Reverse FERC Drill-Down in SAP

As cost flows become more complex, utilities today often find it challenging to trace costs in adequate granularity from sender to receiver—and in reverse to more easily explain costs to regulators. HPC America has pioneered an accounting approach that enables unmatched forward and reverse FERC drill-down transparency.

Our “CO-centric” design for utility financials leverages the Controlling module’s rich secondary cost

data, and our Utility Financials Accelerator and Cost Flow Forensics software provide the most detailed forward and reverse translation of costs. In a forward translation, an original charge is split to one or more FERC accounts. HPC CFF indicates which portions of these original transactions trace to each FERC account. Likewise, in reverse, HPC CFF traces each FERC account to the portions of the original transactions, thereby explaining each dollar amount in FERC accounts by the natural account amounts entered. Our CO-centric design creates a trail of sender/receiver handoffs, and HPC CFF plays this back in a FERC context.

Learn more about modern utility accounting on SAP, and contact us to discuss your own challenges around tracing costs and the FERC drill-down.

New Software for Utilities on SAP: HPC Cost Flow Forensics (CFF)

Total visibility into complex cost flows—to the penny

HPC Cost Flow Forensics (CFF) is software for utility companies on SAP® that provides total visibility into lengthy or complex cost flows. It enables Rates and Finance professionals to identify the dollars and descriptions associated with every single cost object by FERC account, even those typically obscured from view in between the final (receiver) and source (sender) objects. As a result, HPC CFF improves responsiveness to regulatory inquiries and reduces audit risk, with zero disruption to current operations practices.

Complex Cost Flows Hinder Transparent Regulatory Reporting in SAP

As utilities have grown through acquisition over the last decade, their cost flows have become increasingly lengthy and complex. Key elements in the flow are often obscured from view, challenging Rates and Finance to answer questions about actual costs from regulators and management. The traditional cost model and legacy SAP FERC solution are simply not sufficient to expose the rich detail typically found in internal orders and WBS elements:

HPC Cost Flow Forensics (CFF) Delivers Complete Transparency

In combination with the IS-U/FERC Module and HPC Utility Financials Accelerator, HPC CFF exposes all of the cost objects in between the cost flow's sender and receiver. In doing so, it improves responsiveness and accuracy to regulatory inquiries; reduces audit risk and strengthens rate case positions; and, ultimately, provides one version of the truth between FI, CO, and FERC.

Learn more about HPC Cost Flow Forensics and how it can benefit regulated utilities on SAP.