Utility Plant Accounting and Work Orders

February 3, 2025 | Online :: Central Time

0225-plant-accounting

“Great class! The instructor very obviously had a lot of experience and knowledge with plant accounting for utilities. She involved the participants and asked for their strategies or challenges on certain industry topics. Five stars.” Senior Accounting Clerk, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation

“The Utility Plant Accounting and Work Order course helped me to gain a deeper understanding of all it takes to make a work order. I would recommend this course to anyone moving into the work order process.” Accounts Clerk, HEMC

“Great class, great teacher, great information!” Senior Staff, KraftCPAs PLLC

EUCI’s Utility Plant Accounting course is a beneficial training for all employees of utilities who participate in or analyze capital expenditures of a utility plant. Capital expenditures include utility plant improvements, new construction, and retirement. This course explains the importance of the utility plant accounting process from a high-level perspective through detailed insights and concepts. Attendees will learn to correlate capital expenditure spending to the rates of the system’s ratepayers. They will also be challenged to consider the impacts of the cost of long-term plant investment, the recovery of capital investments, and related short-term operating costs.

For most utilities, their biggest investment is the plant infrastructure needed to deliver service. This course will provide an explanation of the overarching concepts within this complex process.  Additionally, the course will dive into the specifics of materials, labor, and overhead costs and their conversion to long-term plant.

Learning Outcomes

• Define the components of Utility Plant Accounting such as labor, material, and overhead
• Identify the utility plant chain of events – Who does what and when?
  • Inventory
  • Compatible units, assembly units and custom build projects
  • Utility Plant in service, continuing property records
  • Depreciation and recovery of costs
• Define concepts regarding direct and indirect labor, materials management considerations, depreciation, and reconciling units of the utility to the GIS
• Identify plant/asset versus maintenance work
• Discuss the requirements of Federal Energy Regulatory (FERC) accounting of Utility Plant
• Assess the process to open and close work orders/jobs
• Assign and approve staking/assembly updates, inventory reconciliation, finished and unfinished jobs, and charges for time and equipment
• Define standard costs and long-term planning considerations
• Analyze and respond to the increases in the cost of materials, labor, and overheads

Monday, February 3, 2025 : Central Time

 

Introduction to Utility Plant Accounting

• Learning Objectives
• Purpose and Definition of Utility Plant Accounting
• Utility Work Orders and Financial Statements – Big Picture

Key Concepts of Utility Work Orders

• General Work Order Function
• Technology, Automation, and Software
• Construction Activities
• Financing Eligibility

Utility Plant Accounting and Work Orders

• When do I Need a Work Order?
  • Expense or Capital
• Material
• Labor
• Overheads
  • Transportation
  • Stores
  • Impact of Overheads, Overhead Rate
• Direct versus Indirect Charges

Finalizing the Work Order Process

• Work Order Process
• Staking Sheet Basics
• Utilization and Classification of Costs
• Blanket Work Orders

Utility Ratepayer Perspective of the Work Order Process

• Contribution in Aid of Construction (CIAC)
• Rate Impact

Applying the Work Order Process to Your Utility

• Other uses of the Work Order System
• Closing Work Orders into Utility Plant and Beginning Depreciation
• Application of Concepts in your Utility Process

Terilyn (Teri) Wallis, Founder and Owner, Terilyn Wallis Consulting

Terilyn (Teri) Wallis is the founder and owner of Terilyn Wallis Consulting, specializing in the financial, work order processes, and strategic needs of electric utilities.  Teri is highly skilled in the areas of accounting and finance, strategy development and execution, building trusted and respected relationships and making sound business decisions. Her background includes experience in diversified businesses including propane, natural gas, security, and fiber. 

Teri has a passion for the work order process.  This passion led to her doctoral work being focused on creating a program to help others experience and be a part of an efficient and effective work order process that improves the process for those who take part in the workshop.   Over time her expertise has been utilized to develop and deliver certificate level educational programming for board members, finance and accounting professionals and non-financial managers.  In addition to work orders, she has a comprehensive working knowledge of internal control processes, ratio analysis and identifying potential operational efficiencies. 

In addition to financial expertise, facilitation of strategic direction and development and execution of organizational goals is a passion of hers.  Through strategic planning facilitations, she has helped boards and management teams to identify and mitigate risks of their organizations.   Additionally, she assists management teams in the development of their strategic objectives to build measurable goals and to follow up on these plans to ensure that goals are road mapped and completed in an agreed upon time frame. 

Teri is committed to the development and success of financial leaders in the utility industry.  She holds a doctorate degree in adult education, working to design and deliver quality and relevant content that will build successful leaders and financial professionals for electric utilities. She holds an MBA in Finance and a BS in Accounting.  She is an instructor and presenter for numerous statewide associations and industry events providing relevant teaching in the areas of accounting and finance, leadership, and work orders.

In her personal life, Teri is a wife to Mike, a mom to Linnaea and Lance.  She enjoys the outdoors, spending time with her family, raising and loving Labrador retrievers, and scrapbooking the experiences of her family.

Education

• EdD Adult Education – Capella University
• MBA Finance – St. Thomas University
• BS Accounting – University of Wisconsin – Superior
• UW-Madison Center for Professional and Executive Development – NRECA Management Internship Program

Professional Affiliations

• National Society of Leadership and Success – Honor member
• The Society for Human Resource Management
• National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• Microsoft recommends downloading and installing the Teams app if possible. You may also use the Edge browser or Chrome.
• You will receive a separate email with a unique link to a personalized landing page which will include links to join all sessions of this event.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

Please Note: This event is being conducted entirely online. All attendees will connect and attend from their computer, one connection per purchase. For details please see our FAQ

If you are unable to attend at the scheduled date and time, we make recordings available to all attendees for 7 days after the event

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Utility Plant Accounting and Work Orders

February 3, 2025 | Online

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before January 03, 2025 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 0.7 CEUs for this event.

Verify our IACET accreditation

Who recognizes IACET Credits?

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program 

Participants must log in each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit. 

Instructional Methods

Power point presentations and open discussion and question and answer sessions.

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Upon successful completion of this event, program participants interested in receiving CPE credits will receive a certificate of completion.

Course CPE Credits: 7.5
There is no prerequisite for this Course.
Program field of study: Specialized Knowledge
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based
Advanced Preparation: None

EUCI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org

 

Who Should Attend

• Utility Capital Planners
• Project Managers
• Capital Project Engineers
• Financial Reporting Analysts
• Accountants
• Budget Analysts
• Other employees of utilities looking to gain more of a finance education for utilities (e.g., finance support staff in IT, long-term planning, or elsewhere)
• Consultants in the utility industry looking to broaden their finance knowledge
• Budget Managers
• Utilities Finance Managers
• Utilities Business Leaders