BETTER USE OF ACCOUNTS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29240, 25 June 1960, Page 9

BETTER USE OF ACCOUNTS

'A * m ' w Am To Improve Farming 1 The use of farm accounts as an aid. to good management is an aspect of fanning as* a business that is often overlooked. At an accountancy seminar at Victoria University, Wellington, last year a committee was formed to. consider ways of making New Zealand farmers’ accounts of more direct assistance to farmers and their advisers. The committee, Includes senior representatives of Gbvernment departments directly .concerned with farmers, the New Zealand Meat and Wool Boards’ Economic- Service, and other agencies, 'as well as a strong representation of practising accountants The chairman, Mr W. G. Rodger, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce at Victoria University, says that the committee has made considerable progress towards creating an acceptable code of farm accounting terminology. The Department of Agriculture is particularly interested in this work and its chief advisory officer (farm economics), Mr R. H. Scott, is a member of the committee. The department considers that once farm accounts are prepared on a standard basis it will assist materially in the collection of data to build up standards of performance for particular types of farms on some of the main classes of land in the country. A comparison of individual farmers* accounts with the appropriate standards could be an aid to the farmer and to a farm advisory officer in pinpointing weaknesses in the farm enterprise. Public accountants could play a more positive role as a watch dog for their clients,, for they, too, could see some of the weaknesses in a farmer client’s business by a comparison. of his accounts with the standards. Consultations between farmer, accountant and farm advisory officer could be a help in overcoming some of these weaknesses.