BTA Cannabis CPA Tax: Accounting Services for the Cannabis Industry

Posted on Ignite It
September 26, 2025
by AJ Herrington

BTA Cannabis CPA Tax provides accounting services to the cannabis industry, including tax strategies, CFO on-call services, compliance filings, and systems consulting.

Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash

California-based accountant Thomas Andersen’s firm, BTA Cannabis CPA Tax, serves more than 100 licensed cannabis clients in 24 states. With two decades of experience in the cannabis sphere, he has the expertise to understand the unique accounting challenges faced by businesses in the industry.

Andersen began working with cannabis clients in the L.A. area in 2005 under California’s Prop 215 medical cannabis law. When the City of Los Angeles began regulating medical marijuana dispensaries in 2007 under its Interim Control Ordinance (ICO), Andersen helped 33 businesses successfully transition to the new ICO framework.

After California voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2016, Andersen joined forces with his father and fellow accountant, Bruce Andersen, to begin serving clients in the state’s newly regulated cannabis industry.

“We have over 100 licensees that we’ve done tax returns for the past year,” Andersen says in a telephone interview with IgniteIt. “We’ve grown considerably the past seven years, from probably 10% of the practice being cannabis, to like 60% of it.”

Tax Strategy and More for the Cannabis Industry

The core services offered by BTA Cannabis CPA Tax include tax strategies, CFO on-call services, compliance filings, and systems consulting. The firm’s services are optimized by Andersen’s experience with cannabis clients and the industry’s accounting methodologies, as well as the subtle nuances of the tax code. He also advises his clients about the ramifications of the increased scrutiny faced by the highly regulated cannabis industry.

“It’s not an if, it’s a when things will be audited,” he says, adding that he makes sure clients have what he refers to as an “audit ready room.”

The ready room, which can be a folder on a server or a flash drive, contains all the documentation required for an audit.

“It’s everything that an auditor would want, from your point-of-sale reports to your tax filings, everything in between, so that when that audit notice comes, you’re not frantic,” Andersen explains. “You’ve got a file ready to go, so it’s smooth.”

Cannabis businesses should consider several factors when selecting an accounting firm, Andersen suggests. He advises companies to choose a firm with experience in the industry and the support of a multi-person team to rely on.

“What the client should look for is someone with experience in the industry, with a good number of returns already under their belt, not a solo operation, and fluency with the tax code,” Andersen says.

To learn more about BTA Cannabis CPA Tax, visit the firm’s website.

Read the full article on Ignite It here.