Business & Financial Conference

Program

The Business & Financial Conference offers four days of keynotes, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities from Monday to Wednesday, September 13–16, 2020. Preconference seminars on Sunday, September 13, are a great value-add. Learn more about each of these offerings.

• Preconference seminars
• General sessions
• Breakout sessions
  • Monday A.M. sessions
  • Monday P.M. sessions
  • Tuesday A.M. sessions
  • Tuesday P.M. sessions
  • Wednesday A.M. sessions

Breakout Sessions

Benefit from engaging breakout sessions led by industry experts and public power colleagues — take home actionable ideas and tactics.

Breakout sessions are offered on Monday through Wednesday, September 13–16. Several breakout sessions run concurrently in each time slot and you can go to any sessions you like. Browse sessions below or download the program PDF for a listing by date/time that you can share with colleagues and use to plan your itinerary.

Sessions cover the following tracks or topic areas:

• Customer Accounting & Services
• General Accounting, Finance & Audit
• Human Resources & Training
• Information Technology
• Pricing & Market Analysis
• Risk Management & Insurance

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Agenda at a Glance

Sunday, September 13

8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Registration

8:30 a.m. – Noon
Preconference Seminar

• Accounting for Complex Utility Transactions

1:30 – 5 p.m.
Preconference Seminars

• Rate Design Strategies for Today’s Technologies
• Business Continuity and Emergency Planning

5 – 6:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception

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Monday, September 14

7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Conference Registration

7 – 8 a.m.
Networking Continental Breakfast

8 – 8:45 a.m.
Opening General Session

• Chair’s Address
• The State of Public Power

8:45 – 9:15 a.m.
Break with Sponsors

9:15 – 10:15 a.m. 
Breakout Sessions

• Customer Accounting and Services Roundtable
• Cyber Risk Management for Finance Pros
• Economics in the Time of Coronavirus
• Human Resources & Training Roundtable
• Opening Information Technology Roundtable
• Opening Pricing and Market Analysis Roundtable

10:15 – 10:30 a.m.
Break with Sponsors

10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

• The Financial Impact of COVID-19: Pivoting and Moving Forward
• Practical Guidance on Leases: GASB 87
• Politics, the Pandemic, and Power
• Making Cybersecurity Policies Stick
• Avoiding Shock: Communicating Rate Changes
• Claims: Maximizing your Recovery

11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch on your own

1:30 – 3 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Implementing Customer Engagement Technologies
• Large Utility Roundtable
• Small Utility Roundtable
• Joint Action Agency/State and Regional Association Roundtable
• Know What You’ve Got Before its Gone
• Preparing the Way for Electric Vehicles
• The State of the Market: Broker Roundtable

3 – 3:15 p.m.
Break with Sponsors

3:15 – 4:30 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Protecting Your Workplace from an Active Shooter
• Don’t Panic: Go Paperless!
• Public Power’s Ratings Outlook
• What if We Can't Come In? Catastrophe Planning for HR
• Teleworking Policies and Technology
• Understanding Low-income Customer Usage
• Go Green or Go Home: Paying for Renewables and Transferring Risk

4:45 – 5:15 p.m.
Women in Public Power: Coffee & Conversation

5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Young Professionals Happy Hour

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Tuesday, September 15

7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Conference Registration

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Networking Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 10 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Data-Driven Disruption
• Accounting for Non-Financial Staff
• A Roadmap for Operational and Financial Health
• Hot Topics in HR
• Lessons Learned from COVID-19: IT
• Rate Design for Energy Storage
• Enterprise Risk Management in Public Power

10 – 10:15 a.m.
Break with Sponsors

10:15 – 11:45 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

• AMI: Are Your Customers Telling Your Story?
• GASB Update
• Sprucing Up Your Board Presentations
• HR Hackathon
• Lessons Learned from Time-of-Use Rate Deployment
• New Trends in Contractual Risk

11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch on your own

1:30 – 3 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Customer Satisfaction Pays
• Elevating Your Budgeting Process
• Issuing Bonds in a Volatile Market
• Ask the Attorney
• Cybersecurity: Is Your Utility Ready for the Inevitable?
• Changing with Climate Change and Other Disruptions

3 – 3:15 p.m.
Break with Sponsors

3:15 – 4:30 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• The Show Must Go On: Customer Accounting & Services’ Role in a Crisis
• The Long Game: Financial Planning
• Fiduciary Coverage: Don’t Let It Get Personal
• Pricing and Market Analysis Roundtable

6 – 7:30 p.m.
Reception
Join your colleagues for an evening reception. You are welcome to bring a guest.

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Wednesday, September 16

7:45 – 8:30 a.m.
Networking Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 10 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Lessons Learned from COVID-19: Customer Service
• Lessons Learned From COVID-19: Employees, Risks, and Accounting
• IT Closing Roundtable
• Alternative Rates for Solar PV

10 – 10:15 a.m.
Break

10:15 – 11:30 a.m.
Closing General Session

• Datashock: Artificial Intelligence, Connectedness, and Readying for the Big Data Future

11:30 a.m.
Adjourn

Registration

2020 Conference Registration Fees

Member Registration Fees

American Public Power Association members receive the member rate.

