You might not be seeking marijuana business, but it might find you

By Gary Hunt, senior content editor

CPAs might not be actively seeking business in Ohio’s new medical marijuana industry, but they might find that the business is actively seeking them.

That what happened to CPA and Ohio Wesleyan professor Justin Breidenbach, who said he’s never been particularly interested in the plant.

“I started doing my research into the industry after a business asking me a generic question,” said Breidenbach, who this past summer took an academic research trip to Washington and Oregon – states that have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. “They wanted to know about the tax implications and some of the control issues that they should be thinking about from a business standpoint if they were ever to get involved in this industry.

“I’d never thought about it personally,” Breidenbach said. “So, it was one of those things that kind of came out of nowhere, and I think for a lot of CPAs and firms it’s going to be the same thing.”

Breidenbach joined us on the latest episode of OSCPA Spotlight to discuss how he thinks the industry might develop in the coming years – and what CPAs should do about it.

“What I would tell any CPA is, be prepared to have these conversations with clients,” he said. “I think a lot of firms will be surprised that they’re going to have businesses coming to them needing assistance and needing help with this stuff.

Watch this episode now to learn what he thinks the next couple of years will bring.