From Dealer to Cannabis Accountant: Tom’s Story
Photos Courtesy of Author
Tom Andersen. Raconteur. Polylinguist. White-collar cannabis professional of 20 years, selling pounds of cannabis as a young man — even falling victim to armed robbery on occasion.
A man with a varied background. He’s volunteered for Amnesty International and was an Associate Producer for a documentary highlighting veteran suicide. He has worked as a crime and intelligence analyst for the LAPD, a firearms salesman, and currently, he’s a Vice President of Field Operations for a Los Angeles-based CPA and business consulting service (specializing in cannabis and hemp services).
From Candy to Cannabis
Tom got his entrepreneurial start at 12, buying candy in bulk and selling it for a significant mark-up. By 15, he pivoted with his audience's maturing tastes, i.e., cannabis. By 19, he had made the Humboldt County Sheriff's Smuggler's Watchlist (charges that were later dropped).
“One of my siblings referred me to a contact, and from there I built a foothold into cannabis. By the time I was in college, I was living in a dorm room, and had representatives from the majority of campus housing working for me.”
However, despite the innocuous-sounding alliteration, Tom points out that his rise in the cannabis industry coincided with the gang scene in the San Fernando Valley. A “Wild West” atmosphere set to gangster rap, every transaction fraught with danger, robberies an omnipresent threat. A new customer had to be vouched for before they could make a purchase.
Burn-out eventually ensued. He had already been robbed at gunpoint, losing his whole stash and savings in the process.
“I was young. So, I started adapting when I re-upped, keeping different quantities stashed at friends’ houses, etc. After this routine wore thin, I stepped away from flower-touching activities.”
Career Changes and Setbacks
The cannabis industry was put on hold as Tom attempted a career shift to the other side. First, he tried the Army, something he’d dreamed about joining since childhood (and following in the footsteps of his father who also served).
Tom wanted to be a Crypto Linguist, an interpreter, or one of the 75th Ranger Regiment's low-density MOS roles (military occupational specialty). A disqualification due to color blindness would have him set his sights on the police force instead.
Following several semesters of relevant coursework, He did a stint as a crime and intelligence analyst at a large metro PD. An intern by day, manning the gun counter by night. Unfortunately, dreams can be shot down by our own worst enemy: ourselves.
“I got popped for a DUI on the way home one night. Lost my place within the law enforcement agency and the firearms sales position.”
Back in the Game
Following his law-enforcement departure, and unsure of where he wanted to take his career next, Tom went to work with his father doing taxes and accounting. Something he hadn’t done since he was 13, putting his major in Business Accounting to use.
And this time, the career shift stuck. He worked his way up from staff accountant, through the C-suite up to a director’s position, working in the cannabis industry as an ancillary services provider of accounting, tax audits, compliance filings, and systems consulting. Gone were the days of getting his hands “sticky.”
A White Collar Outlaw Who Done Good
The next 18 years went by with considerably less violence and career development he could list on a resume and not a rap sheet. Tom would even speak at the 2018 and 2019 Los Angeles Accounting and Finance Show.
“Stepping away from flower-touching to ancillary services has made my life less stressful, and I have been able to further my professional development with the free time not spent helping with a dispensary cash drop prep, or having to pull security on a run.”
As he worked in the legal side of the industry, his concerns shifted from armed robbery to audits, quality accounting, and other tax services. Now, rather than fretting over police sirens, he handles client anxieties over tax deadlines.
Why do we need people like Tom? He will tell you that the accountant’s role in the cannabis industry is more important than ever. Cost accountants especially.
“Having a good cost accountant on the team can be vital to determining mark-ups, pricing, negotiating distribution contracts, and so on.”
The accountant is vital in a company’s startup, selling, going public, and in the interim, competing for fractions of a percent margin in today's marketplace.
“With Re-scheduling on the horizon, after the tug of war on the subject of DEA rescheduling is complete, the medicinal cannabis marketplace will have an even greater need for accountants as competition with big pharma producing Schedule 3, FDA-approved drugs heats up.”
Tom is evidence that life can take us on unpredictable rides, taking us full circle to where we started. Sometimes through forces out of our control. Being victims of circumstance. And sometimes through forces in our control. But the ride, no matter how unexpected, exciting, and at times despairing, can still take us to a destination we were seemingly destined for. And sometimes, that destination is much better than we could have ever expected.