The following letter is being mailed to members with the next monthly billing statement:
December 17, 2009
Dear Member,
I am writing to you about the importance of good financial records.
Farmers and businesses have always needed good financial records to prepare various tax forms. But they also need good financial records for their lender. That’s us. And the world of lending has changed in recent times, resulting in a need for better financial records from borrowers.
Many of you already provide excellent financial records to us. But in some cases we are requiring better financial records from borrowers than we have accepted in the past. This does not mean that we are questioning the borrower’s character. It simply reflects changing standards of business, and represents good business practices.
I encourage you to think about your financial records as something more important than merely a requirement for paying taxes or applying for a loan. I hope you use your financial records to help you make decisions about your business. Where can you grow? Where can you cut costs? Where in your business are you making or losing money? A good set of financial records can help you decide how to make necessary and timely adjustments when financial circumstances change, as they have for many Yankee customers in the past 18 months.
We can help you improve the quality of your financial records for the tax authorities, for your lender, and most importantly for yourself. Please call your local branch office for more information if you are interested in our recordkeeping services.
As your lender, what do we require for financial records? It will vary with the situation, and your loan officer can answer specific questions. But a good place to start is with a good year-end balance sheet. We will shortly be mailing year-end balance sheet templates to most borrowers. I encourage you to complete that template promptly and as accurately as possible, and to call your loan officer if you have any questions.
Thank you for your patronage. Best wishes for the holidays and for the New Year.
Sincerely,
George S. Putnam
President and CEO
P.S. Please visit our blog (yankeeaca.blogspot.com) for more discussion about financial records.
As promised, here are additional blog posts on this subject:
Financial Records - Reconciling
Financial Records - Cash vs. Accrual
Financial Records - How good?
