About GreenFlex Financial
Molly Mayfield, MAcc, CPA
GreenFlex Financial: greenflexfinancial.com
Molly Mayfield and her team at GreenFlex Financial provide world-class accounting services to cannabis businesses across the country, with a special focus on social equity and minority businesses.
Tell us about your company?
I started GreenFlex Financial in 2021 and our specialty is offering world class accounting services to business owners in the cannabis industry. I run a lean team which allows me to be personally very hands-on when it comes to providing financial analysis and advisory services to our clients.
Cannabis is a niche industry I really believe in supporting. Many professionals in the accounting industry have been a little timid to enter the market, but I saw it as an opportunity to step up to the plate and merge my extensive Professional Accounting expertise with the needs the industry is facing right now, especially the development of sound accounting practices. With cannabis being illegal at the federal level and legal at the state level, it creates complexity for the back office in serving the accounting function well. That’s where we come in.
What role does your company play in serving the cannabis industry?
At GreenFlex Financial, we know that cannabis owners in particular face unique challenges in managing their back office, keeping pristine accounting records and maintaining audit trails. We help ensure these practices can be transparent when necessary, so investors and stakeholders receive timely and accurate financial statements and analysis consistently.
What drew you into the cannabis industry?
I’ve witnessed acquaintances, professional colleagues, friends and loved ones live in a more whole and healing way with the help of cannabis, especially as opposed to other harsher substances. From seeing their experiences, I know cannabis can be a positive tool that one can have in their toolbox.
My family owned a retail, health-focused business for about 40 years. I worked a lot of different positions during my time working for our business, but my passion was the financial side of the business: everything from being a cashier starting at the age of 7, to helping my mother pay the bills and then in more mature years managing a 20,000 skew Inventory scenario along with loan package preparation. Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, that’s where my passion for accounting was born. I put those two worlds together in creating GreenFlex Financial PLLC.
What excites you about the cannabis industry?
I want to help the cannabis industry grow as a whole, but I’m really excited about the opportunity to help social equity applicants and minority business owners succeed in this industry. Our social equity applicants and minority business owners have already been through so many challenges in their journey of entrepreneurship and they need relief in the way of making sure their Accounting and Business Processes run smoothly and accurately. That is where GreenFlex comes in!
What are the biggest challenges facing your business?
On the one hand, the federal government calls cannabis illegal. On the other hand, cannabis businesses are still required to pay federal taxes on the money they’re making legally within state boundaries. It’s a really interesting point in the journey. And contrary to many other businesses, cash is still king in the cannabis industry. Not only do they have to sometimes pay the IRS or sales tax in cash but they often have to pay suppliers in cash as well. Cash presents much more risk: it’s easier to handle inappropriately and it’s harder to keep track of. But at the end of the day, businesses still need accurate accounting records to be able to share with their stakeholders. Businesses need to work with an experienced Professional Accountant who has expert-level knowledge of how to perform Accounting and Back Office functions within the Cannabis Industry. This will help set them up for the best success.
