Financial Ratios for Electric Co-ops

Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Time: 02:00 PM ET / 01:00 PM CT / 12:00 PM MT / 11:00 AM PT [Prevailing Time]
Presenters: Jim Halvorsen, CPA, Principal, CLA, Luke Greden, CPA, Manager, CLA
Moderator: Bill Erlenbush, CPA, Director of Education, NSAC
Learning Objectives:
To introduce financial ratios used in the financial analysis of an electric co-op
- To compare a company to its peers and to industry norms
- To analyze company performance compared to strategic business objectives
- To identify what the ratios will and will not reveal
Field of Study: Finance
Program Level: Basic
CPE Credit: 1 Credit Hour
Delivery Method: Group Internet-based
Prerequisite(s): No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.
  Order Recording

Course Description

Designed specifically for Electric Co-ops, this session will demonstrate a quantitative method of gaining insight into a company’s performance from an evaluation of its financial statements and introduce ratios used in the financial analysis of cooperatively structured organizations. Learn what to look for when comparing an electric co-op to its peers and to industry norms, and how to analyze company performance compared to strategic business objectives.

Presenter and Moderator Bios

Presenter: Jim Halvorsen, CPA, Principal, CLA

A graduate of University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, Jim has more than twenty-three years of experience in public accounting. He specializes in providing auditing, accounting, and consulting services for cooperatives. Jim has extensive experience working with electric coops and agribusiness organizations.  Jim is a member of the firm wide agribusiness and cooperative (ABC) group leadership team and is involved with providing direction and education for the ABC group to ensure clients receive the quality services they expect and deserve.  Jim has worked directly with clients to improve their internal accounting functions, controls, and financial statement reporting processes.  He has been involved with assisting management and board of directors in improving their evaluation and review of month-to-month financial statements.  Jim has assisted grain elevators in understanding the impact on their margins related to price fluctuations and basis movement.  His involvement in various local and national organizations allows him to be a resource for the clients he serves. 

Presenter: Luke Greden, CPA, Manager, CLA

Luke Greden is a Manager with CLA. He has 8 years of experience in public accounting working on assurance engagements in electric cooperatives, school districts, and special districts. He has worked with electric cooperatives in South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Illinois, Arizona and Iowa. Luke also has extensive experience with compliance audits under Uniform Grant Guidance and audits of federal programs (i.e., Hazard Mitigation, Disaster Recovery, etc.).

Luke is a 2014 graduate of Winona State University with a Bachelor’s of science in accounting. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants (MNCPA). He is the scheduling lead for the Southern Minnesota region of CLA, has been actively involved in the CLA young advisory council and was a member of a CLA Assurance Ninja team that worked to enhance our client experience through audit process innovation and improvements.

Moderator: Bill Erlenbush, CPA, Director of Education, NSAC

Bill Erlenbush spent his entire career working in cooperative accounting at GROWMARK. His work experience includes all aspects of order control and billing, accounts receivable/payable, financial accounting, and tax. As compliance officer, he had responsibility for the administration of the compliance and ethics program at GROWMARK and its subsidiaries and retail divisions. In addition, he was been involved in negotiating major acquisitions for GROWMARK. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Illinois State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant. Bill is an active member in many industry, professional, and community organizations. He is past president of the Mclean County United Way Board of Directors as well as the past president of the Heartland Community College Foundation Board of Directors.

Cost
Free for NSAC Members / $56.00 for Non-Members

Delivery System

• All programs are delivered using the Zoom platform.
• Confirmations will include log-in instructions.
• Participants are able to participate using any device with an Internet connect (if the device does not have speakers, the participant can also dial-in) or they can participate with audio only by dialing in.
• All registrants will receive a link to the CLN’s recording by email within 48 business hours of event’s conclusion.
• There will be assistance available to help with technical and connectivity issues up to 10 minutes prior to the start of the presentation.

Registration

All registration is done on-line and each guest must provide their name and email address to participate. All NSAC members may register for free. Non-members may register for a nominal fee.

Refund Policy

NSAC will not issue refunds for CLNs. If a registrant is unable to participate in the CLN and provides notification to info@nsacoop.org 48 hours prior to the session, a credit will be provided for a future CLN. Alert the NSAC staff member monitoring the CLN if technical difficulties are encountered and technical support will be provided to eliminate problems with future CLNs.

Additional Information

Live participation is required for CPE credit and polling questions must be answered to document your active participation. All registrants will receive an email following the session with links to the slides and/or handouts, and a link to the CLN recording (unless otherwise stated). If you are unable to participate in the live session, you can still watch the recorded session, but you will not be eligible for CPE credits. Those eligible for credits will receive their certificate by email with 7 business days.

For more information regarding NSAC CLNs or administrative policies such as complaint and refund, contact the NSAC Headquarters, 7946 Clyo Road, Suite A, Centerville, OH 45459, 937-222-6707, or info@nsacoop.org.