[ad_1]
Aid Bailey, A Top 25 Accounting firm, and My friendsA Minneapolis-based company that provides farm management software is joining forces to combine improving farm data and making effective economic decisions.
Scott Schmidt, vice president of business development and partnerships at Conservis, and Steve Troyer, a partner at Aid Bailey Ag Producers, have been talking informally about a partnership for more than a year and a half. The two groups had many customers in common, and they chose each other for their expertise in helping farmers.
“We have very similar cultures, and we have very similar goals,” Troyer said. “We tested Conservis over a period of six months before deciding that it was the best among other farm management information systems for our customers.”
The goal was to combine the strengths of the two organizations to bridge the gap between digital farm data and financial insights. Conservis is providing customers with real-time farm data on their operations, such as yield per crop, and Aid Bailey aims to transform its FMIS system into financial information, helping customers analyze, interpret data and make the best financial decisions.
“We believe that partnering with an organization like Eid Bailey will help create more value,” Schmidt said. I think they instinctively know that the true value of production is not just what goes on the ground. A combination of data and advice from financial experts. CPAs help increase knowledge and make better decisions.
However, producers don’t always tell their CPAs that they have a farm management system, and Schmidt says it’s incumbent on financial advisors to ask questions and share options with their clients. He said opportunities like this partnership allow CPAs and their clients to move from an annual, transactional relationship to an annual consulting partnership and complete financial reviews.
“Farmers in the United States are, to me, the best commodity producers in the world,” Troyer said. “They understand the technology, and they understand what to do. They help other third parties, like CPA firms, take that data to help them create value and make financial decisions.”
Troyer said clients are looking for someone who can help them with their operations, not just someone who understands their tax liability. Things were different three generations ago, and what he calls “lifestyle farmers” were in the industry to follow in their family’s footsteps. When they simply wanted to buy a product, they sold goods and did not necessarily need the services of accountants.
However, most owners now consider farming as a business and are looking at ways to make a profit while spending less money. In turn, Eid Bailey’s goal is to make data more profitable and optimize the use of their dollars. Currently, 15% of the company’s clients are in the agricultural sector, and the group has been operating for more than a century.
“The accounting industry is looking to diversify and generate new revenue streams and expand their offerings into consulting and back office services,” Schmidt said. “The opportunity, the data and the information are now there. The need is there, and farms are asking. So there is this opportunity for CPA companies to come in and there is this combination between the evolution of accounting and the evolution of agriculture. .”
[ad_2]
Source link
