Rural accountants milk on-farm technologies

New Zealand rural accountants are moving beyond just doing “the books” and are now advising farmers on how technology can help run their businesses, says online accounting software provider MYOB.

It is no secret Kiwi farmers are facing pressure to improve the efficiencies of their rural businesses, and mobile and online technology is part of the answer, especially with increasing importance of on-farm automation.

MYOB New Zealand general manager Carolyn Luey says this is having big impacts on the accounting profession.

“The growing prevalence of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and mobility improvements are driving huge on-farm improvements. We’re incorporating these tech trends into our cloud accounting and practice management software to give farmers and their advisors deeper insights and more control over their operations.

“Farmers want easy-to-use solutions that capture information quickly and easily. They want to collaborate with their teams, suppliers and advisers in real-time to help drive profitability.”

Ms Luey says the emergence of cloud-based accounting software, such as MYOB Essentials, has removed a lot of the basic bookkeeping work, so accountants are now using this technology to do more analysis into what the numbers mean for their clients.

"Technology doesn't do everything; you need a human being to provide judgement and analysis. Accountants are now focusing on critical thinking and problem solving."

Nick Hoogeveen, of Nick Hoogeveen and Associates in Paeroa, says his business is in a better position than many rural firms because he’s mindful of the technological shifts on farms. 

“We’ve changed a lot in the past few years to provide our farming clients all-round business advice rather than just GST compliance and EOFY reporting.”

Mr Hoogeveen says he’s positioned his accounting firm as a “virtual CFO”, offering in-depth and tailored advice to small-to-medium sized enterprises.

The Waikato-based practice provides management reports and updates on how their clients' businesses are tracking and what they should do to improve their business outcomes. 

“We place ourselves as business advisers rather than just the end-of-year ‘taxman’.

“It’s all about giving our rural clients better insights into their operations and future-proofing our profession,” says Mr Hoogeveen.

Farmers William and Kylie Brunt in the Hauraki Plains are seeing first-hand the benefits technologies can provide on-farm in terms of increasing efficiency, productivity and sustainability.

The Turua couple say they can now run much of their 420-cow farm from their mobile devices.

“We can access our key milk production and quality information and receive important business updates all from our mobile device, which is particularly useful given the nature of farming means we’re often away from our computers.”

“Having real-time information on-the-go means we can make decisions faster than we have before, making it easier for us to run our business,” says Mr Brunt.

Ms Luey says these changes in technology offer an exciting outlook for the accounting industry so long as technology providers, like MYOB, continue to evolve.

“New Zealand has always been a great place to farm, but we can only stay ahead of the game by ensuring our farmers have the latest accounting solutions to help them be more productive.”

Ms Luey says MYOB is in the process of combining relevant parts of its respective software solutions to provide rural customers and partners with a range of easy-to-use and cost-effective online tools that offer better insights into their operations.

“We’re exploring new ways of linking up farmers and their advisors by combining accounting information, banking transactions and on-farm data to drive more efficiencies and productivity.

“These days farming is truly a technology business,” says Ms Luey.

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For further comment or other information please contact:

Luke Chivers, MYOB NZ PR Consultant

P: 09 925 3505 / M: 027 569 8907 / E: luke.chivers@myob.com

About MYOB

MYOB Group Ltd (ASX: MYO) is a leading cloud based business management solutions provider. It makes business life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses across Australia and New Zealand by simplifying accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, job costing, inventory and more. MYOB provides ongoing support via many client service channels including a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. It is committed to ongoing innovation, particularly in cloud computing solutions, and in 2015 was awarded the BRW award for the most innovative large company for 500+ employees and placed 2nd in BRW’s Most Innovative Companies Award list across all categories nationally. For more information, visit http://investors.myob.com.au/Investors or follow @MYOB on Twitter. 

Nick Hoogeveen, of Nick Hoogeveen and Associates in Paeroa, says his business is in a better position than many rural firms because he’s mindful of the technological shifts on farms.

Farmers William and Kylie Brunt in the Hauraki Plains are seeing first-hand the benefits technologies can provide on-farm in terms of increasing efficiency, productivity and sustainability.

The Turua couple say they can now run much of their 420-cow farm from their mobile devices.

Farmers say having real-time information on-the-go means they can make decisions faster than they have before, making it easier for them to run their businesses.