Note:
Thank you for your interest in this event. Registration for this webinar is now closed. For questions or to learn about future opportunities please contact
Jenny Keesey at (360) 816-1458 or jenny@nwppa.org.
Who Should Attend:
CFOs, board members, commissioners, and appointed/elected officials who want to learn more about the structure, functions, and responsibilities of a board audit committee. A financial background is not required.
Series Overview:
The Audit Committee Basics series is comprised of four interactive webinars and one chat session to assist utility leaders and policy makers (such as board members, commissioners, and appointed/elected officials) with implementing a board-level audit committee. The class will include prepared content and interactive discussion with class attendees. While participants are encouraged to attend all five sessions, it is not required.
Purpose of the Audit Committee, May 5, 2020
An audit committee is a subcommittee of the board of directors that focuses on the integrity of the utility’s financial statements, engages the external auditor, reviews the external auditor’s report, and reviews the audited financial statements with management. At the discretion of the board, the audit committee may also have additional responsibilities.
While the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 required publicly traded companies to establish an audit committee, this has not been mandatory for privately owned, non-profit, or cooperative organizations. But increasingly, those boards are considering the benefits of establishing an audit committee to help with strong governance and financial oversight. This class will cover the role of an audit committee and how it can assist the management team and the board.
The class objectives are to explain the purpose of an audit committee and how it can help the board with a deeper analysis of financial issues.
Activity: Draft interview questions for the external auditor.
Other Audit Committee Functions, May 12, 2020
The audit committee traditionally focuses on the integrity of the utility’s financial statements, engages the external auditor, reviews the external auditor’s report, and reviews the audited financial statements with management. At the discretion of the board, the audit committee may also have additional responsibilities. This class explores areas for audit committee oversight that impact the financial position of the utility, such as financial policies, enterprise risk management, insurance, internal audits, compliance, and cybersecurity.
The class objectives are to explore expanded responsibilities that the audit committee can assume to further support management and the full board. Management appreciates the opportunity to test ideas and get board-level guidance. The board benefits from delegating finance-related topics to the audit committee for a financial and compliance policy perspective.
Activity: Develop a set of questions for one additional audit committee function in anticipation of an audit committee meeting with management.
Audit Committee Framework, May 19, 2020
In order to execute its responsibilities, the audit committee needs a framework. This class will cover the mechanics of setting up an audit committee, focusing on how roles and responsibilities are defined, clarifying how the audit committee relates to the larger board, and determining how the audit committee will conduct business.
The class objectives are to give board members and utility managers ideas for developing their audit committee framework and to provide examples for framework elements, drawing from industry sources and other utilities’ audit committee frameworks.
Activity: Draft an outline for an audit committee charter or edit an existing charter and develop a meeting calendar for the audit committee.
Note: Participants from organizations with existing audit committees are requested to have their audit committee charter accessible for the assignment.
What to Look for in Financial Statements, May 26, 2020
The board of directors and the audit committee (a subcommittee of the board) are responsible for ensuring that the utility has the financial wherewithal to reliably deliver energy services. It must have adequate working capital, cash flow, and access to capital to fund necessary investments. While the utility has a finance department and an external auditor to review financial statements, board members need to understand the financial underpinnings in order to approve rates, budgets, and major capital projects.
This session will review some of the key elements of the financial statements and important financial ratios. By the end of the webinar, participants will have a greater understanding of the various financial drivers and be able to ask the right questions about the utility’s finances.
The class objective is to give board members tools to understand the financial statements so they can meaningfully participate in discussions of the utility’s financial position. The discussion will focus on what the financial statements demonstrate about the organization’s expenses vs. revenues, its debt position, the amount of patronage credits, its cash flow position, and its ability to fund operations.
Activity: Develop a set of questions to pose to management and the external auditor about your utility’s financial statements.
Audit Committee Basics Webinar Series Chat Session, May 28, 2020
After the completion of the series, participants that attended any of these webinars will receive an invitation to a scheduled chat room session where the instructor will host a discussion of follow-up questions and issues based upon the content of the prior four webinar classes.
Webinar Format:
Each 90-minute webinar will consist of content presentation, interactive Q&A, an assignment, and a discussion of the assignment. The assignment worksheet for the webinar and the presentation slides will be provided the day of the webinar and available for download from the webinar platform.
Webinar Instructor:
Julie Ryan, Aether Advisors, LLC
Webinar Schedule:
Each webinar will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Attendees will be admitted 15 minutes before the webinar begins.
How to Participate:
Instructions will be emailed to attendees within 12 hours before the webinar and we recommend that you test the link to the meeting as soon as you get the instructions. The webinar is best viewed using Internet Explorer as your browser. We recommend that you use a landline for both your phone and your internet connections.
This registration is for one person to attend. We manage our webinars on an honor-system basis; if more than one person from a utility wishes to attend, each is to register separately.
Webinar Series Fees:
Utility Member Rate: $280
Associate Member Rate: $420
Non-Member Rate: $840
Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations are accepted, with full refund, if request is made at least 30 days prior to the course. Within 30 days, fees are as follows: 15-29 days, $100; 1-14 days or "no show," 100% of registration fee. When possible, please send a substitute instead of canceling; NWPPA does not charge a fee for substitutions.