Management Strategies

Artificial Intelligence and its Key to Efficiencies and Decision Making in Your Finance and Accounting Office
Management, Artificial Intelligence, Accounting Russ Hissom, CPA Management, Artificial Intelligence, Accounting Russ Hissom, CPA

Artificial Intelligence and its Key to Efficiencies and Decision Making in Your Finance and Accounting Office

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly becoming integral to the operations of finance and accounting offices. These tools are revolutionizing how financial data is processed, analyzed, and utilized, leading to significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and decision-making.

Read More
Unveiling the insights: Using industry specific online training will equip your team

Unveiling the insights: Using industry specific online training will equip your team

Staying up to date on not only accounting standards, but on industry best practices helps to build a strong accounting team. A strong team is a foundation for an organization to make long-term goals and a road-map to get to those goals. Online training can be a tool used to train your team in the latest accounting standards and industry best practices. While you may have a Learning Management System (LMS) to train the bulk of your company, having industry specific classes can provide great value to your team and organization.

Read More
Outsourced training can jumpstart your team’s knowledge

Outsourced training can jumpstart your team’s knowledge

Staying up to date on not only accounting standards, but on industry best practices helps to build a strong accounting team. A strong team is a foundation for an organization to make long-term goals and a road-map to get to those goals. If your organization does not have in-house trainers, seeking outsourced training can keep your accounting team current, add to their career skills, and add value to your co-op or utility.

Read More
5 ways to improve your utility’s bond rating

5 ways to improve your utility’s bond rating

Managing a debt rating is a key obligation of the utility Chief Financial Officer. Debt is part of the utility business. Utilities build long-term infrastructure, with a useful life of 30-40 years to serve customers and finance that infrastructure with long term debt. Customers pay for debt service on that debt thought their rates, charged for current use of the system.

Read More
Develop KPI’s using FERC Accounting Practices
Business Process and Strategy Russ Hissom, CPA Business Process and Strategy Russ Hissom, CPA

Develop KPI’s using FERC Accounting Practices

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are measures used to set baseline performance implement improved performance strategies on those baselines.

The measurement ability makes KPIs a management tool for setting priorities and measuring progress in implementing strategy.

Developing and implementing strategy initiatives includes setting goals, measuring progress, making mid-course adjustments, and evaluating success.

Read More
Utility & Co-op Employee Evaluations-Giving Effective Feedback, Helping with Career Goals
Business Process and Strategy Russ Hissom, CPA Business Process and Strategy Russ Hissom, CPA

Utility & Co-op Employee Evaluations-Giving Effective Feedback, Helping with Career Goals

No matter your background, if you are in charge of employees, your job description includes giving employee evaluations, providing feedback, and helping employees develop their career goals. How do you balance the needs of the business with employee needs? What about remote work? Let’s explore some areas.

Read More
Electric Industry 101, Your 5-minute Guide to the Electric Business

Electric Industry 101, Your 5-minute Guide to the Electric Business

In this Electric Industry 101 guide to the business we'll give you a quick overview of the electric industry, i.e. how it’s organized, oversight, and, most importantly, how electricity gets to your home and business. If you are new to the electric industry, you’ll soon see that it is like any other manufacturing business, except that the manufactured product is invisible.

Read More
Hurricane Ian and Sanibel Island Power Grid Rebuild - An insider’s view of electric co-op and utility mutual aid

Hurricane Ian and Sanibel Island Power Grid Rebuild - An insider’s view of electric co-op and utility mutual aid

One of the beauties of the power and utilities industry is the eagerness to help fellow co-ops and utilities in times of need. Restoring power to customers is built into the utility psyche, which translates into the willingness to travel across the country or state to assist in restoration efforts. This is called mutual aid.

Hurricane Ian destroyed the power infrastructure on Sanibel Island in September, 2022. This article is a first hand account of the damage and rebuild of the electric transmission and distribution system.

Read More
Strategies for operating your co-op or utility in a high-interest rate and high inflation environment

Strategies for operating your co-op or utility in a high-interest rate and high inflation environment

We are now in the midst of an economic period we have not seen since the 1970s and early 1980s. Interest rates are moving higher for the foreseeable future, inflation is at a level not seen in 40 years, and economic growth is slowing. This was called "stagflation" in the '70s and '80s.

The point of this article is to discuss how this economic environment impacts management issues at power and utilities organizations. We'll touch on the large areas for consideration. There are not always straightforward answers in these areas, but many points for consideration.

Read More
Electric Cooperative Financial Strategies - Cash Reserves and Patronage Capital Policies

Electric Cooperative Financial Strategies - Cash Reserves and Patronage Capital Policies

Electric cooperative financial strategies include operating cash flows, cash reserves, debt, and customer equity investments in the co-op, which are called patronage capital. What is patronage capital, and how can your cooperative establish a financial strategy that has a long-term balance of cash reserves, debt, and member equity. We discuss proven policies.

Read More
The “E” in ESG is Working Great! How to Mitigate the Budget Impact?

The “E” in ESG is Working Great! How to Mitigate the Budget Impact?

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainable business practices are a key component of utility strategy. Success in moving the “E” factor towards reducing emissions can sometime put a dent in the utility or co-op electric budget. This article discusses the use of decoupling to mitigate budget damage and maximize budget recovery.

Read More
The Board's Role in Managing the Utility Bond Rating

The Board's Role in Managing the Utility Bond Rating

Are lines blurred in your utility over financial responsibilities? The responsibility for the bond rating is part of the role of the utility's Board of Directors through the approval of budgets, electric rates, and short and long-term strategy. The better the bond rating, the lower the interest rate and more funds are retained by the utility vs. paid to bond holders. What are strategies to follow? Here are some insights.

Read More