Business & Financial Conference

Sunday, September 18

Preconference Seminars

Require an additional fee

• Sound Financial Planning for Long-Term Stability 
  8:30 a.m. – Noon

  Utilities are under pressure to minimize rate impacts on customers while keeping the system reliable and planning for infrastructure replacement. What role do financial decision makers play in this scenario? Learn how to define revenue requirements and what other key targets help ensure a utility’s long-term financial stability. Understand your utility’s current financial position and identify areas for improvement while minimizing the impact of potential rate changes on customers. Learn how to successfully implement a plan to continue to meet (or work toward) defined revenue requirements and review guidelines that can help make those difficult financial decisions easier.

  Instructor: Dawn Lund, Vice President, Utility Financial Solutions

• Trending Topics in Public Utility Accounting 
  1:30 – 5 p.m.

  Accounting standards for public power utilities are constantly evolving. Layer on infrastructure federal funding opportunities and the accounting implications, and it can be a challenge to keep up. Join this seminar to gain an understanding of Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards and grant funding opportunities that impact your utility operations.

  • Complexities in the new lease standard. Utilities and governments across the nation are preparing for the implementation of GASB 87. Learn about going through implementation, gathering required data, recognizing nuances in the standard that have come out of the implementation guides, and preparing footnotes.

  •  A fresh look at regulatory accounting. With changes in accounting standards and current market conditions, it may be time to look at whether regulatory accounting is right for your utility. Review the GASB standard and discuss real-life examples and ways to use a rate stabilization fund to help maintain stable rates.

  • Grants, grants, grants. Utilities have a remarkable opportunity to leverage federal funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support infrastructure projects. Find out how to meet your community’s energy needs with effective planning and preparation strategies for putting infrastructure dollars to use and using long-term debt to cover the remaining costs. By taking a proactive, strategic approach to financial planning for a project’s non-grant-funded portion, you can make a significant difference in maintaining affordable rates. Discussion will include long-term debt issuance, funding alternatives and debt structuring.

    Instructors: Doug Baldessari, CPA, Partner, and Bethany Ryers, CPA, MAS, Firm Director, Baker Tilly

• Learning to Lead: Pathways to Leadership 
  1:30 – 5 p.m.

  Some people become leaders by choice, while others are thrust into the role by necessity. Regardless of the circumstances or the individual, leading people and projects requires a base-level understanding of the fundamentals of leadership. By developing new skills and a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of leading people and projects, you will be more effective at advancing the organization you serve and obtain better overall results. Review different leadership theories, identify your personal leadership style and the styles of others to maximize your effectiveness, and receive guidance on leading through influence and innovation. Hear real-life examples from a retired public power executive and take away valuable lessons and tips to apply to your own work.

  Topics include:

  • Defining characteristics of a leader

  • Determining effective influencing skills

  • Inspiring a shared vision

  • Challenging the process for innovation

  • Enabling others to act

  • Making celebration part of the organizational culture

    Instructor: Nilaksh Kothari, CEO, Preferred Consulting LLC, and former General Manager, Manitowoc Public Utilities, Wisconsin

Welcome Reception

Monday, September 19

Networking Breakfasts

• Networking Breakfast
• Newcomers Networking Breakfast
  • New to the Business & Financial Conference? Meet other first-time conference attendees, learn more about the conference and APPA, and make connections that you can build on throughout the conference. 

 Opening General Session

• The Fans First Way - The 5 E’s To Create Raving Fans/Customers

  The Savannah Bananas are a baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia who have sold out every game since their first season in 2016. The team has built a social media following in the millions including becoming known as TikTok’s favorite team with over 2 million followers.  

  Jesse Cole, founder of Fans First Entertainment and owner of the Savannah Bananas, will share his philosophy on developing a Fans First mentality and how you can apply that to your organization. Learn how to eliminate friction, entertain always, experiment constantly, engage deeply and empower action with your team. 

