The measurement of liquidity creation: a strategic approach to a sustainable farm business

Abstract

The mission that was assigned to the accounting for the initial spread of the technique in the
world, until the '30s was basically characterized by the prediction and control of the financial position. The
great specialist Italian Fabio Besta7, in the second half of the nineteenth century, had given rise to a great
work which is titled precisely “The Accounting – La Ragioneria”. It must be taken into account that a
company like a human body has 4 circuits (venous, arterial, lymphatic nervous). So the company also
possesses four: the heritage trail, economic, financial and cash. These, evolve, continuously but asynchronous,
fact by fact, during the year, during the evolution of the various administrative events. The
inability to generate sufficient revenue has in many cases, led farmers to diversify from an agricultural
base and undertake pluriactivity8. In this context, diversification from, and within, primary activities has
become a necessity and agricultural secondary activities and services, related to the rural environment,
have been the major driver of growth within the EU during recent decades9. Following the crisis, which
started in 2007 and is still in progress, financial analysis and cash is now to be considered a real management
function. The aim of this paper is to analyze the creation of liquidity of agricultural enterprises,
comparing and analyzing three types of firms with traditional culture and multifunctional business.