Multinominal logit regressions were used to analyze differences in farmers accounting methods. Accounting methods differed by farm types, farm size, farmer education level, and accounting report uses. Farms using accounting reports for decision-making tended to have more complex accounting systems and produced more reports. Much effort has been directed towards developing methods for evaluating farm-level financial performance. Financial models, many micro-computer based, have been de-veloped to aid financial performance analysis (see, for example, Hawkins, Egbert et al., and Kesler et al.). One implicit assumption of these models is that the farms current financial position is known. If it is not known, financial analysis is imprecise and error prone. Reports from a farms account-ing system are the primary means for determining financial position. In addition, accounting reports are often useful when analyzing production and marketing decisions. Quantities and qualities of accounting information vary greatly across farms (Willimack). This variation may be due in part to farmers perceived needs for accounting information as well as demands by outside ntities. Another important factor is differing accounting requirements for various farm types. The latter point is particularly important when conducting educational programs for farmers and when designing accounting systems for farms. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) describe accounting systems used on farms; (2) determine how farmers uses of financial reports vary by farm type; and (3) quantify determinants of accounting system choice. To accomplish t ese objectives, responses from a The authors respectively are assistant, associate,
Schnitkey et al. (Tue,) studied this question.