Western Australian primary producers have the opportunity to expand their knowledge, free of charge, at a series of Rabo Client Council workshops designed to help provide the financial skills essential to managing an agricultural enterprise.
The communities of Scaddan, Munglinup, Dowerin and Bunbury will host the practical Financial Skills Workshops – providing farmers with an opportunity to both upskill and network – in mid-March.
The initiative has been spearheaded and funded by food and agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank’s Rabo Client Council, a group of the bank’s farming clients who volunteer their time implementing programs that contribute to the sustainability of rural and regional communities.
Offered free of charge to participants, the interactive workshops provide practical, hands-on advice for understanding financial statements and banking requirements and explore topics such as taxation versus management accounting, essential business management ratios and understanding key components of a business’s financial profile.
Western Australia Rabo Client Council member and Neridup-based mixed grain and sheep farmer, Megan McDowall said financial skills “are an extremely useful part of the skills toolkit for farmers and future farmers”.
“The workshops will give an introduction to financial statements including profit and loss, balance sheets and cash flow,” Ms McDowall said. “During this series of workshops, participants will gain an understanding of how to read, interpret and use these reports for farming businesses.”
Ms McDowall said the workshop content will build on this understanding by taking an enterprise-focused approach, separately looking at grains and livestock enterprises. “Participants will consider cash flow implications of a variety of enterprise choices. And also focus on preparing annual cash flow budgets,” she said.
“There will also be a focus on understanding how your bank assesses a loan, and some good tips for managing this process in a professional manner.”
Rabobank regional manager Western Australia Steve Kelly said farmers who had attended previous Rabobank Financial Skills Workshops have told the bank the knowledge provided is valuable – “useful information they can walk away with and apply in their operations”.
Mr Kelly said for primary producers, having a better understanding of their enterprise when approaching financiers can also help when applying for any additional finance requirements or to fund a new initiative.
“Since launching these workshops in 2018, the Rabo Client Councils have presented this learning opportunity to more than 3,300 farmers across Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
“If you’re interested in attending these workshops, keen to meet other producers in the agri sector and increase your financial literacy and skills – confirm your place before the courses are fully allocated.”
The workshops – which will be limited to 30 participants each and are not restricted to the bank’s clients – will be presented by director of Hudson Facilitation, Tony Hudson.
Workshop dates and locations are:
- Monday, 11 March 2024 – 8:30am – 3:00pm – Scaddan (Module 1)
- Tuesday, 12 March 2024 – 8:30am – 3:00pm – Munglinup (Module 1)
- Thursday, 14 March 2024 – 8.30am – 3.00pm – Dowerin (Module 1)
- Friday, 15 March 2024 – 9.00am – 4.00pm – Bunbury (Module 2)
To register to participate, please click here
Morning tea and lunch catering will be provided.