  Jesse Cole, founder of Fans First Entertainment and owner of the Savannah Bananas
  
  

Break

Breakout Sessions

1. ESG Reporting – The Effect on Public Power [Accounting & Finance]

   Join us for a discussion of the current trends covering Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting and how it can help accelerate your utility’s mission, transform your culture, and increase customer engagement. We will also discuss what you could expect from a reporting and auditing standpoint in the future.
   
   Olga Darlington, Partner, and Julie Desimone, Partner, Moss Adams LLP

2. Harnessing the Power of Payment Technologies [Accounting & Finance]

   Today’s payment technologies mean you can say goodbye to banker hours and hello to 24/7 support and access to your finance and accounting needs. Learn more about what tasks these technologies can (and can’t) support, what it takes to prepare your teams and customers to switch to using such systems, and discuss potential drawbacks or concerns you might face. 
   
   Nicole Epp, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo; and Naline McMillan, Manager, Accounts Payable, JEA, Jacksonville, Florida

3. Learning by Doing: Piloting Rate Designs [Rates & Pricing] 

   Testing out rate designs before full-scale implementation can impart insights into how to refine the design before implementing it system-wide. Hear what several utilities learned from these test launches, including how these initial forays into new offerings shed light on how customers adapt to new rates and informed their long-term strategies.
   
   Kyle Brown, Electric Planning Engineer, Greenville Utilities Commission, North Carolina; Juli Crawford, Director of Financial Planning & Analysis, JEA, Jacksonville, Florida; Evan Leebens, Rate Analyst II, and Karen Olofson, Rate Analyst Supervisor, Missouri River Energy Services, Sioux Falls, South Dakota  

4. Managing Cybersecurity Risk in the Supply Chain [Information Technology] 

   Your vendors are not just providing a service or product, they are either partners or liabilities in your risk management program. Regardless of your size, review how to adequately assess new vendors and mitigate the cybersecurity risk they pose to your organization, including the tools that can help you in the vetting and contracting process. 

5. Integrating Risk Management for Resilience [Risk Management & Insurance] 

   Utility risks come in many forms – whether as natural disasters, economic stressors, or cyber attacks – and risk management comprises several roles and functions across the utility. Walk through what an integrated approach to risk management looks like, blending enterprise risk management, insurance, business continuity, and disaster recovery in an united effort. 

6. A New Learning Paradigm [Human Resources & Training] 

   Reskilling, upskilling, and increasing cross-functional collaboration are critical to both individual employees and an organization’s success. Discover how organizations have rethought their way of onboarding and training to develop a continuous learning culture that supports the different ways employees learn.  
   
   David Key, Public Service Faculty, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia; and Brad Federman, CEO, VP, Development, SHRM Memphis Board Chair, Grace House of Memphis

Lunch on your own

Breakout Sessions

7. The Top 5 Uses of Regulatory Accounting [Accounting & Finance]

   Major unexpected expenses or obligations can lead to problems including operating losses, inadequate cash flows, not meeting bond coverage, or fuzziness on when to increase electric rates. ASC 980 and GASB 62 for regulatory accounting tie expense and revenue recognition to the timing of rate recovery from your customers. Discuss how this accounting tool can benefit your organization and how to implement and use GASB 62 with ease.
   
   Russ Hissom, Owner, Utility Accounting Education Specialists

8. Rating Agency Outlook for Public Power [Accounting & Finance]

   Hear from representatives from the premier rating agencies regarding the outlook for public power and the electric utility industry. Learn about key factors that may influence how utilities issue and repay bonds and other financial measures. 
   
   David Bodek, Senior Director, S&P Global; and Dennis Pidherny, Managing Director Public Finance, Fitch Ratings

9. Getting the Wheels in Motion for EV Rates [Rates & Pricing] 

   As more people switch to electric vehicles, utilities need to be ready with rate strategies that can influence charging behavior for load management and adequately recoup costs on infrastructure investments. Explore the considerations needed to develop rate structures and pricing for public charging stations, support customers with EV fleets, and create other options for residential customers with EVs. 
   
