FAQs for the Non-Financial Professionals Course

A self-paced online course from the Financial Accounting Institute (FAI) that teaches how finance and accounting work inside a regulated utility.

The course gives a team a shared foundation in how a regulated utility earns its return, sets rates and turns regulatory decisions into financial statements, and it includes content on AI in the utility industry. See the course outline

Anyone at a utility who needs the language of finance and accounting: attorneys at utilities and law firms, engineers and operations managers, and regulatory, planning and customer relations staff who work with rate cases or financial reports. No accounting background is needed.

Yes: Utility Finance & Accounting for Financial Professionals. It’s coming later this year. Get notified when it launches

Because utilities are different: their rates are set from their accounting. Rate base, allowed return, regulatory assets and deferred taxes are prominent differences. Understanding these differences helps utility industry employees in almost any job.

Individual seats are $2,500 each, including the printed course book we mail you when you enroll. Group pricing is available for teams. Ask about group pricing

Short video topics you watch on your own schedule. It is the same content Dr. Joel Berk taught in his three-day seminar, giving you a comprehensive understanding of utility finance and accounting. It is broken into eight sections, with shorter sub-topics averaging 14 minutes, so each person can go at their own pace and it fits around an individual’s workday or a busy schedule. There are recaps and quizzes spread throughout the course, and each person is mailed a workbook to use for notes and exercises.

Your access begins when you enroll and lasts six months.

Dr. Joel Berk is the instructor in the videos. He taught this curriculum in FAI’s live seminars for four decades, and the course is that teaching, recorded and rebuilt for self-paced study.

Dr. Joel Berk has retired from in-person seminars. We will not be offering in-person courses or custom courses for the foreseeable future. Teams can take the online course together, and the per-seat price drops as the group gets bigger. Ask about group pricing

Yes. When you finish the course, your certificate is on your course dashboard, ready to download. If you are unable to download it, email info@financialaccounting.com for a copy.

If you enroll and find the course isn’t right for you, email info@financialaccounting.com within fourteen days of enrolling and we’ll refund you in full, no reason needed, as long as you haven’t earned your certificate. Full terms: Terms and Refund Policy.

We quote groups directly. Tell us how many people you’d like to train and roughly when, and we’ll reply within a few business days. Ask about group pricing

Individual enrollments are paid by credit card at checkout. For group purchases, you can pay by credit card or ACH. If needed, we can complete your vendor setup and provide a W-9. Ask about group pricing

Use the enrollment link in your seat-code email. At checkout, enter the code in the box labeled “Discount code” and your total becomes $0. Then look for an email titled “Set your password to open your course.”

After checkout you’ll get an order confirmation email. Keep it as your receipt. Then look for an email titled “Set your password to open your course.” Don’t see them? Check your spam folder, or email info@financialaccounting.com.

While this course does not currently offer CLE credit directly, many states have approved CLE credit for those who self-apply. We will provide the documentation we have on request.

This course does not currently offer CPE credit directly. You can apply for credit yourself, and we’ll send the documentation we have on request.