The Veterinary Hospital Manager’s Association (VHMA) partnered with the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), Veterinary Management Groups (VMG), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and VetPartners to provide veterinary professionals access to a free, powerful finance tool.
Traditionally, the accounting methods of individual veterinary practices are as diverse as the owners themselves. Times are changing… and for the better. Through this partnership’, AAHA’s previously members-only Chart of Accounts was revised and expanded. The new AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts is now available and free to all veterinary professionals.
“We are thrilled to provide the AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts to members of the veterinary profession,” said AAHA Chief Executive Officer, Michael Cavanaugh, DVM, DABVP (C/F) Emeritus. “By using an apples-to-apples comparison of productivity, costs, and profitability, veterinarians can better assess the financial health of individual hospitals and the industry as a whole.”
Human dental and medical professionals have long recognized that the lack of standardization in practitioners’ charts of accounts, diagnostic codes and procedures have impeded individual and professional success.
“Standardization of the veterinary chart of accounts yields data that is essential to strengthening practice profitability, improving individual financial wellbeing and enhancing the veterinary workforce as a whole,” said Link Welborn, DVM, DABVP, CCRT, the former chair of the AVMA’s Veterinary Economic Strategy Committee (VESC), past president of AAHA and president of VMG.
The AVMA tasked its Veterinary Economic Strategy Committee (VESC) with bringing the profession together to collaborate to improve business knowledge, acumen and financial success. Consequently, the AVMA-VESC initiated the profession-wide Economic Advisory Research Council (EARC). Through the development of partnerships and collaboration, the EARC is working toward organizing and efficiently using the veterinary profession’s scarce resources.
“Practice managers play a vital role in the practice. The EARC recognizes their capabilities and contributions and is committed to providing them with the tools to succeed and bring even greater value to their practices,” said Christine Shupe, CAE, VHMA Executive Director.
The AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts is the cornerstone of a broader economic initiative. It is the first of many new high-value management resources to come from this collaboration.
The AVMA, VetPartners, and the VHMA have endorsed AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts as the industry standard for classifying revenue, expense, and balance sheet accounts in the small-animal veterinary practice.
The AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts is a valuable tool that will allow practitioners to better organize practice finances in line with generally accepted accounting principles.
Furthermore, AVMA, AAHA, VetPartners and VHMA recommend all accounting firms working with veterinary practices adopt the standardized codes.
View the AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts free at www.AAHA.org.