Financial Reporting in Agriculture: In Need of A Reliable System

Farm managers and lenders are becoming increasingly aware of the need for thorough and accurate farm financial management.1 The current extended agricultural recession magnifies this need. Increased current loan losses and the increasing financial stress of farm operators have prompted lending institutions, government agencies and farmers to determine what has gone wrong in the area of farm financial management and, more importantly, to search out ways to reduce the frequency of farm business failure. The use of inadequate financial reporting systems is viewed as one source of the problem.     

How training and innovation link to farm performance: a structural equation analysis

The complexity of modern farm management places great demands on the skill, knowledge and capability of farm managers and their families. Keeping abreast of emerging technologies and innovations that can affect each key farm enterprise, and knowing how best to marshal the resources required for profitable farm production, are key tasks of farm management. This study draws on a longitudinal data set of 240 broadacre farmers to compare and analyse their farm performance over a decade. Using structural equation modelling, we examine relationships between the farm family's involvement in training, their human capital, their use of various innovations and ultimately the linkages of these factors to farm financial and productivity performance. Several statistically significant inter‐relationships are found, and some factors are shown to have significant positive links to farm performance. We find that training undertaken by the farm family, the farm family's human capital and their use of innovations, particularly key cropping innovations, have significant beneficial impacts on farm performance. The farmer's skills in time and organisational management, their engagement in business planning and the unique environmental characteristics of the farm also significantly and positively influence farm performance.     

水产行业财务管理存在的问题及对策

改革开放以来,水产行业在解决社会就业、增加国家财政收入、发展高新技术、支援国家经济建设等各方面发挥着越来越重要的作用,已经成为拉动我国经济增长的一个不可或缺的因素。但是,我国水产行业仍存在许多缺陷和不足,人员素质低、配置存在漏洞,财务报表失真、财务监督机制不严格健全,成本意识淡化、成本管理弱化,财务人员责权不对。为此,应建立正确的财务管理理念、建立完善的财务管理制度,加强外在监督、规范会计报表审计工作,增强管理人员专业技能、提高管理人员修养素质,提高水产行业财务管理水平。     

Financial Structure of Farm Businesses Under Imperfect Capital Markets

Recent finance studies have considered whether gaps between a firm's costs of internal and external sources of investment funds, arising from capital market imperfections, influence its investment behavior and funding preferences. This study tests the applicability of the pecking order and partial adjustment theories of financial structure to farm businesses by fitting a set of simultaneous financial equations with farm panel data from Illinois. Model results indicate that Illinois farms adjust to long-run financial targets for equity, debt, and leasing, but that additional financing needs follow a pecking order that is stronger for farms with greater asymmetric information problems.     

Financial analysis of intensive pine plantation establishment

We analyzed the financial impacts of intensive loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation establishment in the southern United States using projected growth data. Optimized management yielded positive net present values (NPVs) at all combinations of management intensity and discount rate except for the most intensive management at the highest discount rate. Cost-share payments for site preparation improved the performance of higher intensity treatments relative to lower intensity treatments, and yielded positive NPVs in all combinations of management intensity and discount rate. Landowners can choose among a suite of management intensities covering a wide range of capital commitments. Monetary returns may be improved by additional management actions, and by taking advantage of additional cost-share programs and tax benefits.     

Who Receives Farm Government Payments?

If we do not systematically attempt to collect data and assess distributional impacts, we shall always be surprised by the many unintended consequences of our public decisions. (Bonnen 1969, p. 447) Direct government payments to farmers have tripled in the last half of the 1980s. Market price support programs (for example, the Western Grain Transportation Act, among others) and supply management regulation continue to be topics of debate among policy analysts. Certainly the debate has become intensified by the discussions surrounding the Canada-U.S. Trade Agreement and the Uruguay Round of talks under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. When all census farms are distributed across gross sales classes, the “selected” programs included in this study tend to be more concentrated among the mid-sized farms than are aggregate gross sales. However, if one considers Prairie grain farms distributed across farm size classes measured in terms of grain acres, gross sales, net farm income (specifically, NCFIWF) and the net “benefits” of “selected” government programs are similarly concentrated. For example, Prairie farms with 320 to 599 acres of grain report 24% to 26% of each of these four items.²⁶ The “selected” programs included in this study tend to pay about the same size of payout per farm household, regardless of the size of household income. We obtain this result because farm size in terms of gross farm sales tends to be the same, regardless of the size of household total net income. Across the spectrum of farm financial stability classes, the net “benefit” of the “selected” programs in this study tend to be distributed similarly to gross farm sales. The results depend on exactly how one implements the classification but more than two thirds of gross sales and more than two thirds of net “benefits” of “selected” programs accrue to farms with a higher level of financial stability. Across the spectrum of rates of return on equity as an indicator of farm efficiency, about one third of gross sales and one third of net “benefits” of “ selected” programs accrue to farms with a rate of return on equity of 10% or more. The potential impact of deregulation of supply management depends on one‘ s assumption. Three scenarios are presented here and, in each case, both “winners” and “losers” are identified. Between 4% and 37% of households on farms with quota would move from above to below the Statistics Canada low-income cutoff (LICO), depending on the scenario under consideration. However, in each seen-ario, there are cases of households moving from below to above LICO as a result of our calculated impact of deregulating supply management. This paper takes its lead from Bonnen's observation about “unintended consequences.” We do not offer an “evaluation” of any government program. Our sole objective is to illustrate “distributional impacts” so that all individuals in the policy debate may speak from an informed perspective. This paper represents an initial step in developing an “informed perspective.” As the first note to this paper indicates, an important ancillary objective is to illustrate the potential of Statistics Canada databases to provide tabulations to answer specific Questions posed by researchers and policy analysts.     