   Mark Beauchamp, President Utility Financial Solutions; and Mark Brown, Utilities Rate Analyst, Fayetteville Public Works Commission, North Carolina

10. Zero Trust Deconstructed [Information Technology] 

    You’ve likely heard vendors use the phrase “zero trust” – but what does it mean in practical terms? Break past the buzzword to learn what this approach looks like for your utility, what the components of the model entail, and where to start to transition to a zero trust security model.  
    
    Peter Serrano, Chief Information Security Officer, Easton Utilities

11. Alternative Pathways in a Hardened Insurance Market [Risk Management & Insurance] 

    As the risk management landscape continues to evolve and become more complicated, utilities are seeking creative solutions from the insurance market to adjust coverage accordingly. Learn about alternative insurance products to expand and strengthen your portfolio and discuss strategies for working with insurance providers to alleviate rising coverage costs.

    Derrick Easton, Managing Director, Willis Towers Watson

12. Addressing Employee Mental Health and Wellness [Human Resources & Training] 

    Mental health in the workplace has moved from a backburner issue to the foreground for many organizations, and has HR pros wading through scores of resources. Learn where to access practical resources that offer meaningful support to your colleagues and which initiatives and benefits convey to employees that your organization cares about their whole health and wellness.
    
    David Emanuel, Founder, Develop Empowerment, Chief Human Resources Officer, JEA; Mark Johnson, CEO Gateway Community Service Board; and Jose Lopez, Behavioral Health Regional Services Administrator, GA Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities

Break

Breakout Sessions 

13. Making Your Way to the Cloud [Accounting & Finance & Information Technology]

    The decision to move IT services to the cloud can be fraught with peril. Learn what factors should impact cloud migration, the benefits of cloud services, and potential pitfalls.

14. Three Tips for Revenue Stability [Accounting & Finance]

    Extraordinary events have led to changes in costs that even the best forecasters did not predict – but that doesn’t mean your utility can’t take action to keep revenue stability. Review how three key strategies support long-term financial success, including establishing a formula for payments in lieu of taxes and transfers to the general fund, leveraging power cost adjustments in recovering power supply costs, and establishing a cash reserve policy.
    
    Jillian Jurczyk, Financial Analyst, Utility Financial Solutions; Dawn Lund, Vice President, Utility Financial Solutions

15. Setting Cryptocurrency Mining Rates [Rates & Pricing]

    For utilities, mining associated with cryptocurrency can be a tremendous growth opportunity and a tremendous challenge. Left unaddressed, demand from crypto mining operations can exceed your system’s current total demand. Hear how utilities developed rates to ensure crypto mining operations didn’t overwhelm their systems or negatively affect their customers.
    
    Chau Nguyen, Director, Analytical Services, Electric Cities of Georgia

16. Risk and Insurance Roundtable [Risk Management & Insurance] 

    Share insights with your peer leaders responsible for overseeing risk management and interacting with the insurance markets. Bring your questions on topics ranging from risk diversification to credit programs and navigating the insurance market.  
    
    Cindy Fee, Casualty Broking Lead, Alliant Specialty – Energy and Power

17. Show Me the Money & Everything Else [Human Resources & Training] 

    Recruiting and retaining employees is not just about compensation, but the full package of days off, flexibility, and more. Assess how your organization’s overall benefits package and compensation fares against today’s competitive environment for talent, and how you can improve your standing, even if you can’t raise wages.   
    
    Jim Thornton, Founder and Owner, Innovative Health and Benefit Solutions

Happy Hour with Colleagues 
(With pay-your-own-way bar)

Tuesday, September 20

Networking Breakfasts

• Networking Breakfast
• Women in Public Power Networking Breakfast

General Session 

• The State and Future of Power
  Preview and prepare for the future. Hear how changes in technology, customer expectations, distribution models, and government policies are impacting the electric utility industry, what that means for your utility and for you. 

