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agMIS ....farm Management Accounting (MA) in MIS mode

Three MA tools
every farm can use:
Managing cash
Managing production
Managing resources

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All content copyright 1998-2010
T. Murphy Associates
Last updated: January 6, 2010

Welcome to the website about farm productivity management.

Our mission and policy: To provide financial management tools for agriculture equal in quality, power and usefulness to those used in other industries, in a manner and form most useful to the greatest number of farm users.

We continue to strive for business systems in agriculture that compare with those of other industries, and are encouraged by attention given to management accounting (MA) and management information systems (MIS) in Management Accounting Guidelines for Agricultural Producers (Farm Financial Standards Council, December, 2006).

Following the table below are listed 3 tasks farmers and ranchers must still overcome, on the journey to management systems equality with others.

Click on the topics in the sidebar at left, for MIS explanations and how the agMIS system is designed and built to help achieve that equality.

Let's begin below, by recalling some 'farm accounting' history

Before computers	Successful farmers and ranchers invented their own methods to help decide what to spend and produce, when to expand and trade equipment, and the like. Cash and tax records typically were hand-posted ledgers.
1980-1996	Small computers arrived early this period, along with a farm credit crunch. With never an explanation, "absence of family general ledgers" got the blame for causing farm woes. And adopting them was supposed to be the solution - still with no explanation.
1996	This was the year the Farm Financial Standards Council published *Financial Guidelines for Agricultural Producers* (FFSC, December 1996), in response to 1980's farm problems. A key element was its 'sweet 16' ratios, explained with illustrations of how to estimate a farm's 'accrued income', using a cash-basis tax report and a market-value balance sheet.
2006	After more study, the Farm Financial Standards Council expanded its earlier efforts and published *Management Accounting Guidelines for Agricultural Producers* (FFSC, December 2006). Its focus is cost accounting and illustrates a method using a general ledger accounting program, but cautions against its adoption or use by non-accountants.

What lies ahead for agriculture?

As ag accounting migrates to MA and MIS and equality with others, it still has 3 hurdles to conquer:

It has to discover that 'management accounting' is not an add-on to other accounting. more....
It has to discover that management accounting's purpose is 'cost management'. more....
And it has to discover that neither 'management accounting' nor 'cost accounting', are general ledger ('double-entry') accounting functions. more....

How long will that take? We remain committed to enhancing the process, and toward that end, are designating a portion of this website to pass on information we believe others can use. more....

Note: Terms and definitions used here can be found in the textbook* used currently in under-graduate and post-graduate management accounting studies at University of Nebraska (Lincoln) - College of Business. *Blocher, E. J., Stout, David E., Cokins, Gary, and Chen, Kung H., Cost Management - A Strategic Emphasis, Fourth edition, The McGraw-Hill Companies 2008, 902 pages.