What Happens in Vegas… Gets Reported on a Tax Return | ARC

CPA Trendlines Podcasts

You can serve brothels, cannabis firms, and poker pros—just don’t cross the legal line.

Accounting ARC

With Liz Mason and Byron Patrick

Center for Accounting Transformation

Accountants are often seen as the gatekeepers of financial integrity—but what happens when the client operates a strip club, sells cannabis, or works in legal sex work? In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, Liz Mason, CPA, and Byron Patrick,CPA.CITP, CGMA, challenge the idea that “sin” industries are off-limits for ethical professionals. Their message: legality, transparency, and harm reduction matter more than personal judgment.

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Mason, founder and CEO of High Rock Accounting, has worked with legal sex workers and cannabis companies. She says she doesn’t shy away from these clients. “All companies have a right to good advice,” she says, stressing that ethical boundaries depend more on legality and transparency than personal judgment.

Patrick, CEO of VERIFYiQ and educator and co-founder of TB Academy, echoes the sentiment. “Is it legal, or is it not?” he asks. “That’s a pretty clear ethical line.”