Marko Glisic, CPA, is a Partner at GreenGrowth CPAs and a thought leader in cannabis accounting and AI automation for professional services. Originally from Serbia, Marko earned his B.A. in Business Economics from UCLA in 2010 and spent eight years at Deloitte & Touche LLP, rising to Audit Senior Manager. In 2018, he pivoted to the emerging cannabis industry, helping build GreenGrowth CPAs into a leading national accounting firm that serves both publicly traded and privately held cannabis companies. Marko has led the creation of over 222 educational videos, which have garnered 600,000+ views, and has authored more than 500 articles, reaching 30,000+ readers weekly. He’s currently developing AI solutions to revolutionize audit processes and documentation. A former UCLA volleyball player and karate brown belt, Marko applies the discipline and teamwork from sports to building international accounting teams and scaling professional services firms.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My day usually starts early, and I’ve developed the habit of regularly auditing my own time, which I likely picked up during my Deloitte days. I’ll literally go back and review what I’ve been spending my time on over the past week or two, then ask myself. Who else could be doing this instead of me?
I spend my mornings on strategic work, whether that involves developing our AI, reviewing acquisition targets, or engaging in in-depth conversations with clients about their business models. Afternoons are typically reserved for team meetings with our international offices in Serbia and Argentina, as well as client calls. I make it productive by having evident boundaries around what only I can do versus what my team can handle. If I’m performing tasks that a staff accountant could handle, that’s a problem.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I’m very systematic about it, honestly. Whether it’s developing new AI solutions for auditing or expanding into new markets, I always start by mapping out the entire process step by step, almost like doing a value chain analysis in consulting. For our AI initiatives, we meticulously document every single audit procedure, identify the most time-consuming tasks, and determine where automation can have the most significant impact. Then we test it with real client data; since we have that advantage over VC-backed startups, we can actually validate our solutions in real-world scenarios. The key is building the right team and having good processes. I learned at Deloitte that you need strong systems and documentation, but you also need to trust people and delegate. You can’t scale ideas if you’re trying to do everything yourself.
What’s one trend that excites you?
AI in professional services, but not for the reasons most people think. Everyone’s worried AI will replace accountants, but I see it as freeing us up to do what we should have been doing all along, actually understanding our clients’ businesses.
Currently, auditors spend 90% of their time on documentation and only 10% on actually learning about the client. That’s completely the opposite of how it was before 2000. AI can flip that ratio back. Imagine having smart goggles that record and transcribe your audit procedures as you do them, or AI that can analyze bank statements to verify their authenticity.
The exciting part isn’t just efficiency, but it’s that we’ll have better quality audits and more meaningful client relationships. Young people entering the accounting field want to meet with CFOs and understand how businesses operate, rather than spending their time in a room producing documentation.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Time auditing. I regularly review where I’m spending my time, write it down, and then consider who else could be handling each task. It’s like doing an audit on yourself.
There’s a strong emotional component to productivity that people often overlook. You must overcome the need to control every aspect of your business. Many business owners become so emotionally invested that they struggle to trust anyone else to handle tasks. However, if you want to scale, you must build that trust and put effective supervision systems in place.
Sports also helped me with this. Volleyball taught me that being in sync with a team is more important than any individual performance.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Leave Deloitte earlier! I probably stayed two or three years too long. I wasn’t really aligned with the culture and mission anymore, and people sense when you’re not on board at that deeper level.
Also, don’t be afraid to let people go when it’s not working. I used to think about business like a family, but Netflix has it right. It’s a sports team. While we work together, we create great things, but need change. You may no longer need a strong point guard; you may need someone who can post up. That’s okay.
Another key consideration is to start building international teams earlier. There’s so much talent globally, and it’s not just about cost; it’s about finding people who are genuinely excited about the work.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
The cannabis industry is going to look completely different in five years, and most people are preparing for the wrong future. Everyone’s focused on current state regulations and limited licensing, but once banking opens up and 280E gets repealed, you’re going to see massive consolidation.
