[krstnam]

I’m in a state where recreational cannabis is legal. I was researching job oepnings and there are quite a few controller/CFO jobs available for pot shops. I’m wondering, if you’re a CPA in a weed state and move to a place where it’s illegal, do you think the illegal state would consider your work history with marijuana to fall against “good moral character”?

Might be moot anyway because it seems like a lot of states are moving towards legalization.

[Yahmon]

I'm also in a state where marijuana is legal. I've seen a lot of those controller positions open too but not currently looking. If I was I would surely apply.

Legal cannabis is a business just like merck or pfizer who make “manufactured” drugs. I wouldn't want to work for a company that would see an issue with that.

FAR 8/20/15 - Passed 77
AUD 10/10/15 -
BEC TBD
REG TBD

[Tim]

Working for a weed company doesn't make you a pothead any more than working for a liquor company makes you an alcoholic.

[aaronmo]

I think i t's more complicated than indicated above because, while legal in some states, it's still illegal for the fed. The entire income that you're reporting is a thorny issue as I understand it.

I know that there are CPAs working in the industry and I've seen some guidance/classes. I never read in detail or examined…but I do think there are potential complexities.

I don't agree with the above comparison to Merck/Pfizer. It's not a moral/judgment issue on my part…it's a “will your next potential employer look funny eyed at you?” I think very likely. I also think there's more risk of instability with potential legal changes.

I'd be careful…I'd consult an attorney, or at least talk to a CPA in the industry. It's not as simple, to my knowledge, as “it's legal in this state”.

[Skynet]

Actually, the downside is that you'll be gaining a lot of weight.

After getting high off the second hand smoke, you'll be craving a lot of munchies and will be going through the drive through at night.

[aaronmo]

I found this interesting…

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/29/irs-says-pot-is-illegalbut-you-still-have-to-pay-taxes.html

Also interesting…and it explains some of what you saw above regarding circulars 230 in the comments section.

https://blog.aicpa.org/2016/10/cpas-with-clients-in-states-where-marijuana-is-legal-need-to-consider-risks.html#sthash.AZltvQnd.dpbs

[Recked]

I expected this to be a much different conversation.

My understanding on the industry is that it is still cash intensive as they are finding it difficult to get banks to work with them to accept any digital payments, so vulnerable to armed robbery attempts. Not worth the increased risk as far as I can tell. I would avoid any job that has this type of risk factor.

[PianoCPA]

At first, I questioned whether this might affect the CPA license…but considering that the licenses are state-issued, as long as you're working within your cannabis-approved state, I guess losing your license is a non-issue. This would be different if the CPA license was issued by the federal government.

Where I can see this issue getting particularly tricky is if you wanted to transfer the CPA license to a cannabis-approving to a non-cannabis-approving state. Would they allow it?

[Anonymous]

The title of this thread had me laughing as I read it. I was thinking that there was some correlation between experimenting with marijuana while studying and seeing “high”er pass rates.

Man, we accountants sure do have a great sense of humor!

[Anonymous]

My firm does work for Cannabis clientele in a Rec State. I wouldn't have any issue working at a Cannabis company more directly. If you are going to look into it, you need to brush up on the State-by-State compliance issues you would have to deal with and brush up on your 280E knowledge. Each state has very specific regulations regarding reporting requirements, tracking, and other compliance issues. You'll need to be VERY familiar with these if you want to be successful in one the aforementioned positions. But, it would definitely provide a challenging, evolving experience in a progressing field.

[krstnam]

I just thought it was interesting. I was mostly wondering about the implications of moving to a non-legal state. I’ll prob retire out of state…From what I understand the Feds consider managing weed profits money laundering (a quote used by a local bank president who provides banking services to cannabis companies).
I’m not looking for work. I don’t use weed-I kinda think I should take it up as a hobby but I never touched the stuff…maybe in the near future but I’ve also said the same thing about getting a Louis vuttion luggage set and I haven’t done that either haha.
AF-I thought it would be an interesting industry bc everything is so new, state regs make sense but how they operate with fed, who knows. The other plus, those companies are making tons of money, I’d bet the money is good…I don’t think my parents or the folks at church would approve lmao!

Eric-you should try it out and let us know. If there is a study out there I’d be more inclined to try 😂

[Author]

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