| Successful farm accountants wholeheartedly | | | | Whether estate taxes, federal and/or state inheritance |
| embrace farm accounting software because it makes | | | | taxes etc. are part of the equation or not - cash is still |
| them and their clients more effective. When someone, | | | | going to be required when one of the principles of the |
| the farmer, the accountant, or their bookkeepers input | | | | farm dies. There must be enough money, without |
| the correct information correctly into the farm | | | | bankrupting the farm, to buy out the heirs of a |
| accounting software - something a cave man can be | | | | deceased partner so the farm can go on and so their |
| trained to do, the output is accurate and provides the | | | | family gets a fair return for their life's work. |
| farm accountant with the information they need to do | | | | Successful farm accountants will recognize when it is |
| their most important job. | | | | necessary to reorganize the farm in order to shift |
| Filing taxes, creating P&L statements, doing the | | | | some of the farm's growing value to the next |
| work up for audited balance sheets and all the | | | | generation before the farm gets too big for one or the |
| compliance work farm accountants do - well those | | | | other partner to buy. |
| are tasks. Their job is to provide their clients with | | | | And the successful farm accountant has contacts |
| insights, strategies, and support from their perspective | | | | they trust - so the farmer can trust them too, who |
| as both an accountant and as a confidant. | | | | have extensive experience in matters of estate |
| A typical farm accountant keeps track of the money, | | | | planning, succession strategies, management transfer |
| files the various reports with the various agencies and | | | | etc. And it is their job to insist that the farmer talks to |
| entities the farmer is involved with. A typical farm | | | | these specialists! |
| accountant spends a large percentage of their time in | | | | Every farmer, even if he or she does plans to live |
| compliance - defense and putting out fires. | | | | forever, must have an exit strategy. Successful farm |
| Successful farm accountants, the type of advisor | | | | accountants are key advisors who help the farmer |
| every successful farmer should be looking for uses | | | | understand how much money they will need to live on, |
| compliance as it was intended, to report on what has | | | | how many dollars from the gross revenues of the |
| happened - and they use farm accounting software to | | | | farm that will take, and where will the money come |
| reduce the amount of time it takes, while remaining as | | | | from. They can help the farmer select assets that can |
| accurate as it is possible to be. | | | | be liquidated today - with some of the proceeds set |
| Successful farm accountants focus their efforts on | | | | aside for retirement and the rest used to replace the |
| the offence - doing the planning, directly or indirectly, in | | | | land (for example) that was sold. |
| advance that will make the next round of reporting | | | | Successful farm accountants know the importance of |
| more favorable than the last and the next even more | | | | making decisions regarding money, sooner rather than |
| so and so on and so on. | | | | later - so less interest is paid and the farmer has |
| A successful farm accountant is above all an | | | | longer to benefit from compound interest! |
| advocate and advisor to their clients. They know, for | | | | These are but of few examples of ways successful |
| example that when two or more brothers/cousins etc. | | | | farm accountants spend their time for the benefit of |
| work together - that there will be issues. | | | | their clients. Whenever they can harness the power of |
| Invariably those issues involve money. And since one | | | | farm accounting software to crunch the numbers, |
| brother can't pick up and leave - taking his land with | | | | giving them accurate information sooner, rather than |
| him, and move to the other end of the county and | | | | later - they will jump at it. |
| start over, the successful accountant will help them | | | | If your farm accountant says that they "don't believe in |
| discuss creative ways to handle the money issues so | | | | farm accounting software" or something silly like that - |
| the whole farm doesn't sink because of a conflict | | | | you need to find a new one. This person is not ever |
| about dollars. The accountant is ever vigilant, on the | | | | going to be a successful farm accountant for you. For |
| look out for any hanky panky with the farm's property | | | | them, maybe, since they are padding their bill - but for |
| and resources too. | | | | you, I don't think so. |