Tentative Agenda
TUESDAY, April 15, 2025
Member Registration Open
Early Bird Sessions:
Work Order Workshop
Bill Miller, Partner
BSGM
KRTA Pro Training
Kirk Collier, Regional Vice President
Jeff Kilpatrick, Regional Vice President
CFC
Equity Management
Kirk Collier, Regional Vice President
Jeff Kilpatrick, Regional Vice President
CFC
User Groups:
Meridian User Group
Justin Cox, Senior Project Manager
Meridian Cooperative
NISC User Group
Trena Quinn, Member Value Industry Consultant
NISC
Milsoft User Group
John Bleiker, Regional Account Manager
Kragen Kechely, Regional Account Manager
Milsoft
Welcome Reception with Exhibitors
EVENING ON YOUR OWN
WEDNESDAY, April 16, 2025
GENERAL SESSION
Team Building Activity
Adopt A Senior from Foster Care
Everything You Need to Know About Capital Credits
Bill Miller, Partner
BSGM
TEC Group Meetings
Co-op Legal Update: Payroll, Record Retention, Escheated Funds
Samantha Crouch, General Counsel and Senior Director of Power Supply and Energy Services
Farmers EC
Powering Up Disaster Finance for Co-ops: The Accounting Side of Preparing for the Next Disaster
David Williams, Disaster Finance Coordinator
Adrienne Lopez
TDEM
NETWORKING LUNCH AND ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION
Breakout Sessions
1:15 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT 1A: Preparing for a Cost-of-Service-Study
Rebecca Payne, Vice President, Managing Consultant
Josh Dan, Consultant
Guernsey
BREAKOUT 1B: Power Supply Strategies
Mark Thomson, Executive Director of Portfolio Strategy
ACES
Breakout Sessions
2:15 p.m. -3:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT 2A: Succession Planning
Jennifer Forey, Manager of Human Resources
Heidie Exner, Controller
Bluebonnet EC
BREAKOUT 2B: The Forms: IRS Forms, 1099s, Sales Tax Exemption Forms
Bill Miller, Partner
BSGM
Breakout Sessions
3:30 p.m. -4:30 p.m.
BREAKOUT 3A: Today's Insurance Coverages and Challenges
Chad Ogren, Vice President Sales and Marketing
Federated Rural Electric Exchange
BREAKOUT 3B: Energy Tax Credits: Direct Pay Considerations
Bill Miller, Partner
BSGM
EVENING EVENT: Ivar's River Pub
THURSDAY, April 17, 2025
GENERAL SESSION
Ethical Decision Making and Fraud: Understanding the Interaction
Steve Dawson, CPA, CFE, President
DFG Forensic Accounting Services
Software and Technology Transitions
Sydnee Parker, Controller, Trinity Valley EC
Barry Brown, IT Coordinator, Heart of Texas EC
Mega Consumers- Data Centers, Crypto & AI Centers
Robert Cobb, CPA, Partner, BSGM
Kurtis Homer, Southwest Texas EC
Keynote Speaker: The Leadership Difference: How Creative Self-Leadership Drives Growth and Vitality
Bobby Hulme- Lippert, Leadership Coach
BHL Coaching
Sessions that may be eligible for CPE Credit:
13 Total Credit Hours Availability
No Prerequisites Required
Work Order Workshop (2 credit hours, concurrent session)
This 2-hour session will dive deeper into the electric cooperative work order process including work-in-process accumulation, closing off work orders, cleaning accounts, special equipment, plant accounting, and depreciation. This session will cover the Uniform System of Accounts (USoA) procedures pertaining to the work order cost accumulation and closing process, special equipment accounting, clearing accounts, as well as coding and categorical mapping of ultimate closed work order costs and allow participants to ask detailed questions about issues or complications they face at their cooperative.
Learning Objectives:
- Better understand the work order process at cooperatives as described in the course outline above.
KRTA Pro Training (1 credit hour, concurrent session)
Kirk Collier, Regional Vice President at CFC for West Texas & Nevada, will guide attendees through the useful application of KRTA Pro. KRTA Pro is a training program from the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) that provides distribution cooperatives with analytical tools to evaluate their financial and operational performance. The program builds on the CFC's Key Ratio Trend Analysis (KRTA) annual reports, which have been published since 1975.
Learning Objectives:
- Better understand how your cooperative has performed against your peers.
- Draw historical insights from your data.
- Learn how to navigate/export your cooperatives KRTA information.
Equity Management (1 credit hour, concurrent session)
Equity management is the process of managing a company's ownership, including the distribution of equity and compliance with regulations. It involves creating and maintaining records of a company's owners, which can include employees, investors, and founders. Kirk Collier, Regional Vice President at CFC for West Texas & Nevada, will guide attendees through the principles of equity management and how they apply to the cooperative’s fiscal health.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand key components of the balance sheet and their relationship to equity.
