UTILITY FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING FOR  NON-FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS

AND UTILITY FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING FOR ATTORNEYS

BROCHURE 

LAS VEGAS: October 23-25, 2019
LAS VEGAS: May 19-21, 2020
LAS VEGAS:  October 6-8, 2020
BOSTON:  October 20-22, 2020

 

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HOTEL AND CITY INFORMATION

LAS VEGAS

Golden Nugget
129 East Fremont Street
Las Vegas NV 89101

We have reserved a block of rooms at the hotel where the seminar will be held.  Book early. The block of rooms well be held open until a few weeks before the seminar. This is an AAA four diamond hotel but we negotiated a low weekday rate. To get the rate call (800) 331 5731 and use the one of the codes below to get our group rate. You will probably want to make a reservation arriving the day before the seminar.

$99 plus resort fee per night in October 2019 — 2020 Rates

Oct 23-25, 2019 Seminar Code: GSFAIM5

If you are staying at the hotel, the newer tower is the Rush Tower. In any case, when you check in you should ask for a room away from Fremont Street (which can be noisy at night.)

We will have a Continental Breakfast each morning and Lunch will be provided.

Class begins at 8 AM ends at 4 PM (except last day we end at 3).

Dress is casual but you could bring a sweater or jacket as the temperature in the meeting room may vary. Also please bring a yellow highlighter.

 

SAN FRANCISCO

In San Francisco, our seminar will be held at a Conference Facility. We have not blocked out hotel rooms but there are many hotels nearby. Please check on a hotel website such as hotels.com for help.

San Francisco State University Downtown Campus
835 Market Street (Near Powell at the Westfield Centre)
San Francisco, CA , 94103

Enter at 835 Market Street and take elevator to 6th Floor.

 

BOSTON

Omni Parker House
60 School Street
Boston, MA 02108
800-THE-OMNI or 617-227-8600

 

We have reserved a block of rooms at the hotel where the seminar will be held.  Book early. The block of rooms well be held open until a few weeks before the seminar.You will probably want to make a reservation arriving the day before the seminar.

$299 per night in our block of rooms.

We will have a Continental Breakfast each morning and Lunch will be provided.

Class begins at 8 AM ends at 4 PM (except last day we end at 3).

Dress is casual but you could bring a sweater or jacket as the temperature in the meeting room may vary. Also please bring a yellow highlighter.

 

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CPE CREDIT for CPAs available for all States and CLE CREDIT for lawyers: available in most states

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

To provide a working understanding of finance and accounting as applied to both the regulated utility and non-regulated companies (competitors, customers and the future utility company).

Upon completion of the seminar, participants will be able to:

• Understand accrual accounting




• “Read” an annual report of the company or its customers




• Calculate key financial ratios




• See the link between finance and accounting and the strategic plans of the company




• Understand how a utility makes money now and what needs to be done for the future




• Analyze whether shareholder value is being created as opposed to net income




• Do a capital budgeting analysis (engineering economics)

APPROACH:

Lecture and discussion with a note-taking outline provided to each participant. Extensive use of:

• A non-debit and credit approach




• Problem solving sessions




• Homework assignment




• Actual utility financial statements




• Interaction with other participants




• Group case work

OUTLINE OF THE SEMINAR:

Day 1 — 8 AM to 4 PM

Introduction

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Basic Accounting Concepts
– Balance Sheet
– Income Statement

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Financial Statement Analysis
– Return on Equity
– Total Shareholder Return

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The Utility’s Four Sets of “Books”
– GAAP, Tax, Rates, Managerial
– Cost of Service Regulation
– Rate Base, Operating Expenses, Allowed Return
– Above-the-line versus and Below-the-Line Expenses

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Mock Rate Case
– Advertising
– Take or Pay Contracts

Ethics Considerations

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COCKTAILS Optional 4:30 -5:30

 

Day 2 — 8 AM to 4 PM

Modifications to Rate of Return Regulation
– Adjustment Clauses, Trackers, Riders, Deferrals
– Rate Freezes, Decoupling
– Pre-approvals
– Formula Ratemaking

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Present Value Analysis

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Shareholder Value
– Theory
– Income versus Shareholder Value Maximization
– Risk Considerations
– How to Make Decisions

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Accounting for Utility Plant

– Straight Line Depreciation
– Accelerated Depreciation
– Capitalization Versus Expense
– Methods of Capitalizing More or Less
– Which is Better for the Utility

 

Day 3 — 8 AM to 3 PM

Taxes
– Temporary Differences
– Deferred Taxes (Normalization)

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Cost of Capital
– Weighted Average Cost of Capital
– Risk Premium Approach
– Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Method

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Capital Project Analysis Review Case
– Cash Flow as affected by Taxes & Rate Regulation
– Which Discount Rate to Use
– Creating Shareholder Value

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Conclusions

 

 

For a list of organizations who have sent people to our classes, look at our previous participant list.