Appointed in 2021, Michael Rountree is the Chief Executive Officer of Eco Science Solutions, Inc. (ESSI), a vertically integrated provider of consumer and enterprise technology products and services focused on accounting solutions that are supported with predictive data analytics.
Michael is a Certified Public Accountant with experience in the public and private sector, possessing over 30 years of accounting, business finance, and business governance experience. He has worked with government agencies, privately-held businesses, and Fortune 500 companies to help them successfully navigate and solve complex business and financial issues.
Michael has been instrumental in leading ESSI’s go-to-market and commercialization efforts of its groundbreaking Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform, with an initial launch into the cannabis industry via the Herbo brand, with other industries to follow.
His extensive experience and network in the cannabis industry have been invaluable to ESSI, assisting to identify the unique business needs of cannabis companies. This includes an emphasis on accurately and efficiently managing inventories while ensuring accounting, compliance, and financial reporting follows a specific methodology to successfully mitigate the unique financial impact imposed by the federal government’s IRS tax code 280E.
In addition, Michael’s familiarity with government financial agencies has been essential to ESSI in developing their proprietary technology, creating a solution to assist states from losing tremendous amounts of money from the cannabis industry due to a lack of regulation, monitoring, and enforcement.
His past and vast resume has created a large pathway for current pursuits and future endeavors. Michael has performed in-depth forensic analyses and the track-and-trace of monies to support the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI with RICO and conspiracy investigations and aided the State of California with their largest insurance S.I. tax fraud case.
His expansive financial journey also includes “Big Four” global accounting firms, Deloitte & Touche and Price Waterhouse, where he supported Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies working on multi-state and financial accounting engagements.
Prior to joining ESSI, Michael founded Rountree Consulting in 1996, providing strategy and business consulting services focused on assisting clients in growing revenues while optimizing business operational performance to maximize profits.
Rountree Consulting initially focused solely on financial and tax advisory services, however, Michael quickly established himself as a trusted tax and forensic accounting leader. His clients quickly began to view him as a trusted advisor as opposed to just a transactional vendor.
His skills to quickly assess, identify, and develop risk-mitigating recommendations to solve root issues have led many of Michael’s clients to request he advise them on broader strategic and business growth needs. Thus, Rountree Consulting expanded its service offerings to strategy and business consulting whereby Michael has held strategic roles for family offices and sits on many of his client’s Boards of Directors.
Michael holds a BS degree with an emphasis in Accountancy from C.S.U Long Beach and a Masters in Business Taxation from the Leventhal School of Accounting at the University Southern of California.
When Mike is not helping individuals, businesses, and the government thrive, he is an outdoor enthusiast that finds peace in nature’s surroundings.