By Tim Findlay, CPA

The move from the Australia Bankers Association to insist their members halt their reliance on accountants’ letters is not only a relief for the accounting profession but an opportunity for farmers and agribusiness operators to improve the way the approach performance.

It must be said, accountants’ letters for farm and other agribusinesses have not been a common occurrence for several years but I have seen it before and heard of it being still being requested by various banking institutions.

Accountants’ reluctance to provide such endorsements is well placed. There are many talented accountants around, but it would only be a few that were simultaneously across banking policy and the tax code. The professional liability would be too much.

Which highlights the opportunity for farmers and other agribusiness operators: if you have an accountant for tax planning, an agronomist for crop advice, a solicitor for estate planning, and wool and sheep classers for your flock, why wouldn’t you engage a debt advisor to help with your business finance?

Cato Advisory’s mission is to build profitable and resilient rural businesses. This is a mission for both business success and business succession – the ability to prosper not just now but in future generations.

And we work closely with accountants on financial strategy, to ensure we reach an optimal mix of financial and tax outcomes for the business.

Since our launch in July 2022, we’ve helped many family businesses tackle the complexity of finding and implementing debt structures, and we do it from a role of advocacy for our clients’ businesses. We establish strategies both for farm expansion as well as if our clients get into a tight spot.

If you’d like to know more about our services, click the link below or get in touch via our Contact page.