Relationships between Technical Efficiency and Financial Management for Czech Republic Farms

This paper provides the first analysis of the relationship between farm financial structure and technical efficiency in Central and Eastern European farming during the transition to a market economy. First, technical efficiency scores for a sample of Czech farms are computed with data envelopment analysis, accounting for sampling variability by using the Simar and Wilson bootstrapping procedure. The confidence intervals show that corporate livestock farms are the most homogenous in terms of technical efficiency. Second, a Tobit model is applied for the investigation of factors, including financial considerations, which influence the variation in technical efficiency. The potential endogeneity of the financial variables in the explanation of efficiency is examined, following Smith and Blundell. The Amemiya estimator is used for those cases which are revealed as endogenous. The analysis indicates substantial differences in the way in which the different management structures are treated by lenders. De novo, individual farms are subject to stringent evaluation of their loan applications, which is not the case for the successors of the former collective and state farms.     

财务共享为基础的财务转型研究

以主营业务为煤炭销售的P公司建立财务共享中心的过程及现状为例,通过分析P公司在实现财务转型、建立财务共享中心后,产生的财务共享中心结构部门复杂、共享中心简单机械化,以及财务人员难以改变传统观念、无法适应共享中心等问题,提出企业应合理选择配置人员、制定不同的考核标准及奖励机制、积极促进业务财务融合,建立新型财务管理模式,以及财务人员应注重提高自身素养和综合能力,积极转变传统观念,充分发挥管理职能等优化途径。     

Assessing the Impact of Financial Incentives in Extension Programmes: Evidence From Ireland

We evaluate whether the effectiveness of a participatory extension programme changes when an incentive is introduced that financially rewards farmers for participation. Using data from a dairy farm extension programme operated in Ireland, the evaluation assesses whether farmers who joined before the financial incentive was introduced receive larger benefits from the extension programme than farmers who joined after the financial incentive. The results from a propensity score matching analysis reveal that farmers who joined before the incentive significantly improved their farm performance, as measured in gross margins and yields, while farmers who joined after the incentive did not significantly benefit from the extension programme. This implies that the incentive to participate is a windfall gain to these later participants.     

Thinking Styles and Financial Characteristics of Selected Canadian Farm Managers

The thinking styles of selected Canadian farm managers are identified using the life styles inventory (LSI). The farmers'LSI scores are compared with those of a base sample of nonfarmers, and correlations between the farmers'LSI scores and financial indicators are examined. Results indicate that farmers do thinking differently than nonfarmers and that there are significant correlations between thinking styles and financial measures.     

FINANCIAL CONTROL WITHIN COMMERCIAL FAMILY FARMS

Types of control are briefly reviewed. It is asserted that control problems are of growing importance in farm management. Opportunities for control in farming are identified. An outline is given of the necessary ingredients of a financial control system for farm management. By way of example, a test is made of a hypothesis about the nature of financial control among a sample of commercial farmers. Finally, problems of planning for control are briefly examined.     

浅谈财务管理的创新

文章从更新财务管理观念和转变财务管理思维两大方面 ,就财务管理的创新进行了论述。主要包括树立人本化、竞争和合作相统一、风险理财、信息理财等理财观念 ;无形资产管理、风险管理、人力资本管理、智力资本管理、服务价值管理等财务管理思维方式。     

浅析如何提升农业科研院所人事档案管理效能

[目的]家庭农场是实现农业现代化的重要主体,进一步研究粮食类家庭农场培育的影响因素并提出培育对策和建议,对于确保粮食安全和实现农民增收具有重要意义.[方法]文章以山东省齐河县、肥城市、寿光市、安丘市、即墨市、莱州市的粮食类家庭农场为研究对象,进行问卷调研,然后运用描述统计、均值分析、因子分析和回归分析等方法,分析粮食类家庭农场的经营现状及其成立和经营的影响因素.[结果]分别对应家庭农场成立和家庭农场经营等2个因变量,运用SPSS19.0软件进行线性回归分析,分析结果P值均为0.000,说明模型能够有效反映影响因素对家庭农场的成立存在显著的影响,有效反映影响因素对家庭农场的经营存在显著的影响;Durbin-Watson值分别为2.292、2.156,均介于1~3之间,说明回归模型残差独立,回归模型有效.[结论](1)社会化服务已经不再是培育家庭农场的障碍,农场主可以容易地获得生产资料、生产技术、生产过程服务,从劳务市场雇佣劳动者以及将农产品销售出去;(2)农场主和劳动雇工、资金及土地是培育家庭农场的主要影响因素;(3)产业带动对家庭农场的培育影响不显著;(4)基础设施对家庭农场的成立存在一定影响.     