  Ted Walker, Partner, Guidehouse
  
  

Break with Sponsors

Breakout Sessions

18. GASB Update [Accounting & Finance]

    Learn the latest updates from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, including how changes to standards may affect your utility and what to expect to adjust to coming down the pipeline.
    
    Deborah Beams, Supervising Project Manager, Governmental Accounting Standards Board

19. Give a Financial Presentation with Impact [Accounting & Finance]

    Make your monthly financial report presentation more engaging for the senior level team and the board. Get different ideas for designing a dashboard-style report and review which metrics best assist management with decision-making, including ratios, charts, as well as key indicators.  

20. Proactive DER Management [Rates & Pricing] 

    Distributed energy resources – including rooftop solar, battery storage, and EVs – are being deployed at a steady pace. Utilities have mostly been reacting to these technologies being placed on their system, adapting rates to meet unforeseen costs. Explore more proactive options and strategies for managing DERs that provide utilities with better cost and revenue certainty.
    
    Tony Georgis, Managing Director, Energy Practice NewGen Strategies & Solutions, LLC; Brent Baker, Vice President, Chief Customer Officer, City Utilities of Springfield, Illinois

21. Information Technology Roundtable [Information Technology] 

    Come have an exciting conversation and share insights around topics of interest including bring your own device programs, IT and cybersecurity frameworks, cyber insurance, password requirements, and supply chain issues and solutions for IT equipment.

22. How to Do a Root Cause Analysis [Risk Management & Insurance] 

    The key to developing solutions is identifying the key problem. Learn about root cause analysis and how to leverage this technique to effectively manage your utility’s challenges. Get an outline of common techniques, walk through practical examples, and discuss how to implement this analysis in your organization.

23. Strategic Planning for Workforce Development [Human Resources & Training]

    Examine how your strategic workforce development plan should look to cover every part of the employment lifecycle — from recruitment through onboarding and training, retention, and succession planning. Learn about the critical stages of talent management, the essential components of a strategic plan, and tools to help you successfully manage workforce development.
    
    Caitlin Humrickhouse, Director, and Allison LeMay, Manager, Baker Tilly

Lunch on your own

Breakout Sessions 

24. Large Utility Roundtable [Accounting & Finance]

    Connect with your colleagues from other large utilities and organizations to swap ideas and strategies on the business and finance topics of your choice. 

25. Small Utility Roundtable [Accounting & Finance]

    Connect with your colleagues from other small utilities and organizations to swap ideas and strategies on the business and finance topics of your choice. 

26. Joint Action and Association Roundtable [Accounting & Finance]

    Meet with representatives from other joint action agencies and state and regional associations to discuss your most pressing challenges and share successful strategies in business and finance.           

27. Engaging and Educating Customers on Rates and Programs [Rates & Pricing] 

    Whether implementing a rate change or launching a new program, understanding what your customers want and how to engage with them is key. Discover what polling and research tell us about what motivates customers and what informational gaps you need to fulfill to gain acceptance and adoption of new rate designs and demand response programs. 
    
    Jim Malcom, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Apogee Interactive, Inc.; Michael Vigeant, CEO, Great Blue Research

28. The Importance of Bringing Cyber Hygiene Home [Information Technology] 

    A culture of cybersecurity doesn’t stop at the office doors. Employees who follow sound cybersecurity practices in their personal lives are also more cybersecure at work. Learn how to train your employees to be cybersafe across both work and personal devices, and how to appropriately convey how their actions online and on social media can affect their privacy and vulnerability and the organization’s risk.  
    
    Fred Christi, Chief Information Officer, Easton Utilities; Lisa Plaggemier, Chief Strategist, National Cybersecurity Alliance

29. Understanding Insurance Claims [Risk Management & Insurance] 

    Proper claims management is time-consuming but essential to ensuring that long-tail claims result in maximum benefit to the organization. Review the nuts and bolts of the claim lifecycle, potential pitfalls, and examine how your organization’s risk tolerance can determine future coverage limits, deductibles, and reserves.
    
