Goals and Objectives

The course is highly oriented toward applying analytical managerial decision-making techniques to identifying and solving common agribusiness problems. The objectives are to:

1. Familiarize students with the principles and methods of agricultural accounting.
   
2. Develop skills in preparing and interpreting financial statements.
   
3. Acquaint students with sources and cost of credit, tax management & estate planning.
   
4. Provide opportunities to evaluate capital budget projects.
   

1. Students will be able to evaluate financial management issues that agricultural producers face in managing their operations.
   
2. Students will have had hand-on experience in the use of standard financial management tools to make decisions in an agribusiness. Most of the examples on the applications of management science concepts and techniques introduced in lectures and utilized in assignments will be from scaled-down ‘real world’ case studies
   
   
   

Quick Books accounting program
Excel

NREM 220, ECON 130 or consent

Barry, P. J., J. A. Hopkin, & C.B. Baker. Financial Management in Agriculture. The Interstate Printers and Publishers, Dansville, IL.

None

Speakers from the banks, State loan program and the Farm credit system will give guest lectures.

None

The topics covered include:

-Financial managerial goals
-Accounting and information flows
-Financial statements
-Financial analysis and control
-Financial planning and feasibility analysis
-Capital structure, leverage and risk
-Liquidity and credit
-Risk management
-Capital budgeting
-Costs of financial capital
-Financial markets in agriculture

Students will be evaluated on relative performance on two exams (one mid-term and a final) and on assignments.