Jerry Cavalieri speaks to SFSU MBAs about SAP

Last night, HPC CEO Jerry Cavalieri reprised his presentation about "ERP's Changing Role in the Age of Connected Everything" to the San Francisco State University MBA program's BPM class. SFSU has a thriving SAP Award Recognition Program for undergraduate and MBA students.

In addition to giving a live demonstration of SAP Financials, Cavalieri discussed how SAP has become foundational to the enterprise, and how businesses adopt new BPM strategies that redefine and modernize their ERP to adapt in today's social, mobile, and cloud IT architectures.

Students were particularly interested in learning how SAP is making the ERP easier to use, via HTML5 interfaces, and in Cavalieri's recommendation to boost their appeal to employers through the development of niche skills and continuous learning of new technologies.

SAP Fleet Management: two new innovations

The SAP fleet management project we started this summer is moving forward nicely, and we've continued to innovate our fleet management solution for companies on SAP in two notable ways.

First, we've enhanced the fuel management interface with improved navigation for correcting odometer reads. It's now even easier to make and verify odometer corrections, which help determine when to bring vehicles in for service. We've also built standard reports that enable fleet managers to track vehicle usage along a time continuum to detect underuse or misuse based on miles driven, miles per gallon, and fuel consumption.

Second, we've automated the process for setting up new vehicles in SAP. Rather than enter each fleet unit individually in the SAP GUI, which is time-consuming and error-prone, we've added an "easy button" to the HPC Fleet Panel (shown above) that uploads multiple vehicles' master data from a single spreadsheet. This process not only creates many new vehicles in minutes, but also creates the appropriate measurement points and measurement documents automatically. Following that step, our fleet solution for SAP automatically assigns the correct maintenance plan and schedules the notification for the first service. This greatly streamlines the work involved in getting new fleet units into your SAP ERP the right way, the first time.

To learn more about how the HPC fleet template for SAP can benefit your organization, please contact us.

FERC Reporting for SAP® S/4 HANA

Now that more utilities are considering SAP^® S/4 HANA Finance (a.k.a. "Simple Finance"), it's not surprising that questions about regulatory reporting (FERC) on SAP S/4 HANA are coming up.

As a leader in optimizing FERC for the SAP^® ERP since the mid-1990s, HPC America has documented the first FAQ to address some of the most immediate questions utilities have about the impact of S/4 HANA on regulatory accounting and FERC reporting. Whether you're already running the FERC module, or have a homegrown derivation- or transaction-based FERC solution in place to functionalize your GAAP accounts, this short paper will provide some guidance on what to expect. Public and investor-owned utility companies running SAP may request the FAQ about FERC reporting on SAP S/4 HANA here.

Video: Utility FICO/FERC panel discussion at SAP Controlling 2015

At last month's SAP Controlling conference, HPC moderated a panel discussion of four utility company controllers and FICO/FERC experts from RPU, NTUA, FirstEnergy, and Sharyland Utilities, covering a range of topics around modern cost accounting and regulatory reporting strategies for utilities on SAP.

Panelists Bryan Blom, Gerard Curley, Steve Law, and Armando Bustamante were joined in an engaging discussion by utility FICO/FERC professionals from PSEG, Salt River Project, CPS Energy, and EDF Renewable Energy.

Watch the SAP Controlling video online:

Utility FICO/FERC Topics at SAP Controlling 2015 - Part 2/2

Following up on last week's post, the utility company panel discussion at the 2015 SAP Controlling conference will give utility company controllers, utility accounting and finance managers, and Rates department managers a chance to learn from several highly experienced utility FICO/FERC subject matter experts.

Steve Law, Business Analyst at FirstEnergy Corporation, will discuss FirstEnergy's steps to eliminate clearing groups and resolve negative flow errors. Steve has more than 35 years of experience in utility accounting, and has worked in General Accounting, Financial Reporting, Internal Controls, and Business Services. Most recently, Steve has been a project lead on FirstEnergy's upgrade to a "CO-centric" FERC model that enhances external reporting with Controlling module data.

Armando Bustamante, Controller of Sharyland Utilities, will speak about streamlining Sharyland's regulatory reporting and creating a hybrid functional Income Statement. Armando has more than 20 years of experience in accounting, including Financial Reporting and External Audit. He began his professional career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Venezuela and Dallas, before joining the Hunt Family of Companies in 2011. Armando is also a CPA.

Contact HPC to learn more about modern SAP FICO/FERC strategies for utilities at the 2015 SAP Controlling conference, and to request group discount registration passes.

Utility FICO/FERC Topics at SAP Controlling 2015 - Part 1/2

At next month's SAP Controlling conference in San Diego, the utility company panel discussion will cover a number of SAP cost accounting and regulatory reporting topics relevant to utility controllers, utility finance and accounting managers, and Rates department experts.

Bryan Blom, Controller of Rochester Public Utilities, will speak about RPU's steps to improve SAP FERC reporting clarity, and their process for eliminating offline cost calculations. Bryan is a CPA and has more than 16 years of SAP Financials experience. Today, he is responsible for general ledger accounting and reporting; treasury management; accounts payable, budgeting and forecasting; financial regulatory reporting; utility billing, credit and collections; and financial, cost, and rate analysis.

Gerard Curley, Controller of Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, will speak about improving NTUA's assessment process, and minimizing month-end reconciliations in SAP. Gerard has more than 10 years of SAP Financials experience, and focuses on optimizing NTUA's ERP functionality to streamline operations of the utility's electric, gas, water, wastewater, photovoltaic, and communication services.

Contact HPC to learn more about modern SAP FICO/FERC strategies for utilities at the 2015 SAP Controlling conference, and to request group discount registration passes.

Sharyland Utilities to Join SAP Controlling 2015 Customer Panel

HPC America is pleased to announce that Sharyland Utilities will be joining the SAP Controlling customer panel discussion on modern cost accounting and regulatory reporting on September 22.

Armando Bustamante is the Controller of Sharyland Utilities, which serves over 50,000 electric delivery points in 29 counties throughout Texas. Armando is responsible for many aspects of SAP Financials at Sharyland, including general ledger accounting and reporting, accounts payable, financial regulatory reporting, and project accounting. Armando is currently leading Sharyland's implementation of the SAP FERC module, and he is a contributor on the implementation of a new hosted CIS module. Armando has more than 20 years of experience in accounting, including Financial Reporting and External Audit. He began his professional career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Venezuela and the Dallas offices before joining the Hunt Family of Companies in 2011. Armando is a CPA and earned an MBA from the University of Dallas.

Learn more about the utility company SAP FICO/FERC panel discussion at Controlling 2015.