Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverband

The Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverband (LBV) is a German accounting, bookkeeping and tax advisory organisation dedicated to agricultural, forestry and horticultural businesses. It is organised as a registered member association (Mitgliederverein) of farmers and foresters, and its origins reach back more than a century to the first agricultural bookkeeping offices (Buchstellen) established in Schleswig-Holstein. The association traces its institutional foundation to 1920, when the Chamber of Agriculture of the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein set up a bookkeeping office and developed it into a dedicated department. Since 1935 the organisation has operated in the legal form of a member association. The LBV's core purpose is the preparation of tax and business-management bookkeeping and annual financial statements for its members, together with tax and business advisory services. It also produces statistical evaluations that give member farms a benchmark for monitoring success and a basis for entrepreneurial decisions. Its clients are typically farms and rural businesses that are often multi-entrepreneurial, active not only in agriculture but also in renewable energy, direct marketing or tourism, and the group advises them holistically. The organisation is present at around 70 locations, described in its own materials as nearly 70 offices in northern Germany, and Wikipedia reports 77 district offices across the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg. Its central office (Hauptgeschäftsstelle) is in Kiel. The LBV reports roughly 13,500 members from horticulture, agriculture and forestry. Despite its size, it presents itself as retaining the character of a family-run business. Over time the association has built a broader advisory group through specialised subsidiaries, referred to as the SHBB/LBV-Gruppe. It publishes member- and client-facing material such as the magazine "Land und Wirtschaft" and a model annual financial statement (Muster-Jahresabschluss), and it addresses current topics such as the introduction of e-invoicing (E-Rechnung) in practice. The LBV is a private, member-owned organisation rather than a listed company.

The roots of the Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverband lie in the late 19th century, when most farmers were still reluctant or even opposed to keeping account books and figures. Unlike merchants, they were not obliged to keep books. Willingness to keep accounts was markedly higher on large estates, because estate owners wanted to be able to assess the work of their administrators. After the First World War the picture changed: owners of smaller farms increasingly saw a benefit in documenting their operations, not least because of their economic situation. Only with exact statistical figures could they demonstrate their circumstances to government authorities and demand measures to improve their economic position. The institutional foundation for today's association was laid in 1920, when the Chamber of Agriculture of the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein established a bookkeeping office (Buchstelle) and developed it into a new department. In 1925 farmers became entitled to determine profits on the basis of bookkeeping statements, provided that proper bookkeeping existed. In 1930 the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung) extended the statutory bookkeeping obligation to agricultural businesses once certain turnover, asset or net-income thresholds were exceeded, effective from April 1932. In 1933 the Schleswig-Holstein Chamber of Agriculture was incorporated into the Reichsnährstand. In 1934 the bookkeeping organisation was further developed. Since 1935 the Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverband has been run in the legal form of a member association (Mitgliederverein) of farmers and foresters. The original bookkeeping offices had no economic self-interest of their own; they were self-help institutions of farmers seeking business-management support for their operations. Over the decades the association became a competent point of contact for agricultural, forestry and horticultural businesses in all tax and commercial questions, and its statistical evaluations became an important element of its work, giving member farms a benchmark for success control and a basis for entrepreneurial decisions. From this self-help institution, the association grew into a large advisory organisation through the founding of specialised subsidiaries, forming what is now referred to as the SHBB/LBV-Gruppe. It maintains a large network of local offices — described by the association as around 70 locations and nearly 70 offices in northern Germany, and reported by Wikipedia as 77 district offices in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg — with its central office in Kiel. Despite its size, the LBV states that it has preserved the self-understanding of a family-run business. It reports around 13,500 members from horticulture, agriculture and forestry, and continues to serve members and clients who are often multi-entrepreneurs active in renewable energy, direct marketing or tourism.

• 1935

  The Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverband is run in the legal form of a member association (Mitgliederverein) of farmers and foresters.

• 1934

  The bookkeeping organisation is further developed.

• 1933

  The Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein is incorporated into the Reichsnährstand.

• 1930

  The Abgabenordnung extends the statutory bookkeeping obligation to agricultural businesses above certain turnover, asset or net-income thresholds (effective April 1932).

• 1925

  Farmers become entitled to determine profits on the basis of bookkeeping statements, provided proper bookkeeping exists.

• 1920

  The Chamber of Agriculture of the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein establishes a bookkeeping office (Buchstelle) and develops it into a new department, laying the foundation for today's association.

A member-owned, agriculture-specialised accounting and tax advisory organisation emphasising personal, local advice, reliability and continuity, with a self-image of a family-run business despite its size.

• Tax and business-management bookkeeping

  Preparation of tax and business-management bookkeeping for agricultural, forestry and horticultural businesses.

• Annual financial statements (Jahresabschlüsse)

  Preparation of annual financial statements as part of the association's core purpose.

• Tax and business advisory services

  Tax and business-management advice for members and clients, delivered through local offices.

• Statistical evaluations

  Statistical evaluations giving member farms a benchmark for success control and a basis for entrepreneurial decisions.

• Model annual financial statement (Muster-Jahresabschluss)

  A model annual financial statement showing, using a fictitious company, how an evaluation of farm data could look.

• Member magazine "Land und Wirtschaft"

  The magazine for members and clients of the SHBB/LBV-Gruppe.

1. 1Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverband - Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverbandlbv-net.de
2. 2Historie - Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverbandlbv-net.de
3. 3Kanzleien - Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverbandlbv-net.de
4. 4Buchführungsverband - Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverbandlbv-net.de
5. 5Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverband - Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Landwirtschaftlicher Buchführungsverband - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org