FARM ACCOUNTS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 165, 27 May 1940, Page 6

FARM ACCOUNTS

MUST BE PROPERLY KEPT TRUE RECORDS NEEDED In addressing the members of the Hauraki Young Farmers' Club held at Netherton last week, Mr K. ! C. Niblock drew the attention of those present to the fact that farming •was as much a business as any other profession or calling and thus required as much attention as anjy other business from an accounting point of view. He outlined a simple system of recording and analysing all income and expenditure and pointed out that the value of. such analysis was: (1) It enabled the farmer to ascertain his loss or profit on each .source of income. (2) The details for taxation purposes were readily accessible and accurate. (3) The farmer at all times knew liis cash position and thus could enter into future commitments 'with a sense of security. (4) He had at all times a record of his production, and the cost of obtaining such production for future reference. Mr Niblock added that the experience of the adjustment courts had sliown that very few farmers had kept accurate records and therefore could not tell what their costs of production were. He pointed out that the value of land from a farming point of view "was what it would produce and if no accurate rccords were kept how j could the value of the land be ascertained. If, he emphasised, the waste that occurs in plant andi machinery because its value was never recorded the farming community -would always be in debt for new plant, while if they had proper records they would know whether iti could be afforded or not. He asked his listeners if they knew what "rising costs" meant. Palmers, he said, were always saying their returns were not sufficient to meet costs, but how did they know .if accurate records were not kept? It might be due to buying stock too dearly or even to the price j they had paid for their land. j In conclusion he asked the young | farmer? to farm scientifically and to do this they must know the detail of their income and expenditure and thus it was in their interests to keep accurate records.