Introduction to Electric Utility Financial Statements
Gain the skills to read, interpret, and analyze electric utility and co-op financial statements with confidence. Whether you work in finance, operations, or governance, this course gives you the tools to ask better questions and make better decisions.
- 19 lessons · self-paced
- Downloadable PDF & Excel materials
- Interactive exercises and flip cards
- Review questions in each module
- NASBA-compliant final exam (10 questions)
- Certificate of completion (1.50 CPE)
Understand Your Utility's Financial Statements — From Balance Sheet to Management Discussion
Electric utility and cooperative financial statements are packed with critical information — but only if you know how to read them. This course breaks down each financial statement, explains what it tells you about the organization's health, and gives you practical tools to analyze and interpret the numbers.
From the Statement of Net Position to the Notes to the Financial Statements and MD&A, you'll gain the financial literacy needed to engage effectively with auditors, finance teams, and board members.
- Utility and co-op finance staff who review or present financial statements
- Board members who need to understand and oversee financial results
- Operations managers who work with budgets and financial reports
- New employees in utility or co-op finance roles
- Consultants and advisors serving utilities who need financial context
- Anyone who wants to ask smarter questions about utility finances
Russ Hissom, CPA
Russ Hissom, CPA is a principal of UtilityEducation.com, providing on-demand professional education in FERC, RUS, FASB, and GASB accounting, finance, and ratemaking for electric utilities and cooperatives. With over 30 years of hands-on industry experience, he brings real-world expertise to a modern learning platform trusted by more than 1,000 professionals.
What You'll Be Able to Do After This Course
Inside the Course
Overview of why financial statement analysis matters, the course roadmap, and learning objectives.
- 1.1 – Gain Better Insights with Financial Statement Analysis
- 1.2 – Course Roadmap
- 1.3 – Course Learning Objectives Free Preview
To access the free preview: Click "Watch Free Lesson Preview" at the top of this page to view Lesson 1.3 at no charge before enrolling.
Introduces the four core financial statements and walks through real utility and co-op examples side by side.
- 2.1 – Learning the Basic Financial Statements
- 2A – Walking Through Utility and Co-op Financial Statements
Deep dive into the balance sheet — what the organization owns, owes, and its retained net position — including review questions.
- 3.1 – Statement of Net Position: Our Business Retained Earnings
- 3.2 – Review Questions 1
Covers the income statement equivalent — what drives the bottom line — with an interactive financial statement classification exercise.
- 4.1 – Statement of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Position: What's the Bottom Line?
- 4.2 – Exercise: Classifying Financial Statement Items
Explains the three sections of the cash flow statement and how they reveal the organization's liquidity and financial flexibility.
- 5.1 – Statement of Cash Flows: What Cash Do We Have to Provide Service?
The often-overlooked goldmine — how to navigate the Notes to find critical accounting policies, commitments, and disclosures.
- 6.1 – Notes to the Financial Statements: The Nuggets for Understanding the Details
Covers the MD&A section — management's narrative on results, risks, and outlook — and a financial statement item classification exercise.
- 7.1 – Management Discussion and Analysis: The State of the Union
- 7.2 – Where Does the Financial Statement Item Belong?
Equips you with the right questions to ask finance teams, auditors, and management — and review questions to reinforce the course content.
- 8.1 – Questions to Ask for Better Understanding
- 8.2 – Review Questions 2
Course summary, next steps, and the NASBA-compliant final exam. A passing score of 70% earns your 1.50 CPE certificate.
- 9.1 – Course Summary and Next Steps
- 9.2 – Course Evaluation
- 9.3 – Final Exam for NASBA Certification (5 questions, 70% to pass)
- 9.4 – Course Completion and Next Steps!
Trusted by Over 1,000 Utility Professionals
"This course gave me the confidence to actually read our co-op's financial statements and ask the right questions at board meetings. I finally understand what I'm looking at."
"Clear, well-organized, and immediately applicable. I came from outside the utility industry and this filled in a critical gap in my understanding of how co-op financials are structured."
"Russ has a real gift for making complex accounting concepts accessible. The walk-through of the Statement of Cash Flows alone was worth the price of the course."
"I've been in utility accounting for five years and still picked up new things. The section on MD&A and what to look for was particularly useful."
"Our board members took this course as a group and it transformed our financial review meetings. Everyone came in better prepared and asking much sharper questions."
"Short, focused, and exactly what I needed. I appreciated that it covered both investor-owned utilities and cooperatives — very relevant for the work I do."
Frequently Asked Questions
Continue Your Development
Part of the New Electric Utility Accounting Professional learning path — a structured set of courses to build core electric utility accounting skills. Courses may be taken in any order.
Ready to Build Your Financial Statement Skills?
Utility Accounting and Rates Specialists, LLC 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: NASBAregistry.org.
Requests for refunds must be made in writing within 30 days of purchasing the course. No refunds will be granted after the qualified assessment has been completed. For any concerns, please contact us at 608-628-4020 or at russ.hissom@utilityeducation.com.
Course materials are provided for informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute legal, accounting, or professional advice. © 2026 Utility Accounting & Rates Specialists, LLC. All rights reserved.