    Heath Silvey, Account Executive, Aon Risk Services

30. CYA: Ask the Attorney [Human Resources & Training] 

    Bring your tough challenges and burning questions to this “ask me anything” session with an employment attorney to make sure your practices and potential future problems are handled within the letter of the law. Topics can include anything from how new legislation such as the No Surprises Act affects workplace policies, addressing medical marijuana use and drug testing practices, and more. 
    
    Ellen Edwards, General Counsel, Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority; and Sarah Lamar, Partner, Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn, P.C.

Break with Sponsors

Breakout Sessions 

31. Purchasing & Budgeting in a Constrained Supply Chain [Accounting & Finance]

    Amid the price fluctuations, changing fulfillment estimates, and dearth of bids, actually getting equipment delivered might feel like winning the lottery. Discuss what budgeting and purchasing practices and strategies work in this environment, including where to consider adjusting any internal controls and process changes.
    
    Julie Desimone, Partner, Moss Adams LLP; Kevin Simovic, CPA, Partner Moss Adams

32. Preparing for Infrastructure Funding [Accounting & Finance]

    Utilities and other community organizations will soon be tapping into significant federal funding to support infrastructure projects to meet future energy needs. Discuss effective strategies to plan and prepare for applying for these infrastructure dollars, and how to budget and plan for associated expenses that can’t or won’t be covered with grants.  

33. Designing Rates to Encourage Beneficial Electrification [Rates & Pricing] 

    If rates influence behavior, and you want to support increased electrification, then your pricing structures should incent customers to adopt electrified end uses such as electric vehicles and home heating. Explore how different rate structures support or detract customers from electrification and the extent to which each allows for equitable cost recovery for the utility and for customers. 

    Patricia Taylor, Senior Manager, Regulatory Policy & Business Programs, American Public Power Association; Alcides Hernandez, Pricing Supervisor, Sacramento Municipal Utility District

34. Holistically Managing Vulnerabilities [Information Technology] 

    Between assessing, monitoring, and managing risks, vulnerability management can be a full-time job (or multiple full-time jobs).  Talk about how to efficiently and effectively manage your cyber risks through a holistic enterprise risk management process and discuss how such a program can work in environments with limited resources and expertise.

35. When and How to Communicate Risk [Risk Management & Insurance]

    Effective risk reporting enables people at all levels of the organization to make informed decisions. Get guidance on how to structure and develop your risk communications to ensure people across your organization know what type of information to communicate at what time and to who. Outline a basic plan that details the key risk functions such as internal controls, audit, and risk management, in this hands-on session. 
    
    Randy Kreus, President, Customer Care Network, Inc.

36. Succession Planning Strategies [Human Resources & Training]

    How prepared is your organization if multiple leaders or managers retire in the next few years? Review what kind of training and knowledge transfer you can and should be incorporating into key roles and potential future leaders to ensure leadership continuity. Share with your peer utilities on how you are making your people ready to take lead positions and planning ahead to support smooth transitions when the time comes.
    
    Julio Torrado, Director of Human Resources & Communications, Keys Energy Services, Florida

Reception 

Wednesday, September 21 

Networking Breakfast

Closing General Session 

• Adaptability: The New Leadership Superpower
  There is extraordinary contrast between the volume of rapid societal and technological change and the traditional, stable nature and culture of the utility industry. But as chaotic as our world may seem right now, for those open to learning there is an opportunity to re-imagine our work and our workplace.
  
  To be successful, leaders and organizations must be able to craft and cascade communication, predict the realistic impact of change on their industry, AND develop a strategy to navigate change. Get practical, real world take-aways on how to succeed, and help your utility succeed, in these changing times. 
  
  Tangela Johnson, President/CEO, North Georgia Corporate Consulting
  
  

Conference Adjourns