Gorrill Ranch

Challenges

With the strong direction of their CEO and Managing Partner, Gorrill Ranch’s day-to-day finance and reporting needs did not require a full-time Chief Financial Officer or controller. However, the Ranch found it difficult to retain qualified and experienced part-time finance and accounting assistance with the knowledge and dependability required for preparation of the annual budget, analysis of crop yields and field performance, analysis and updating of cash flow projections, development and preparation of monthly financial reports, preparation of information for third parties (e.g. lenders, tax preparation, etc.), the year-end accounting close, and other critical processes.

Solutions

After meeting with Gorrill’s CEO to discuss their needs and their operations, Morrison walked through Gorrill’s monthly, quarterly, and annual accounting and analytical needs with their previous controller. We then had their IT staff set up a remote connection so that we could access their server remotely, enabling us to work both on and off-site, as we do with many of our Business & Accounting Advisory clients. As we became familiar with Gorrill’s operations and needs, we implemented adjustments to their accounting and reporting processes and the information presented to management and the board to allow efficient and relevant analysis and decision-making.

Successes

Morrison has continued to serve in outsourced CFO/controller roles at Gorrill for several years. Over that time, our responsibilities have evolved to accommodate the Ranch’s ongoing needs and assist in analyzing new opportunities. The result has been steady and uninterrupted accounting and finance services that have played a part in the Ranch’s ongoing success as they enter their second century of operations.

About the client

Gorrill Ranch is a fourth generation, family-owned diversified farming operation located in Durham, CA. The ranch was founded in 1918 by Ralph Gorrill, who surveyed his newly acquired rice land and leveraged his engineering background to design and construct a gravity-fed water delivery system that serves as the basis of the ranch’s irrigation to this day. Over time, the ranch has periodically increased its rice acreage since Ralph’s initial acquisition. The ranch’s second-generation ownership (Ralph’s three daughters) diversified into orchard crops including prunes (marketed through Morrison client Sunsweet Growers), almonds (marketed through Morrison client Blue Diamond), and walnuts. More recently the Ranch has added pecans to its orchard operations.