Client Story: May & Co Pty Ltd

Perhaps best-known for hosting South Australia’s largest country race meet, attracting some 8,000 punters annually, the mid-north town of Balaklava is also home to a thriving farming community rich in heritage and critical to the state’s agricultural economy.

It’s here that the May family has been plying its trade over four generations, in the process building a 5000-hectare broadacre cropping enterprise that is now in the hands of brothers Nick and Simon.

And while May & Co may have started out as a small family venture and a lifestyle passed down through generations, it’s now evolved into a complex agribusiness with average annual crop yields of around 7,000 tonnes.

For more than 20 years, Perks has been by the farming company’s side, helping guide it through several important transitions, including implementing advisory board services and introducing more efficient, best-practice accounting software solutions.

Nick is one of four directors of May & Co, alongside brother Simon and their wives, and said working with Perks has been critical to the successful evolution of the company and ensuring that they have a clear future mapped-out for the business. “Like many other industries, farming is now a fully-fledged business and margins are a lot tighter than when I started out in the early 90s,” he said.

Over the last four or five years, Perks has really helped us change the culture around the business to ensure that we’re more strategic in our decision-making.

“We now have greater visibility of our position through budgeting and forecasting, and the accounting software solutions they’ve helped us put in place allow us to be more efficient and provide access to real-time data and reporting necessary for us to make key decisions quickly.” “Not only has this made us more proactive in running our business but it sets us, as directors, clear goals and makes us accountable to these outcomes.”

For May & Co, a key part of this process over recent years has been the establishment of an advisory board. Overseen by Perks and chaired by the company’s agronomist, the board meets annually and provides a platform to ensure all parties remain aligned to achieving the goals and objectives set out for the business.

For May & Co, a key part of this process over recent years has been the establishment of an advisory board. Overseen by Perks and chaired by the company’s agronomist, the board meets annually and provides a platform to ensure all parties remain aligned to achieving the goals and objectives set out for the business.

“Simon and I work across different parts of the business on a day-to-day basis, so having the advisory board in place is really important to ensure we’re on the same page in terms of the bigger picture for the company,” Nick said.

“Coming together annually with Perks, the company directors, our agronomist and other key stakeholders ensures that the financial side of the business, and the budgets, forecasts and software solutions we have in place all align with the operational realities of broadacre cropping.”

As with many farming families, one of the unique challenges May & Co has been required to navigate is succession planning. Nick and the other members of the May family have worked closely with Perks to implement a multi-generational plan that maps out a clear picture of where each individual sits in the business and what that looks like moving forward.

“Each new generation of the family is born into a major asset and there’s a lot of emotion tied to that, so it’s important for us that this process is managed well and benefits everyone in the long run,” Nick said.

“This has required a deep understanding of the family history and the needs of the company moving forward because whoever chooses to run the farm needs that asset behind them to make it work in today’s day and age.

“At times, Perks have also been the mediator in discussions to help ensure that everyone is happy with the succession plan and everyone is clear where they fit in the scheme of things – it’s been really helpful to have them by our side through this journey.

“Ultimately, Perks has helped implement a plan where each member of the family knows what is happening in the business and what we’re trying to achieve at the end of the day.”

“They’ve been really good in providing guidance and at times challenging us when it has been needed and we’re really confident that our business has a strong future ahead.” really confident that our business