Indoor cultivation in places like downtown Los Angeles or New York makes little sense in the long term. How are they going to compete with someone growing in Kentucky or Oklahoma, where real estate, electricity, and labor are cheaper? Cannabis will probably end up like the liquor industry, with cultivation concentrated in certain areas, retail everywhere.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Get out of the details and take that step back to look at the forest, not just the trees. You can only do this if you build your business as a business, not as a job.
People regularly audit their organization and compare it to other industries. If you were running a software company, you’d have marketing, sales, customer support, and accounting as distinct departments. Most CPA firms don’t think this way. They just have “people who do the work.”
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I go back to time auditing. Usually, when I’m overwhelmed, it’s because I’m doing work that should be delegated to someone else. I’ll map out everything I did in the past week and ask: what tasks should someone else be handling?
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Building international teams and focusing on niche expertise simultaneously. When we started focusing on cannabis, there was huge demand and very few qualified professionals willing to work in the space. We could bring Big Four expertise to an underserved market.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
There was a period when I just wasn’t aligned with the culture and mission anymore. During the busy season, I’d work crazy hours, but as soon as it was over, I’d feel depressed and empty. I wasn’t really on board with what we were doing.
I overcame it by finally recognizing that if you’re not aligned with an organization’s mission and culture, there’s no way you’ll succeed long term. People sense when you’re out of sync, especially in close working relationships.
The lesson is that you have to be honest with yourself about fit. It’s not just about the technical skills or even the compensation; if you don’t believe in what you’re doing, you’ll never perform at your best. And that’s not fair to you or your teammates.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Build a “talent arbitrage” platform that connects US CPA firms with vetted international accounting professionals from countries like Serbia, Argentina, and Eastern Europe, handling all the legal, payroll, and cultural training complexity. There’s a massive disconnect where US firms desperately need qualified staff, while talented accountants abroad would love to work with American companies. However, most small firms lack the bandwidth to handle international hiring themselves. I apply this concept to our teams in Serbia and Argentina, but if someone were to create a turn-key marketplace where firms could access qualified professionals within two weeks, it would solve the talent shortage while creating amazing opportunities globally.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Scribe for documenting processes. It’s incredible for creating SOPs because it records your screen as you perform tasks and automatically generates step-by-step documentation.
This is crucial for scaling because you can’t delegate effectively without good documentation. If someone leaves and their processes are not documented, you’re left to redo their work.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Honestly, a subscription to some AI tools we’re testing for our audit automation. I know that sounds boring, but the potential impact is enormous.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
“The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber completely changed how I think about business. The core idea is that most business owners are technicians, not entrepreneurs. They know how to do the work, but not how to build a business that works without them.
This book taught me to think systematically about roles and processes. Instead of being the best CPA who does everything myself, I needed to build systems that allow other people to deliver the same quality results.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I just finished “Succession” and it’s incredible how well it captures family business dynamics, even though it’s obviously an extreme version. There are many moments when you see how personal relationships and business decisions become entangled in ways that ultimately harm everyone.
Key learnings
- Master time auditing as a core habit – Regularly review where you spend your time and ask “who else could be doing this instead of me?” to systematically delegate and scale beyond doing all the work yourself.
- Build systems and documentation, not just expertise – Create processes that allow others to deliver quality results without you by documenting procedures and working on your business rather than in it.
- Alignment with mission and culture is non-negotiable – If you’re not genuinely invested in what you’re doing, people will sense it and you’ll never perform at your best, making it better to change than stay misaligned.
- Leverage global talent strategically – Building international teams isn’t just about cost savings but accessing genuinely excited talent while creating competitive advantages through connecting skilled professionals globally.
- Embrace AI as an enabler, not a threat – Rather than fearing automation, see it as freeing professionals to do higher-value work like understanding businesses and building relationships instead of spending time on documentation.