CROPSHOP.2004 SEMINAR
"We thought each session was real informative and liked the way you presented them. The manual that you supplied to follow the Powerpoint presentation has been a real good tool. When we got home we have gone back to that for reference. We feel that FBS is the premier software for agriculture and look forward to using the new technology."
Dave Lepley
Bellevue, Ohio
Nearly a year ago we premiered the first seminar of its kind—CROPSHOP—through
which a select group of FBS's top clients encountered a whole new level
of accounting and analysis. Dave Lepley and his brother, Craig
were so enthused that they immediately began putting these guidelines
and supporting technology to work in their operation.
CROPSHOP.2004 will help you reach
for the top and raise your bottom line. Held again in Louisville,
Kentucky on February 10th, this intensive seminar will build on the concepts
introduced last year through case studies from the field. In
addition to our review and reinforcement of proven accounting practices
and emerging standards, we'll be presenting some all-new technologies,
including the SummitPlus! spatial system for budgeting, planning,
purchasing and farm management. You'll also have plenty of
time to visit with other innovative growers from around the country and
be challenged by the retired, but energetic, Dr. Howard Doster who will
help us synthesize technology, accounting and economics into opportunities
and strategies.
CROPSHOP is the only seminar that raises
your sights to the level necessary to really see the future—and know
how to prepare for it. It only happens once a year.
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| Join Purdue's "Top Farmer" champion, Dr. Howard Doster… |
… and fellow producers committed to managerial excellence and continuous improvement as you… |
…learn from experts like SST founder, David Waits. |
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INTRODUCING
PIGWINGS–ON–THE–FLY WINDOWS REPORTS FOR PIGCHAMP
"That
is really cool!" was the reaction from a leading Minnesota pork producer
after watching a demo of PigWINGS. If you're currently
using PigCHAMP 4 (DOS), you won't believe what PigWINGS
can do!
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Generates
25 Windows reports directly from your PigCHAMP data |
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Includes
a powerful report generator |
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Allows
drill-down to detail, sorting, graphing, Windows printer support
and quick export to spreadsheets |
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No
data conversion or loss of current PigCHAMP functionality |
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Supports
network and multi-farm options |
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It's
currently free (one farm until June 30, 2004) |
What do you have to
lose? Call 800.437.7638 for a free demo or download
a free demo or read
the product sheet (requires ACROBAT PDF Reader).
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OLD
WORLD-NEW WORLD FINANCIAL REPORTING—8 CONFLICTNG INFORMATION GOALS
Last
month we began a series on financial reporting in agriculture by looking
at three general ways farmers produce financial statements (cash-basis
accounting/"black box" analysis, cash-basis accounting/"user-supplied"
data and accrual/managerial accounting). Before moving into more depth
with the financial reporting process, let's examine all the reporting
requirements that operations sooner or later encounter. In fact, we've
identified eight coexisting, and often conflicting information goals in
farm records:
| 1. |
Cash
accounting is necessary for cash-basis tax returns, cash flow
budgets, and bank account reconciliation. Revenue and
expenses are recognized when cash is exchanged. |
| 2. |
Accrual
accounting (which provides the basis for most external financial
statements) matches costs, revenue, and profits to the appropriate
time period, in compliance with generally accepted accounting
principles. In order to generate accrual information, producers
who still rely on cash accounting must: |
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(a) |
maintain
two sets of books, |
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(b) |
operate
an accounting system that can maintain concurrent cash and accrual
balances, or |
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(c) |
utilize
the Farm Financial Standard's adjusted accrual system to convert
cash revenue and expenses to accrual. |
| 3. |
Inventory
valuation is affected by both accounting (purchases, sales and
cost allocations) and production (physical field and feedlot)
events. This process is further complicated by: |
| |
(a) |
dual
quantities (head, hundredweight; ton, pound; ration, ingredient)
in one or both systems, |
| |
(b) |
multiple
valuation methods (cost, market, tax basis) and |
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(c) |
determining
which source—accounting or production—is "right"
when inventories don't reconcile. |
| 4. |
Production
systems, when compared with accounting systems, tend to be less
structured (groups of animals and crop production rarely coincide with fiscal periods)
and are more tolerant of changes in "closed" months. Typically,
accountants will insist on writing off inventory variances in
a current or future period, while production specialists will
want to go back and fix the original error to avoid distorting
performance data. |
| 5. |
Managerial
Accounting goes a step beyond accrual accounting by matching
costs and revenues to specific cost centers, profit centers, locations,
groups of animals or field projects. While managerial
accounting is utilized primarily for internal use within a firm,
it can also be used to value inventories for financial accounting. |
| 6. |
Ownership
accounting deals with the separation or consolidation of entities
(either formal tax entities, informal partnerships, landlords,
family living components, or internal management units (Pork,
Beef, Crops) that share ownership of livestock and/or crop operations. |
| 7. |
Budgeting
involves access to and consolidation of: |
| |
(a) |
production
plans, |
| |
(b) |
current
inventories, |
| |
(c) |
financing
assumptions, |
| |
(d) |
production
stage cost histories, and |
| |
(e) |
current
accounting and production data for monitoring. |
| 8. |
Benchmarking
requires the contribution of data from all of the above sources
in a reliable and consistent format, and can be used internally
(within an operation) or externally (between operations). |
We first isolated
and began addressing these conflicting goals nearly twenty years ago. Since
then, the levels of complexity and sophistication in agriculture have
expanded geometrically. Fortunately, information technology
and our ability to apply it to the real world have also made great strides. Be
prepared to "unlearn" some of your most comfortable financial reporting
habits as we move further into the "Financial New World" in the months
ahead.
