Utility companies face a variety of unique accounting and financial reporting challenges. Whether you're a financial professional in the industry, or an analyst following the sector who needs to understand how those challenges impact the utility business, this program will give you a more nuanced perspective. You'll come away with a solid understanding of the impact of financial reporting and regulatory accounting components of an electric or gas utility.
Overview of the role of regulatory commissions (state and FERC), including which activities are regulated, how they are regulated, and discussion of the general requirements associated with a traditional rate case. The session will include an example explaining the interaction of rate base, rate of return and operating expenses in determining revenue requirements. The session is designed to:
Various factors may affect revenues and accounting, including:
An SNL account manager will go through a quick overview of the tools available to you related to utility accounting.
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This session will focus on three key areas with regards to plant accounting: 1) utility plant depreciation, 2) capitalization concepts, and 3) accounting for removal costs (cost of removal and asset retirement obligations (AROs), specifically:
The ratemaking process creates a unique link between costs and revenues. ASC 980 addresses the financial accounting and financial statement impact of this process. In this section, we will cover the general and specific accounting standards that exist for rate regulated enterprises, as well as certain unique financial statement disclosures typically required by rate regulated entities. The following issues will be addressed:
Regulated businesses face special income tax and tax accounting issues. During this session, several income tax and regulatory issues facing the utility industry will be discussed. Topics include income tax accounting basics and the concepts of flow-through and normalization. The following topics will be addressed:
Participants will discuss the recent FASB and IFRS activities in the area of revenue recognition and leases, including how and when power purchase agreements are treated more as leases. The session will also discuss implications for FERC reporting and rate case filings, including:
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has recommended to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. Find out how the convergence of IFRS with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) will challenge utilities and what it will likely take to comply with the standards. Among the topics of discussion are the challenges to the balance sheet and income statement, including: