GAAP, which stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, refers to a standardized set of accounting principles, standards, and procedures that organizations should adhere to when preparing their financial statements. These principles are a combination of authoritative standards set by policy boards and commonly accepted practices in the accounting industry. Adopting a GAAP-compliant system enables companies to ensure consistency in their financial reporting and deliver accurate statements, regardless of the individuals involved in the transactions.
Transitioning from a software like QuickBooks to a GAAP-compliant system, such as SAP Business One, can be a significant change for businesses. QuickBooks provides flexibility in terms of manipulation and customization, but it lacks a robust audit trail to track changes and understand the reasoning behind them. In contrast, SAP Business One captures and records every transaction, including reversals, offering a transparent audit trail that highlights the who, what, when, and why of financial activities. This enhanced control over financial data leads to improved decision-making, better cost management, and accurate reporting.
Now let’s focus on the relationship between GAAP and a specific industry, cannabis production, using insights from C. Dean Homayouni, Esq. CPA (420cannabisattorneycpa.com). According to Homayouni, if a cannabis production business prepares financial statements in accordance with GAAP, it may be eligible to deduct additional expenses beyond indirect production costs. These deductions can include land depletion, labor costs, equipment depreciation, and transportation expenses related to cannabis. Switching to a GAAP-compliant system, such as SAP Business One integrated with Viridian Sciences, can facilitate the tracking of assets, running depreciation schedules, allocating labor and machine time to production orders, and comprehensively tracking the entire production process from seed or clone to the finished product, thereby accurately capturing costs along the way.
