Four Takeaways from EEI/AGA That Every FERC Filer Should Know

The EEI/AGA Accounting Leadership Conference brought together CFOs, CAOs, controllers, FERC accounting leaders, and regulatory reporting professionals from utilities across the industry. Sessions featured utility executives, FERC representatives, major audit firms, and EEI and AGA leadership, with conversations focused on navigating growth, increasing regulatory complexity, leveraging emerging technologies, and operating more efficiently with limited resources.

Having worked in utility accounting before joining Systrends, I found it interesting how often the conversations came back to many of the same challenges accounting and regulatory reporting teams have been facing for years: increasing workloads, growing complexity, and very little room for error. Here are the four themes that stood out most.

1. Accounting and Finance Teams Must Do More With Less

During the AI and the Future of the Controllership session, speakers repeatedly returned to the same challenge: accounting teams are being asked to manage increasing reporting requirements without corresponding increases in staff. Automation and AI were consistently discussed as ways to improve efficiency without compromising quality.

For FERC reporting teams, this means taking a closer look at processes that still rely on manual effort. The more repetitive work that can be automated, the more time experienced accountants can spend reviewing filings, resolving exceptions, and ensuring accuracy rather than completing repetitive administrative tasks.

2. Regulatory Compliance Remains a Top Priority

The FERC Audit and Accounting Updates session reinforced that regulatory compliance continues to be a major focus across the industry. Discussions covered FERC audits, accounting updates, evolving regulatory requirements, and the importance of maintaining strong internal controls.

As reporting requirements continue to evolve, finance teams need confidence that their filings are accurate, consistent, and supported by reliable processes. Strong controls and high-quality data remain essential for reducing compliance risk and preparing for audits.

3. Energy Company Growth Is Increasing Reporting Complexity

The Investor and Capital Markets Perspective session highlighted the unprecedented level of investment occurring across the utility industry. Growth in data centers, transmission infrastructure, renewable energy, and grid modernization is creating new accounting and reporting challenges.

As organizations grow, so does the volume and complexity of regulatory reporting. More entities, larger capital projects, and expanding operations all place additional demands on accounting teams. Having efficient, repeatable reporting processes becomes increasingly important as complexity increases.

4. Energy Companies Are Looking for Faster Time-to-Value and Lower Costs

At our booth, we heard this directly from attendees. Many expressed interest in a solution that can be implemented quickly and deliver immediate value. With rising costs in a volatile market across the energy industry, reducing time, effort, and cost associated with reporting software was a common theme. 

Decision makers are looking for technology that can be implemented quickly, reduce manual effort, and demonstrate value without lengthy implementations or expensive professional services. Those conversations naturally raised another question: if finance teams are expected to accomplish more with the same resources, what should they expect from the software they rely on every quarter? 

What "Do More With Less" Actually Means for Your Software

One message came through consistently during the conference: organizations are expected to improve efficiency without sacrificing compliance or accuracy.

That raises an important question: is your reporting software helping your team become more efficient, or is it creating additional work?

Many reporting platforms used for FERC filings were originally built for other regulatory frameworks and later adapted for FERC.  As a result, organizations often pay separately for services such as XBRL tagging, spend months implementing new software, or rely on manual processes to produce filing-ready reports. Those aren't accounting challenges. They're software limitations.

Systrends' eForms was built specifically for FERC Order 859 reporting. XBRL tagging is automatically generated in the background, eliminating the need for separate tagging services or manual mapping. Historical filing data is imported directly from FERC's submission history, allowing most organizations to be up and running in hours rather than weeks or months. Users can generate filing-ready PDF reports without manual formatting and continue making changes right up until submission. 

The goal isn't simply to automate another process. It's to give accounting teams more time to focus on reviewing their filings instead of preparing them.

See How It Works

If the challenges discussed at the EEI/AGA Accounting Leadership Conference sound familiar, we'd love to show you how eForms helps utilities reduce manual effort, simplify implementation, and streamline FERC reporting. 

Request a personalized demo to see the platform in action.