Management Accounting – Its Needed!
Dick Wittman of Wittman Consulting was one of the speakers last week at the AICPA Ag Conference. He spoke on both the need for management accounting in farm operations and then how to help farm families transition from one generation to the next and the need to appropriate communication.
This communication is not just verbal feedback, but the practice of putting your mission, goals and other items into writing. If it is not in writing, it most likely will not get done, or at least, not get done right.
Dick has taught for over ten years at TEPAP and he shared with us that the top farmers in the US are still not using accrual accounting in their farm operations. He shared that without the use of accrual accounting it is difficult to determine how much farm really makes in a year or to determine the amount of potential deferred tax liability there is. We have shared this same message in many other posts, but it is always good to hear this from others, especially from a consultant that also runs a 19,000 acre farm operation.
For those that are interested in learning more about farm management accounting, Dick in conjunction with Texas A&M is putting on a two-day management accounting class in Chicago on July 7 & 8. This would be a great introduction to management accounting and if you are interested, the syllabus information is available at Dick’s website or at the Texas A & M website.
Paul Neiffer, CPA
Paul Neiffer is a certified public accountant and business advisor specializing in income taxation, accounting services, and succession planning for farmers and agribusiness processors. Paul is a principal with CliftonLarsonAllen in Walla Walla, Washington, as well as a regular speaker at national conferences and contributor at agweb.com. Raised on a farm in central Washington, he has been immersed in the ag industry his entire life, including the last 30 years professionally. Paul and his wife purchase an 180 acre ranch in 2016 and enjoy keeping it full of animals.
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