HB name is reviewed against the standard she set, whether she typed it herself or a trained preparer on her team did. One hundred percent of returns get a second review before they're filed.
- Enrolled Agent, licensed by the U.S. Treasury
- IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent (CAA)
- IRS Authorized e-File Provider
- IRS Approved CE Provider SGOXP
- Registered Commercial Registered Agent, State of Tennessee
- Community Votes Knoxville Winner, 2025 · 2026
— THE PREPARER TEAM
2026/2027 Refund2Income graduates.
Every preparer on this roster completed HB Academy's Refund2Income training program — the same curriculum Melissa built and teaches — and prepares returns under the HB standard, with a second review before anything is filed.
Meet our graduates soon.
Our 2026/2027 Refund2Income graduates are finishing certification now. Their bios and booking calendars go up here as each one joins the roster.
Book with the HB team in the meantimeHB partner preparers.
Partner preparers run their own books under the HB Financial Group brand — trained through Refund2Income, held to the same values and quality review, and backed by the team. If Melissa's calendar is full, this is the bench we trust.
The bench is being built.
HB partner preparer profiles and their in-person booking calendars are on the way. Every one of them is trained and reviewed to the same standard.
Interested in joining the team? See HB Academy— HOW THE TEAM WORKS
Trained in-house. Reviewed twice.
Preparers who work alongside Melissa are trained through Refund2Income, HB Academy's tax preparer training program. They don't show up with a generic certificate; they've gone through the same curriculum Melissa built and teaches herself.
That training doesn't replace review. One hundred percent of returns prepared here are second-reviewed before they're filed. Nothing goes out the door on one person's read alone.
If Melissa's calendar is full, you can book with one of our preparers trained through Refund2Income in person, or send your documents in remotely and we'll get your return done quicker — then schedule an in-person review or a Zoom call, whichever you prefer.
Some preparers are independent contractors working under the HB Financial Group brand. That relationship is disclosed in your intake paperwork, and the firm stands behind every return prepared here.
— WHY IT MATTERS
Why the second review matters.
A second set of eyes catches the kind of thing a single preparer, however careful, can miss on a long day: a transposed number, a missed form, a credit that needed one more question asked. That review happens before your return is filed, not after something goes wrong.
— READY WHEN YOU ARE
Sit down with a preparer who takes this seriously.
Bring your documents and your questions. Every return we file gets reviewed before it goes out.