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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Cannabis accounting is not for the faint of heart, says Monique Swansen, owner of Accounting for Green, which provides accounting services to cannabis businesses. First, there’s a big inventory component, so “if you're an accounting professional that does not want to deal in inventory, cannabis is not your space,” Swansen says. Cannabis inventory is further complicated by Federal law, which disallows tax deductions for anything but the cost of goods sold. This means meticulous tracking of all direct costs to get the maximum possible tax deduction. Compliance with state laws also requires “documentation for every single movement of inventory or money,” says Swansen. Banking is also challenging because “no Federal banks will bank cannabis.”  

Cannabis business owners tend to know less about running a business than many other types of businesses. “So you really have to start that relationship early and try to talk with those people and understand those people where they're at so that you can really help them,” Swansen recommends. Her personal sweet spot is starting to work with cannabis businesses three to six months before they become operational.