Event Profile

CFO & Senior Accountant Webinar Series: All 12 Webinars

Date(s):
January 16 — December 11, 2025
Venue:
Online
Description:

Who Should Attend:

CFOs, senior accountants, accounting staff, and finance staff.

Overview:

The CFO & Senior Accountant Webinar Series covers various organizational accounting topics and is comprised of 12 webinars from January through December 2025. Webinars can be taken individually or as an entire series; by registering for the full series, you will receive all 12 webinars at a discounted price. Descriptions for each webinar are listed below.


Using the Business Plan to Drive Results, Jan. 16, 2025

  • It’s not too late for a 2025 business plan! Convert the approved budget into a well-functioning business plan.
  • Review and update a business plan template.
  • Review, manage, and document changes in the business plan.
  • Report business plan outcomes to align employees and leadership with the activities and outcomes for the year.

Using Analytics to Manage Operating and Maintenance Expenses, Feb. 6, 2025

  • Understand and analyze the impact of labor within O&M expenses.
  • Understand and analyze the impact of materials within O&M expense.
  • Interact with practical process implementations to best manage O&M expenses.
  • Understand the impact of O&M expenses in rates.

Managing the Debt Portfolio, March 13, 2025

  • Explore debt portfolio financial management theories and philosophies.
  • Learn strategies to manage and minimize interest rate risk.
  • Identify key considerations for transitioning the long-term debt portfolio to accommodate fluctuations in interest rates.
  • Evaluate the impact of interest in rates.

Capital Credit Essentials, April 10, 2025

  • Evaluate and adjust your capital credit retirement philosophy and practice.
  • Understand the impact of capital credits on rates, cash flow, and financial position.
  • Communicate relevant capital credit information to decision-makers.
  • Explore best practices in accounting for capital credits in the planning and forecasting processes.

Sales Tax Best Practices, May 15, 2025

  • Implement best practices to ensure accurate sales tax is determined.
  • Manage accruing and paying sales tax for purchases.
  • Determine how best to prepare for a sales tax audit.
  • Adjust to sales tax audit findings.

Evaluating Contracted Services, June 12, 2025

  • Is it better to hire or contract services? Discuss important considerations in making that determination.
  • Identify considerations in establishing a contracted services agreement.
  • Consider various terms and conditions.
  • Determine the risks of contracting a service compared to hiring.
  • Monitor the cost of contracted services.

Cash Flow - Balance Sheet Changes, July 10, 2025

  • Dive into the connection between balance sheet transactions and the statement of cash flows.
  • Identify the correlation of spending activity to utility investments, such as plant investment.
  • Understand the impact of various financing activities.

Forecasting Work Plan Spending, Aug. 14, 2025

  • Building utility plant is expensive! Use historical data and standard cost information to estimate future work plan spending needs.
  • Use analytics and forecasting skills to estimate work plan spending.
  • Assess the impact of system retirements in planning for future work plans.
  • Consider the impact of aid-to-construction policy and consumer cost-sharing philosophies in overall plant spending.
  • Understand the impact of labor, material, and overheads in the overall cost of work plan projects.

Updating Standard Costs, Sept. 11, 2025

  • Explore the basics of updating standard costs.
  • Understand the background and reasons for standard costs.
  • Determine what information you need and where you can find what is needed to update standard costs.
  • Discuss best practices and challenges with updated costs.

Financial Impact of Implementing Consumer Technologies, Oct. 9, 2025

  • Use smart meter information to make financial decisions.
  • Discuss implementation of technologies such as programmable thermostats, EVs, solar, and others.
  • Evaluate and respond to the financial impact.
  • Use effective reporting to tell the story of your utility.

Depreciation Impact and Fixed Assets Review, Nov. 13, 2025

  • Ensure the fixed asset listing is as accurate and up to date.
  • Explore best practices in determining if assets exist, are in use or obsolete, and have a reasonable remaining depreciation life.
  • Discuss industry norms for depreciation rates and useful asset lives.
  • Evaluate the depreciation schedule of your utility.
  • Consider the impacts of adjustments to plant assets and depreciation lives on the balance sheet and depreciation expense.

Using AI to Enhance Accounting and Finance Processes, Dec. 11, 2025

  • Evaluate how deployments of artificial intelligence can benefit accounting and finance activities.
  • Modernize processes and reporting using AI to free up time for the utility's other financial needs.
  • Discuss areas where errors can be prevented using AI.
  • Consider AI in risk management, financial planning, detection of fraud, and strategic decision-making.

Recordings:

The webinars are only available live; no recordings will be made available.

Instructor:

Teri Wallis, Terilyn Wallis Consulting

Schedule:

All webinars will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Attendees will be admitted 15 minutes before each webinar begins.

How to Participate:

Instructions will be emailed to attendees within 12 hours of each webinar, and we recommend that you test the link to the meeting as soon as you get the instructions. Webinars are best viewed using Chrome 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. 

Fees:

Please visit the event pages for individual webinar pricing.

Utility Member Rate: $1,300
Associate Member Rate: $1,950
Non-Member Rate: $2,600

Canadian utility members, please contact registration@nwppa.org for pricing and to register. 

Note: Organizations that register a group of employees will receive every fifth registration for free. For example, if you register five employees, you only pay for four; register 10 employees, you only pay for eight; and so on. There is nothing additional you need to do to receive this discount.

Cancellation Policy:

Cancellations are accepted with a full refund as follows:

For webinars, virtual classes, and section meetings, cancellations at least five days prior to the event will receive a full refund; within 1-4 days or no show, the charge will be 100% of the registration fee.

For in-person events: cancellations at least 30 days prior to the event will receive a full refund; within 15-29 days there will be a $100 fee; and within 1-14 days or no show, the charge will be 100% of the registration fee.

When possible, please send a substitute instead of canceling; NWPPA does not charge a fee for substitutions. To request a refund, please contact registration@nwppa.org or (360) 254-0109.

Credit:

These courses qualify for CPE credit. Please see individual webinars for credit amount and prerequisites.

Northwest Public Power Association 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 website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

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For More Information:

To find out more about this event, or to learn about other events, view the Training and Event Catalog.