- Recognize equity ratios and their value in evaluating your cooperatives’ financial health.
- Evaluate an appropriate equity range for your cooperative.
Meridian, NISC, and Milsoft Cooperative User Groups (1 credit hour)
Spend time with representatives from your software system to ask questions, hear what’s new, and understand what enhancements are on the horizon.
Learning Objectives:
- Ask questions and seek clarity on current functionality.
- Explore upcoming software improvements, enhanced functionality and share insider tips and tricks to maximize software performance.
Everything You Need to Know About Capital Credits (1 credit hour)
Bill Miller, CPA is a tax partner with the accounting firm of Bolinger, Segars, Gilbert & Moss in Lubbock, Texas. He began his career with the firm in 1992 and holds a degree in accounting from the University of Texas in Austin. Bring your capital credit related questions. Our panelists will address trends in capital credit allocations and retirements, a remember of do’s and don’ts, and other relevant tax, finance and accounting issues associated with capital credits in a question and answer format. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, due diligence and policy considerations, determining the target retirement cycle for managing current and future general retirements, special retirements (estates of natural persons and other scenarios) on a discounted basis, and unclaimed property considerations.
Learning Objectives:
- To understand the importance of the allocation process and periodic due diligence with respect to the allocation methodology.
- To understand the importance of protecting a member’s rights and interest in the cooperative and avoiding capital credit forfeiture language in contracts.
- To understand the importance of both general and special retirements of capital credits and guidelines for each.
Co-op Legal Update (1 credit hour)
Listen to Farmers Electric Cooperative’s Legal Counsel and Senior Director of Power Supply and Energy Services, Samantha Crouch, share stories and discuss current issues in the legal realm of electric cooperatives.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand current legal developments impacting electric cooperatives.
- Understand how to address legal issues proactively
Powering Up Disaster Finance for Co-ops: The Accounting Side of Preparing for the Next Disaster (1 credit hour)
This session will provide attendees with information directly from the Texas Division of Emergency Management, about how to prepare for the finance side of natural disasters. Adrienne Lopez is HQ Technical Advisor - Recovery Division in the state of Texas. She specializes in State and Federal programs as well as training internal employees and external partners.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand a high-Level Introduction to FEMA Reimbursement
- Get a broad overview of how FEMA’s disaster finance process works and what it means for electric co-ops.
- Recognize Key Challenges – Learn about common roadblocks in disaster reimbursement and why proper documentation and procurement matter.
- Learn about the next steps for understanding the FEMA reimbursement process by participating in a 3-day T-600 course which can equip you with the tools to maximize reimbursement and compliance.
Round Table Discussion
The value of a roundtable discussion at the TEC Accounting Conference lies in its ability to foster deep, interactive dialogue between participants with diverse perspectives, allowing for richer insights and meaningful connections by providing equal opportunity for everyone to contribute to the discussion. The topics are crowdsourcing and reflect some of the more pressing issues that accounting professions are experiencing at their cooperatives. The collective voice of the participants creates a valuable platform for sharing expertise, brainstorming ideas, and building relationships within a focused topic area.
Preparing for a Cost-of-Service Study (1 credit hour, concurrent session)
A co-op’s cost of service study will analyze and break down the total cost of providing electricity to different customer classes, allocating each class a proportionate share of the utility's overall expenses based on their usage patterns, allowing for a fair assessment of how much each customer type contributes to the overall cost of service. Essentially, a true cost of service study helps determine the most equitable way to set rates for different customer groups based on the actual cost to serve them. In this session, the professional staff at Gurnsey will take the attendees through a thought study on what to do before, during, and after a cost-of-service study for their utility.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the process of a cost-of-service study and how to prepare.
- Learn the role of the co-op’s accounting employees during the process.
- Learn how best to implement the results of a cost-of-service study.
- Participate in a question-and-answer session to seek answers for specific circumstances at your co-op.
Power Supply Strategies (1 credit hour, concurrent session)
With power cost being the largest expense at a cooperative, understanding power supply strategies, whether handling in-house or through an outside firm is critical. Attendees will hear from Mark Thomas, Executive Director of Portfolio Strategies at ACES, a nationwide energy management company.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how to manage power supply more efficiently.
- Learn strategies for limiting risk.
- Gain a better understanding of the current power supply environment.
Succession Planning (1 credit hour, concurrent session)
The cooperative business model presents a unique set of guidelines and circumstances, from capital credits and retirements to escheated funds. Hiring for accounting positions at co-ops is not always as straight forward as it may seem. Attendees will hear from a two-person panel from a large coop, an HR Manager and an Accounting Manager, to learn the best practices for succession planning with this specific set of skills. The presenters will review recruiting, retaining, and managing up high potential employees to work in the cooperative accounting field. This session is geared more towards the supervisory side of the accounting department, but even one-person shops can learn how to prepare for future replacements.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the best practices for retaining, recruiting, and promoting accounting professionals.
