Mastering Regulatory Assets: Your Roadmap to Smoother Ratemaking
Learn how to use regulatory accounting under ASC 980 and GASB 62 to align expense and revenue recognition with approved customer rates — reducing financial volatility and improving the clarity of your financial statements.
- 15 lessons · 2.5 hours of video
- Downloadable PDF & Excel materials
- Journal entry examples and templates
- Review questions in each module
- NASBA-compliant final exam (18 questions)
- Certificate of completion (3.50 CPE)
Use Regulatory Accounting as the Strategic Tool It Was Designed to Be
A major storm. A sudden fuel cost spike. An extraordinary maintenance expense. Events like these can severely distort a utility's financial results in ways that don't reflect long-term rate recovery — unless regulatory accounting is applied correctly.
This course provides a practical, hands-on approach to implementing ASC 980 (for private utilities and cooperatives) and GASB 62 (for public power and municipal utilities). You'll learn how to identify which costs qualify for regulatory treatment, record expense and revenue deferrals, apply regulatory accounting to rate stabilization reserves and CIAC, prepare the required financial statement disclosures, and understand how regulatory accounting affects cost-of-service studies and long-term financial planning.
The course also covers when regulatory accounting should be discontinued — an important but often overlooked topic — and how to properly unwind related balances when rate recovery is no longer probable. Applicable to utilities of all sizes, this is the flagship course in the Mastering Co-op & Utility Regulatory Accounting Career Track.
- Utility and co-op controllers and senior accountants
- CFOs and finance managers responsible for rate strategy
- Staff recording and reporting regulatory assets and liabilities
- Rate analysts preparing or reviewing cost-of-service studies
- Consultants advising utilities on regulatory accounting and compliance
- Auditors of cooperatives and utilities
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 35 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
A practical introduction to regulatory accounting — what it is, why it matters, and how it's used by utilities and cooperatives of all sizes.
- 1. Regulatory Accounting: What It Is and Why It Matters Free Preview
- Lesson Menu / Index
- 2. Course Overview
- 3. Learning Objectives
- 4. Introduction to Regulatory Accounting
Determine whether your utility qualifies for regulatory accounting treatment and work through the initial setup and implementation steps.
- 5. Is Your Co-op or Utility Regulated?
- Thought Break
Apply regulatory accounting to expense recovery scenarios — storm damage, extraordinary costs, loss on retirement, and maintenance programs — to prevent recoverable costs from slipping through the cracks.
- 7. Regulatory Accounting for Expense Recovery
- 8. Review Questions — Part 1
- 9. Loss on Retirement and Maintenance Programs
Use regulatory accounting on the revenue side — rate stabilization reserves, grants, capacity cost recovery, and mark-to-market adjustments.
- 10. Regulatory Accounting for Rate Stabilization, Grants & Capacity Cost Recovery
Review key takeaways and pass the final exam to earn your 3.50 CPE certificate.
- 11. Review Questions — Part 2
- 12. Course Summary
- 14. Course Evaluation
- 15. Final Exam
Trusted by Over 1,000 Utility Professionals
"This learning path finally made regulatory accounting practical instead of theoretical. The real-world examples showed exactly how to use ASC 980 and GASB 62."
"Russ was great and explained everything really well — someone who has actually been in the industry. I will be taking more courses!"
"This was an incredible overview! I cannot wait to share this with others. I LOVED how you explained things. You have great speaking and explanation skills."
"Clear, practical, and very relevant to utility accounting. No hype — just useful knowledge that applies immediately."
"Good basic understanding of RUS and the chart of accounts. This class helps provide a basic foundation."
"The title is a great description of the course materials. Very informative course!"
Frequently Asked Questions
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Apply Regulatory Accounting with Confidence
Learn to use ASC 980 and GASB 62 as the strategic financial management tools they were designed to be — and earn 3.50 NASBA CPE credits.
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.