If you register before August 14, 2020:

• $775 - Business & Financial Conference
• $350 - Half-day preconference seminars (each)

If you register after August 14, 2020:

• $825 - Business & Financial Conference
• $400 - Half-day preconference seminars (each)

Non-Member Registration Fees

If you register before August 14, 2020:

• $1,600 - Business & Financial Conference
• $700 - Half-day preconference seminars (each)

If you register after August 14, 2020:

• $1,650 - Business & Financial Conference
• $750 - Half-day preconference seminars (each)

Not an American Public Power Association member? Join today and save $775 on your conference registration. Call Member Services at 202-467-2936 email [email protected] to learn more.

Registration Cancellation, Refund, and Substitution Policy

Registrants who cancel in writing on or before Monday, September 7, 2020 are entitled to a refund of their registration fee, minus a $50 cancellation fee. Registrants who cancel after September 7, 2020 will not receive a refund, but attendee substitutions will be allowed for the 2020 Association Business & Financial Conference and preconference seminars only. Registrants and no-shows who do not cancel on or before September 7 are responsible for the full registration fee and are not entitled to a refund of their registration fee. 

Requests must be made in writing and mailed or emailed to:

Meeting Services
American Public Power Association
2451 Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22202-4804
Email: [email protected] 

Conference Mentor Program

If you’re a first-time attendee, or the only one from your organization, pair up with a seasoned conference-goer who’ll show you the ropes. Your mentor will meet you at the Sunday Welcome Reception and stay in touch with you throughout the conference.

Want to have a conference mentor or serve as one? Select the check box on the online or PDF registration form or contact us at [email protected], or call 202-467-2965.

Questions?

Email [email protected].

Hotel

The 2020 Business & Financial Conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency Savannah. 

Hyatt Regency Savannah
2 W. Bay St.
Savannah, GA 31401

Reservations

The cut-off date to receive APPA's group rate (plus tax) is Sunday, August 23, 2020. If rooms remain in the block after the cut-off date, the group rate will be honored. If not, you may be charged a higher rate. The room block may sell out before August 23, so early reservations are encouraged. For individual reservations, please call 912- 238-1234 and reference “G-APP1” or make your reservation online using the link above. The Hyatt Regency Savannah should receive all reservations no later than August 23.

• Main/Reservation telephone: +1 (877) 803-7534
• Group rate: Single/Double $209 per night (plus tax)
• Reservation cut-off date: August 23, 2020
• Group code: G-APP1
• Reservation link
• Wifi: Complimentary standard wireless access
• Parking: Valet - $37.00/night

Scam Alert

Make your reservations only through the American Public Power Association website. Do not make hotel reservations through any third party that may contact you by phone or email. Use only the online reservation link or the phone numbers and codes provided in brochures from the American Public Power Association.

Assistance

For assistance making your hotel arrangements, please contact Meeting Services at 202-467-2978 or [email protected]. 

Cancellation Policy

Cancelled reservations that are not resold may become a financial liability for the association, so please make your reservations thoughtfully. If you require additional assistance with housing, please contact Meeting Services at 202-467-2978 or [email protected].

Questions

Contact us at [email protected].

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Silver Sponsors

Frequently Asked Questions

Where and when is the next Business & Financial Conference?

September 13-16, 2020
Hyatt Regency Savannah
Savannah, Georgia

September 19-22, 2021
Hilton Denver City Center
Denver, Colorado

What educational credits are available?

Academy events include the following opportunities for educational credits:

• Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET)
• Professional Development Hours (PDHs) as established by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)
• Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Ccedits from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA)

Is there international registration?

Online meeting registration is for U.S. and Canadian residents only. International registrants must provide a signed registration form — signed by the authorized cardholder — if paying with a credit card. Fax the completed registration form to 202-495-7484 or email it to [email protected]. 

Alternatively, you could send a check from a U.S. bank payable to American Public Power Association. Please mail completed form with full payment to our bank lock box:

American Public Power Association
P.O. Box 418617
Boston, MA  02241-8617

Are meals included?

The following food functions/meals are included in the registration fee:

• Sunday - Welcome Reception
• Monday - Continental Breakfast
• Tuesday - Continental Breakfast; Reception 
• Wednesday – Continental Breakfast

What is the conference dress code?

The attire for the conference is business casual. Meeting room temperatures vary, so prepare to dress for cool conditions.

How can I present at the conference?

We welcome your topic and speaker ideas for future conferences and events. To submit your idea for consideration, complete this form. Conference topics are generally determined 6-8 months before the event is held. Ideas will be kept on file for a full year, so if the agenda for the conference has already been determined, your ideas will be considered for the next year’s event, or in case any space opens up in the current year’s program. You will be contacted only if your idea is selected for an upcoming conference.