强化财务管理提高企业经济效益

有效的财务管理是企业管理的重要组成部分，可以为企业带来较好的经济效益。从确立财务管理的中心地位、加强资金管理和成本管理、防范财务风险、全面提高财务人员素质等5个方面提出企业如何强化财务管理，提高经济效益。     

适应财政改革要求 强化预算及财务管理

近年来,我国先后实行了部门预算、政府采购等一系列财政体制改革措施,加强了财政监督,提高了资金使用效益,使财政在宏观调控中的作用得到更好地发挥。隶属于国土资源部的地质科研事业单位,应按照财政体制改革的要求加强预算及财务管理工作:一要统筹年度地质工作任务目标,做好年度预算编制工作;二要以项目管理为重点,严格项目预算执行;三要依法理财,做好财务管理和会计核算工作。文章最后针对加强预算及财务管理工作中存在的问题提出了若干建议。     

Policies for sustainable development in the hillside areas of Honduras: a quantitative livelihoods approach

In this article, we use data for 376 households, 1,066 parcels, and 2,143 plots located in 95 villages in the hillside areas in Honduras to generate information needed by decision makers to assess the needs and opportunities for public investments, and design policies that stimulate natural resource conservation. We develop a quantitative livelihood approach, using factor and cluster analysis to group households based on the use of their main assets. This resulted in seven household categories that pursue similar livelihood strategies. We use a multinomial logit model to show that livelihood strategies are determined by comparative advantages as reflected by a combination of biophysical and socioeconomic variables. While 92% of the rural hillsides population in Honduras lives on US$1.00/capita/day or less, households that follow a livelihood strategy based on basic grain farming are the poorest because they often live in isolated areas with relatively poor agro‐ecological and socioeconomic conditions. Opportunities for off‐farm work tend to be limited in these areas and household strategies that combine on‐farm work with off‐farm work earn higher incomes. Per capita incomes can be increased by improving road infrastructure, widening access to land, policies that reduce household size and dependency ratios, and adoption of sustainable land management technologies that restore soil fertility. We used probit models to show that the latter can be promoted by agricultural extension programs and land redistribution. Investments in physical assets should be directed toward households that pursue livelihood strategies based on off‐farm employment or coffee production, while agricultural training programs are best focused on livestock producers.     

浅析地勘单位财务管理变革

在地勘单位实行企业化经营过程中 ,财务管理工作的外部环境 ,财务管理目标、内容、风险等发生了重要变化。本文结合地勘单位的实际情况 ,分析了财务管理工作变革的原因 ,针对地勘单位改革发展的新要求 ,提出了改进财务管理工作的措施。     

Risk preference and optimal enterprise combinations in Kahuro division of Murang'a district, Kenya

Financing smallholder farming has been one of the major concerns of Kenya's agricultural development efforts. Many credit programs have evolved over the years but with dismal performance. In a study that sought to find the best way to finance smallholder agriculture, it became necessary to analyze and document, in the first place, the farmers' preferred enterprise patterns. Any financial innovations would hence address the preferred patterns. Of particular interest was the effect of risk preference on such patterns, which had been ignored in many previous farm management studies. Murang'a district was chosen as a typical smallholder district. Sample farmers, obtained through cluster sampling, were visited and structured questionnaires administered to cover farm events and physical resources of short rains 1995 to long rains 1996. This formed a basis for formulating the farm patterns. A quadratic programming model was used to analyze observed farm plans. The model incorporates farmers' risk preferences, revenue fluctuations, and resource and subsistence restrictions. The results showed that: (1) changes in risk preference do affect the optimal crop combinations; (2) the typical cropping pattern is rational as the farmer meets both food and cash under modest variability of income; (3) insisting on producing most subsistence food requirements by the farmers reduces efficiency and limits the feasible plans.     

地勘单位精细化财务管理初探

地勘单位的财务管理中存在对精细化财务管理的重要性认识不足、营运资金管理水平、成本费用核算水平不高、预算的编制和管理不到位、财务人力资源作用发挥不充分等问题。因此地勘单位必须通过转变财务管理理念、提高资金营运效率,强化成本核算的精细化程度、加强地质项目核算和控制、细化财务岗位设置和分工、推行全面预算管理等具体的精细化财务管理的措施来加强和改进地勘单位的财务管理工作。