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IT'S
THAT 'SPECIALS' TIME OF YEAR, FOLKS. AND WITH SAVINGS THIS BIG ON MULTIPLE-MODULE
BUYS, THE WORD ISN'T INTEGRATE – IT'S INTEGREATLY!
For a limited time—choose
from two outstanding offers, each dispelling notions of price being
a barrier to investing in ag's leading integrated management information
system.
SPECIAL
NO. 1: Buy
one program, get a second at HALF PRICE; buy two, get a third program
FREE! Save up to $1,200. Earn 60 days of free
support.
Buy any FBS program listed on our offer
page and you can get a second one of equal or lesser value at 50%
OFF. Or, buy two programs and you'll get a third one of equal
or lesser value absolutely FREE. A great opportunity to get
started with your integrated MIS!
SPECIAL
NO. 2: Buy
the complete e.CLIPSE
management information system. Save $1,390. Get a FREE HP
iPAQ Pocket PC. Two
days of on-site training are included in the package. (Free SST Stratus
software is also included with crops version.) This is our
first special on e.CLIPSE and
one that hands you a turnkey integrated MIS at unprecedented savings.
For full particulars on both specials, including
details on individual programs, features and benefits, call 800.437.7638. Since
these are time-limited offers, don't wait until it is too late!
Free
iPAQ PC and big dollar savings too!
|
SOFTWARE Q&A
– WITH Q'S FROM YOU, OUR CLIENTS!
Send us
your questions/problems–be they short, long, simple or downright
frustratin'!–about SeRVware
and we'll handle them right "on the air" for the benefit of all.
|
Q.
|
How do I start a new year in FBS?
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| a.
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On the opening screen of the program choose to open the program for the 2004 year. You will be asked to start a new file for the year 2004 and create beginning balances for the year. After you have started 2004, you can still go back into 2003 and make or edit entries. Then when you return to the 2004 you must go to Utilities and Create Beginning Balances to bring your changes in 2003 into your 2004 general ledger.
Year-end reminder: New in version 7.5 is the ability
to have the program calculate the retained earnings from
the previous year and post to the new year.
| 1. |
Go
to Setup, Accounting, General Information
and choose the account to which you want to post
retained earnings. |
| 2. |
After
you have rolled into the new year go to Input,
General, and under Accounting Input double
left click on Calculate Retained Earnings: Confirm
the Retained Earnings Account and choose the first
month of your fiscal year. Then click
on Calculate. To see the entry
or entries posted, choose Change/Delete and
Search. Set the Date Range for
1/1/2004 to 1/1/2004 and choose the ledger account
to which retained earnings were posted. There
may be more than one entry as it brings over net
income by division. The total of the
entries will be the net income for the previous
year and can be verified by running an Income Statement
for the previous year. |
Call in your questions (800.437.7638) or e-mail them
to support@fbssystems.com.
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CLIENT'S CORNER
In
the NEWS!
The
Associated Press news service finally did a positive story
on pork production, featuring Indiana producer Mark Legan. According
to the report, Legan's business "exemplifies how modern pork producers
can balance responsible farming and smart business." A
former extension agent and past president of the Indiana Pork
Producers, Legan exemplifies what it means to be a good steward
and a good neighbor. His mission statement pledges
the farm will "emphasize environmental awareness, food safety,
community values, family and employee wellness."
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sales@fbssystems.com
800.437.7638
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