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00:00 Welcome, it's Michael Murray with Benzinca. I'm joined here today by Chris Jeffrey from
00:05 Baker Tilly. Can you give us a quick general overview of Baker Tilly and the cannabis practice
00:09 as a whole with what you do? Yeah, absolutely. First off, let me say, very excited to be here
00:14 with you today and thanks for taking the time. So Baker Tilly as a firm, so we are a top 10
00:22 advisory tax and assurance firm. So in short, we're an accounting firm, but the services that
00:28 we provide go far beyond just kind of your traditional tax and audit work. So we're actually
00:34 one of the largest firms with a dedicated practice within the cannabis space. And we're actually the
00:41 largest firm within the accounting space to operate full suite of services within cannabis.
00:46 And so what that really means is that we offer audit services for our clients. And so really
00:52 what that means is that we offer a team that specializes in serving cannabis companies,
00:58 a team that really understands the challenges of running a cannabis business, and that can help
01:03 our clients with, like I say, a wide array or a wide variety of services. And that includes things
01:08 like bookkeeping services for smaller companies. We help our companies with M&A work. We help our
01:14 companies with things like IPO readiness and SOX compliance. We work with our companies around
01:21 cybersecurity issues. And we also work with our companies around things like CFO advisory services.
01:27 So really what that means is that as a firm, we're able to scale with our clients as they
01:33 continue to grow and really work with them throughout their entire life cycle.
01:37 - Outstanding. I was actually unaware Baker Tilly was the largest accounting firm serving a full
01:41 suite of services to the cannabis industry as a whole. Can you elaborate on that a little bit
01:45 and walk through what exactly that means? - Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. So, yeah,
01:49 and I think one of the things, again, that differentiates us a bit is that we really
01:53 offer our clients a full suite of services within the accounting and advisory space. And so,
01:58 even though cannabis is a significant and a growing marketplace, we've seen many of our peers,
02:05 especially in the top 10, really wait to enter the space and as fulsome of a way that we have.
02:11 So we really view the cannabis industry as important to us as a firm. And we really think
02:19 that we're filling a gap within the top 10 accounting and advisory firms within the
02:25 industry. And again, audit is really one of the main differentiators that we have in terms of
02:30 services that we provide. So again, our priority is really helping our clients within the cannabis
02:37 space grow and really work with them to help them succeed. - Interesting. And you mentioned you
02:43 assist cannabis companies across the spectrum. What kinds of companies does Baker Tilly serve
02:47 specifically? - Yeah, no, absolutely. So we're serving, of course, we're serving plant touching
02:52 companies. So we're serving companies that are all the way across the value chain from cultivation
02:59 to manufacturing, to distribution, to transport, and ultimately to retail from a dispensary
03:05 perspective. But we're also working with many companies that are adjacent to the cannabis
03:11 space, so other companies that serve within cannabis. So we've got clients that are technology
03:15 focused and serving within cannabis. We've got companies that manufacture devices and other
03:23 components that are required within cannabis. So again, we're actually working with cannabis
03:28 lenders, we're working with cannabis REITs. So we're working with companies really across the
03:32 entire spectrum within cannabis. And that's one of the things I think that's really exciting about
03:36 the work that we do. - Got it. Sounds pretty comprehensive. And what is your core competency
03:41 when it comes down to this? What does Baker Tilly do better than anybody else? - Sure. So I really
03:45 think there's two things that sets us apart. One is, is we're really able to scale with our clients.
03:51 So as I mentioned, we're helping companies that are on the smaller side. So just those companies
03:56 that are just starting up, and we're helping them with things like, again, bookkeeping and tax
04:00 strategy and tax compliance work. And then we're helping some of the largest MSOs within the
04:05 industry on things like, again, IPO readiness, SOX compliance, and audit. And again, one of the
04:12 things that, or as I mentioned, the other thing that I think really sets us apart is that we are
04:18 helping companies from an audit or assurance perspective. And we just haven't seen a lot of
04:23 our competitors within the top 10 space get into that market yet. - Outstanding. Now, you briefly
04:28 mentioned Baker Tilly's cannabis services. Can you elaborate on the key services that Baker Tilly
04:32 offers the cannabis industry specifically? - Sure. We're helping companies become ready to list on
04:37 an exchange and all the compliance requirements that come along with that, and especially those
04:42 companies that have decided to become SEC registrants. So we're helping companies prepare
04:48 for that work. Part of that includes Cervanes Oxy or SOX compliance. So we're doing that.
04:53 We're helping companies with a number of other advisory services. One that I wanted to mention
05:00 is many companies within cannabis utilize the Sage Intact software package, and we've got a team
05:06 that is focused solely on Sage Intact. And that's another thing that we provide to the cannabis
05:13 space. So again, it's a wide variety. And again, that's not an exhaustive list, but I'm certainly
05:20 happy to help anybody that's interested understand all the different things that we provide.
05:26 - Got it. Now, it sounds like you have clients across the industry. So I'm curious, and I want
05:30 to ask, where do you see the industry going? What's the future of cannabis and what key factors
05:34 are going to shape the industry moving forward? - Yeah, no, great question. And like many in the
05:38 industry, I wish I had a crystal ball, but unfortunately I don't. I think that, you know,
05:44 certainly cannabis is in a little bit of a tough space right now, but I'm a firm believer that
05:48 cannabis as an industry is here to stay. And really what we need is, is we need, I think the
05:54 catalyst for change here, or what'll help the industry turn the corner is some changes at the
06:02 federal legislative level. And I'm talking about safe banking or safe plus, or de-scheduling or
06:08 rescheduling, all the things that, you know, everybody in the industry is talking about. But
06:12 the way that I sort of view the industry is that it's really a rocket ship and it's fueled, it's
06:18 on the launch pad. There are, you know, we've got, you know, pilots in the cockpit and it's really
06:23 ready to go. And what we just need to do is kind of light that wick. And then I think we're going
06:27 to see cannabis really kind of, you know, shoot to the moon again. And we just need that, you know,
06:32 we need something to help us light that wick. And I think that's something to happen at the federal
06:37 legislative level. - Absolutely. Now, I think we're all waiting and hoping for those changes in the
06:41 cannabis industry, of course. In the meantime, what is Baker Tilly focusing on to help cannabis
06:45 companies solve their problems? - Yeah, no, absolutely. I'm really glad you asked. And
06:50 one of the things that I did want to mention is that we are putting together a, and we have for
06:56 the past couple of quarters, but we're producing a, what we're calling a state of the cannabis
07:02 industry quarterly webinar. And so we're inviting really anybody who is in the industry, anybody
07:09 who's interested in the industry to attend those and to really learn a little bit more about what's
07:14 going on. And a lot of what we focus on is not just what's happening, you know, within companies
07:20 themselves, but also at the federal and at the legislative level. So we've included some segments
07:26 on that as well. So if anybody who's watching this is interested in attending those, just navigate
07:32 out to our website, it's just bakertilly.com. And then if you search for cannabis in the search bar
07:37 and scroll about three quarters of the way down the page, feel free to sign up for our cannabis
07:43 resources and updates. So we'd love to have anybody who's watching this attend those.
07:48 Wonderful. Chris Jeffrey from Baker Tilly. Thank you very much for joining us here today,
07:52 talking about your practice and what Baker Tilly does was great to have you.
07:55 Thanks again, Julie. Appreciate the opportunity and it was great to be on with you.