We’re thrilled to announce the signing of a partnership agreement which will see Figured form the basis of the technology stack which RSM will take to its Agri clients across its more than 26 offices nationwide. 

This partnership marks a major milestone in both Figured and RSMs drive to be leaders in the Australian agri sector, delivering the best financial management technology, and the best, most relevant advisory services for Australian farmers. 

As a nationwide firm, and part of the global RSM network, RSM Australia is one of the foremost financial advisory firms in the country, and with roots in regional Australia the team at RSM are leaders in the agri sector, having established an advisory service which is at the heart of how they serve the farming community. 

RSM have chosen Figured as a foundational element of their growing advisory offering, and combined with Xero are building a technology stack on which they can take a more forward looking relationship with their clients. 

We spoke to Jo Gilbert -  Partner in the RSM Albany office, and long standing trusted advisor to Western Australian farmers about the newly formed partnership, and what it means to RSMs clients. 

“We define advisory services simply as ‘looking forward, not just looking back’. Traditionally  accountants have drawn a line in the sand at the end of the financial year and we have looked back to tell our clients how much tax they need to pay, and prepare a set of financials. That's fairly short term, and does not provide a client much guidance beyond the current or next financial year”

Bringing Figured into the business means the RSM team can take that forward looking view of their clients business, and by using scenario planning, this enables them to build out a long term financial plan for the farm, and as a cloud based platform, means they can regularly and easily review their  farms performance against their forecast financial position. 

Creating a technology advisory service:

The accounting industry has always been an adopter of technology to enable efficiencies and improve processes, and in recent years that digital advisory has increasingly become a part of what RSM offers their clients across the country.

Arguably one of the biggest changes happening in the agri industry right now is the emergence of digital technology for precision agriculture. Figured, when combined with tools such as Agworld and Agriwebb, create the definitive technology stack for maximising farm profitability. 

The team at RSM see this as a major opportunity to add significant value to their clients business, especially as the volume of software options grows on a daily basis. Jo believes they can build a service on recommending technology and then working with their clients to implement and recognise the value in the outputs from this technology. .

“We have to do our due diligence to make sure we are recommending the right tools. We've got the team and the expertise to research what works and what doesn't, and we have to do this as reputationally we can’t afford to risk our time or our clients time and data with tools we aren't confident in”

With the right technology partnerships RSM is able to deliver value for their clients in multiple ways, their depth of experience with products like Figured means they can establish the right tools in a clients business quickly and efficiently, and with Figured in place they’re able to help manage farmers businesses more proactively. 

“Using Figured, we now have the ability to sit with clients and build out a long term view of the farm business, where in the past we might have done this in a spreadsheet on a desktop, we now have a live Figured file and a live Xero file, delivering real time information to the client, and our advisory team”. 

A true partnership 

The Figured partnership extends beyond just providing software and support, with their depth of experience working with broadacre farmers the team at RSM have been instrumental in the development of the new Figured cropping product, and have ensured that the product which Figured takes to Australian growers meets both the needs of the farmer and the needs of their advisors. 

It’s RSMs commitment to delivering value and constantly seeking to improve their clients business that has seen them embrace best in class technology, we’re excited to share that commitment to delivering value to Australian farmers. 

Welcome to the Figured team RSM!

To find out more about how RSM works with Australian farming businesses, or speak to the RSM team about Figured check out:  https://www.rsm.global/australia/industry/agribusiness-business-services-support