We Are Rural

Our team of chartered accountants specialise in delivering sound strategic and accounting services to rural businesses throughout New Zealand. What does success look like for you then? Not everyone has the same goals so we make it our goal to help you define and achieve that picture – whatever it may be.

Our directors are actively involved in owning and managing rural businesses. We practice what we preach. Get to know our directors here…

 

Christine Craig BBS, CA
Director
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My passion is to ensure clients have the correct structure for their businesses and have their succession planning in place sooner rather than later. There are so many instances where early planning could make it possible for a family farm to be purchased by one of the younger generation.  If it is left too late there is often no other alternative than for the farm be sold to enable parents to treat all their children fairly. 

I have operated accounting practices in Dannevirke, Waipukurau and now Whakatane for the past thirty years and have had a lot of experience working with farmers, succession planning and small business in a rural setting. 

For most of my adult life I have been joint owner of a sheep & beef farm outside of Dannevirke and have now gone into an equity partnership with the farm manager and his wife with the goal of farm ownership for them. 

I am also heavily involved in the kiwifruit industry alongside my husband, Ian Craig. Ian is well-known in Opotiki as co-founder of OPAC and for his success in the kiwifruit industry. He is now also Chairman of Whakatohea Mussels (Opotiki) Ltd.

Together we have interests in syndicates involved in sheep & beef and dairy farms, kiwifruit, apples and hops, all of which gives us an insight into these industries which I can use for the benefit of our clients. 

Shannon Harnett BBS, CA, PGDip AgriCom, CMInstD
Director
T: 07 308 5015
M: 027 207 6302
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Shannon is passionate about the New Zealand primary sector.

With extensive experience in the dairy, sheep & beef and horticulture sectors, Shannon has held a number of senior management and accounting roles including being 2IC at a NZ Agribusiness with global reach. As a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, Shannon also holds directorship roles alongside being a partner and manager of Rural Accountants Limited Partnership.

Growing up on a sheep & beef farm in Southern Hawkes Bay, Shannon's farming background has continued to guide her career from the moment she left school. Her accounting career started straight out of school in a farm accountancy practice. She then gained her BBS majoring in Accounting and Management at Massey University, and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Agri Commerce. 

Shannon also has investments in agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture businesses where she is able to practice what she preaches and truly walks the talk.

Shannon is a 2020 Nuffield Scholar, with her project area being plant variety rights.

 

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What Our Customers Think

Great local Accountants. They provide an excellent service with great explanations for the layman. They provide accounting services for non rural clients too.

Quinn Wilson, Restaurant Owner, The Wagon
What Our Customers Think


Rural Accountants is a real asset to our business.

The team at Rural Accountants pretty much manage all our administrative tasks for the group including payroll and tax planning, ensuring we don’t pay any more than necessary. They are at the forefront of technology and have helped us get up and running with Xero and Figured which is much more efficient than the way we used to work.

Sam Jones, Managing Director, Sybton Farm Ltd Partnership
What Our Customers Think


Christine is very knowledgeable, great to deal with and knows our business well. She is also a sheep & beef farmer so knows the industry really well and understands our needs.

Rural Accountants keeps us on track through strategic and forward planning meetings throughout the year. Christine knows our business inside out so she can deal with our questions instantly.

Mathew & Gemma Barham, Hawke’s Bay Farmer of the Year 2012
What Our Customers Think

What Our Customers Think

I used to work out my GST and process it manually which would take me at least a full day every two months. The team set up reconcilliation rules and other quick tools, and showed me how to do all my reconcilliations and process my GST returns through Xero which now takes me no time at all!

Mike O'Neill, Financial Services Northland Ltd
What Our Customers Think


As a farmer, Christine understands our business and how farmers and growers operate.

We use Rural Accountants to provide a full accounting service to an orcharding partnership which operates a number of orchards with a wide spread of varieties and management systems. Rural Accountants are always timely and accurate, and their annual financial accounts are extremely easy to understand and very grower-friendly.

Paul Jones, Orchardist