Sidekick Rural at the Figured Global Agri Leaders Summit 2026
In February, members of the Sidekick Rural team travelled to Auckland to attend the Figured Global Agri Leaders Summit 2026.
The summit brings together leaders from across the agricultural accounting, advisory and technology sectors. It provides an opportunity to connect with peers, share ideas and discuss the trends shaping the future of agriculture.
This year’s programme focused on leadership, business growth, succession planning and the growing role of AI in agriculture.
Sidekick Rural Directors Join Expert Panels
A highlight for our team was seeing both of our directors invited to sit on expert panels during the event.
Brett joined the panel “Growth at the Front Seat of Strategy.” The discussion explored how advisory firms and farm businesses can approach growth with clear planning, strong financial insights and practical strategy.
Richard’s panel “Talent to Support Growth Strategy.” focused on building strong teams within advisory firms and ensuring the right expertise is in place to support growing farm businesses.
Insights Into Figured’s Future Direction
The summit also gave attendees an early look at Figured’s future direction, with updates on upcoming developments designed to better support farmers and their advisors.
Figured is widely recognised as a leading platform for agri-business financial management. The software brings budgeting, forecasting and reporting together in one system. As a result, farmers and advisors gain clearer visibility over farm performance.
The platform also allows users to model long-term goals, explore succession planning scenarios and produce accurate monthly cashflow forecasts. These reports help farm owners and lenders make confident decisions.
A Long-Standing Partnership
Sidekick Rural has worked closely with Figured for many years. In fact, we were the first firm in New Zealand to achieve Elite Partner status.
Our partnership continues to grow as the platform evolves. Figured is increasingly focused on scalable, data-driven advisory services across the agri sector. We are also excited to support the development of Figured’s upcoming benchmarking reporting tools.
Connecting With Global Agri Leaders
This year’s summit attracted firms from across New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Because of this, it provided a great opportunity to exchange ideas with international leaders in agri advisory.
One highlight for our team was connecting with Jonathan Haralson from Empire Ag in Texas. He shared valuable insights on building strong rural communities online and using social media to better connect with farmers.
Bringing Global Insights Back to Farmers
Events like the Figured Global Agri Leaders Summit remind us that while farming is local, innovation in agriculture is global.
At Sidekick Rural, we value opportunities like this. They allow us to stay connected to new ideas and bring those insights back to the farming businesses we work with every day.
