TEC Spring Conference Roundup

June 1, 2016

Texas Electric Cooperatives hosted three conferences in a month, bolstering the educations and skills of electric cooperative personnel who specialize in accounting, human resources and administration.

Bob Beam’s session, Top 10 Audit Mistakes and How To Avoid Them, was offered to the 115 attendees of the TEC Accounting Conference, held April 20–22 in San Marcos. Beam is a senior partner at accounting firm Bolinger, Segars, Gilbert & Moss. He said co-ops should watch out for overlooked variances within accounts because they can keep an audit from running smoothly.

Guidelines for social media in the workplace was a topic during the TEC Human Resources Conference, held May 17–18 in San Marcos. Elizabeth Siberry Chestney,

partner with Cornell Smith Mierl & Brutocao, told the 42 attending members that incorporating co-op’s social media policy into existing guidelines is more effective than having it separate.

Some of the 42 attendees of this year’s TEC Administrative Professionals Conference, held May 18–20 in San Marcos, said that generational differences in their staffs can pose

challenges. Kim Judkins, senior field representative with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, helped admins understand how baby boomers, members of Generation X, Millennials and other age groups can work together to create a successful co-op culture.