word to the wise: have a partner.
by liz gold
cannabizcpa.pro
if you’re on the email list of california cannabis cpa, expect to receive a weekly roundup of cannabis licensing deadlines, requirements and more from around the state.
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it’s a way founder derek davis, cpa, not only stays in front of his clients, prospects and community but provides them with information they should know as the industry unfolds in california.
there are so many questions and it’s a way to field answers. as a result, those emails – which link back to his firm blog – are resulting in more than 15,000 unique views a month. for a cpa and client engagement through content marketing, that’s pretty impressive.
davis, who started his accounting career at pricewaterhousecoopers and deloitte tax, first became interested in the cannabis industry back in 2010 when cannabis was on the ballot for legalization in california. the complexities of tax code 280e piqued his attention but as he went to a few meetups to gather information, he found the industry too premature. so, he put interest on the back burner.
fast forward to 2015 – davis was impressed how the cannabis industry was generating revenue in colorado, so he started an advisory firm with a lawyer friend doing pro bono work. in 2016, he jumped in full time. since then, davis’ goal has been to help individuals and companies in cannabis identify and apply tax and business strategies to increase their cash flow, all while making sure they are in full compliance.
headquartered in san diego, california, cannabis cpa has tax managers in los angeles, orange county and las vegas with a team of eight, including freelancers. their clients are spread throughout california as well as oregon, washington, michigan and colorado. his firm works with retailers, distributors, cultivators, manufacturers and testing facilities as well as companies that provide ancillary services to the cannabis space. his first cannabis client was a manufacturer looking to fundraise capital, so his team prepared pro forma financial statements.
“on most metrics, we’re doing pretty well,” davis says. “we’ve been growing our client base week over week, with 200 to 400 people every month contacting us. our phones are pretty busy. it just seems like there’s a need for cpas and financial professionals for this space and i’m really grateful that we’re able to help them.”
as for california, davis says legalization is off to a slower start. “they implemented a lot of complex tax regulations that confused a lot of the operators,” he says. “there’s a lot of confusion around the cannabis excise taxes so it was a little bit challenging to start off the year. the problems they face are segmented based on where they are in their businesses.”
for example, if you are an existing operator, your biggest problem is banking, but if you are trying to get into the cannabis space, the biggest issue is getting a license because it’s dictated at the local level, according to davis.
“the city of santa monica has two medical marijuana licenses available and they have 30 to 40 well-funded companies that are trying to get it,” davis says. “it’s really challenging to get a license.”
the complexities of cannabis being regulated at the local level can be onerous; there are 482 cities in california that can each implement cannabis regulations or choose to have nothing on the books. davis says, “you still see over 50 cities that have a ban on cannabis. it makes it a little challenging for us because our clients expect us to know all the regulations that are applicable to them.”
davis says being granted a license to operate cannabis is like getting through “an ironclad door – sometimes it’s merit-based, but at the end of the day you just don’t know.” he says sometimes a city will set up a committee to review the applications and then you have some cities like la that will implement a social equity program to grant priority licensing to certain populations. san diego, he says, is one of the few cities in california that has gone from all medical to recreational.
“most cities in the state are still medical only,” he says, adding that cities are worried about the federal government clamping down on cannabis so they tend to be a little bit cautious about the space.
davis says his clients’ biggest challenges depend, again, on where they are in their business – if they are already operating, bookkeeping and keeping track of expenses is the biggest headache. if they are wanting to get into the industry, he helps facilitate the cumbersome process of obtaining a license with their city and developing a business plan. the quickest his clients can get a license is 30 to 60 days and the longest time span he’s seen in california is 18 months.
“it’s really complex and expensive,” he says of obtaining a license. “it’s complex. in terms of the requirements, they are insanely laborious. you need an architectural plan, a security plan, a social equity plan, parking plan, standard operating procedures, and that’s not an exhaustive list. there’s a million things you need when applying for a license and you need a lot of money to get started. and if you don’t get the license, you just lost all the money you paid on rent, licenses cost, etc.”
davis says to keep up with all the industry changes, he reads – a lot. his advice for other cpas wanting to get into the space? team up with someone else.
“the learning curve is exhaustive and there is so much to do,” he says. “you need to boil down where you want to help them. is it tax prep? bookkeeping? pro formas? compliance work? figure out how to team up and apprentice with someone else. it took me a long time to learn basic information.”