- Borrow ideas on attracting and keeping talent from fast-growing co-op in a competitive market.
The Forms: IRS Forms, 1099s, W9s, Sales Tax Exemptions Forms, etc. (1 credit hour, concurrent session)
“If in doubt, send a Form 1099.” That is a common answer to the common question of: “The co-op made such and such payment. Should we send a Form 1099?” This session is designed to help answer that question and prepare electric cooperatives for the next Form 1099 filing season. Our speaker will discuss the general rules for who receives Form 1099, the importance of the W-9 to the Form 1099 filing process and why getting a properly completed Form W-9 can be difficult. Using examples and case studies, our speaker will also provide examples of transactions and Form 1099 types that may be (or may not be) required, including (but not limited to) payments for director compensation, independent contractor services, easements, damages, net metering, etc.
Learning Objectives:
- The instructor will review the general rules for preparing Forms 1099.
- Attendees will gain an understanding of the importance of the form W-9 and when backup withholding may be required.
- Attendees will gain an understanding of the importance of the form W-9 and when backup withholding may be required.
Today’s Insurance Coverages and Challenges (1 credit hour, concurrent session)
Chad Ogren is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange in Shawnee, KS. He has earned several insurance designations over the years including earning his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 2007. Prior to becoming Vice President in 2013, Chad was Sales Manager, an Underwriter and an Account Executive for Federated and has been with the company for over 23 years. This session will provide an overview of some of the unique challenges electric cooperatives in Texas are facing regarding insurance coverage in light of some of the extraordinary insurance events that have occurred recently.
Learning Objectives:
- You’ll learn what is covered under Federated’s standard policy and unique coverages.
- You will better understand how difficult excess liability markets are for utilities in today's environment
Energy Tax Credits: Direct Pay Considerations (1 credit hour)
Bill Miller, Partner, BSGM. In August 2022, Congress gave electric cooperatives tax parity with industry counterparts with respect to the ability to take advantage of energy tax credits on eligible projects. Such credits are now refundable through a process known as elective payment (aka “direct pay”). This was done in order to lower the long-term financing costs (and therefore the rates charged to consumers) of new energy technologies. This session will address how electric cooperatives may take advantage of applicable tax credits by addressing the following questions: What projects qualify, how does the bonus credit system work, and how are the tax credits monetized?
Learning Objectives:
- To understand the significance of direct pay of applicable tax credits.
- To have a general knowledge project, base credit and bonus credit eligibility
- To gain an understanding of the process of making the direct pay election
Ethical Decision Making and Fraud: Understanding the Interaction (1 credit hour)
Attendees will learn from Steve Dawson, President of DFG Forensic Accounting Services. For almost 40 years he has performed forensic fraud investigations, internal control design consulting, accounting records reconstruction, litigation support services, and forensic training services for various industries located throughout the United States. This session will highlight how ethical decisions of individuals are woven into actions that can lead to fraud, using real-life examples.
Learning Objectives:
- Attendees will learn that poor ethical decisions do not always transform into internal fraud.
- Fraud examples and ethical decisions that play a major role in the perpetration of that fraud.
- Processes that guide employees to make ethical decisions and this reduce the probability of the recurrence of fraud.
Software and Technology Transitions (1 credit hour)
There is no better way to understand the impact that a significant technological change can have on your organization than by listening to individuals who have gone through the process themselves. Attendees will hear from a panel of peers who have completed a major technology transition at their organization who are willing to share the lessons they each learned.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn first-hand about the large and small challenges you might experience with making a software or technology shift at your co-op.
- Find out how to best prepare for a transition.
- Learn for peer experiences that will help you anticipate possible challenges when onboarding new software at your co-op.
Mega Consumers – Data Centers, Crypto and AI Centers (1 credit hour)
This panel of experts will discuss the various aspects of having a large mega-consumer of electricity on your system and the impact that it has on your co-op’s business. The panelists will represent the generation and transmission, legal and accounting side of hosting a data center, crypto or IA center and how that impacts the financial side of the cooperative. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear the experts and engage in question-and-answer session with will provide insight into these types of electric consumers.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how mega consumers impact the financial health of the cooperative.
- Understand the relationship between the mega consumer/G&T/cooperative.
- Learn the legal implications of having a mega consumer on your system.
The Leadership Difference: How Creating Self-Leadership Drives Growth and Vitality (I credit hour)
Professional leadership coach, Dr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert is a leadership coach, keynote speaker, and creative writer. Previously he served two decades in professional ministry, pastoring diverse congregations in Atlanta, GA, Richmond, VA, and greater Austin, TX and serving in the US Army Chaplaincy. This keynote session will help you gain clarity on personal strengths and priorities and learn how to align energy and focus to drive meaningful progress. You’ll learn how to reframe challenges as opportunities, transforming obstacles into fuel for growth and innovation and discover actionable strategies that drive both personal vitality and team collaboration and momentum.