Utility Governance and Performance Management Training Course

Participants can establish effective oversight arrangements and information flows between utility owners, boards and regulators.

• Board composition assessed against skills, independence, representation and fiduciary duties
• Shareholder letters define owner expectations, targets and reporting requirements
• Regulatory functions distinguish economic regulation, service standards and consumer protection
• Performance agreements align executive accountability with approved corporate objectives
• Meeting calendars connect board decisions with budget and regulatory cycles
• Information asymmetry reduced through structured reporting and independent assurance

Participants can translate service obligations into measurable customer standards and accountability mechanisms.

• ISO 24510 principles frame customer service, access and complaint handling
• Service standards specify continuity, pressure, water quality and response times
• Customer charters communicate entitlements, responsibilities and complaint escalation channels
• Complaint registers classify billing, service interruption, quality and connection issues
• Equity analysis identifies service gaps affecting informal settlements and vulnerable households
• Public disclosure formats present performance commitments, results and corrective actions

Participants can design a balanced utility scorecard with reliable indicators, baselines and targets.

• IWA Performance Indicators organise water, wastewater and service performance measures
• Indicator dictionaries define formulas, sources, frequency, owners and limitations
• Balanced scorecards connect customer, operational, financial and institutional results
• Baselines distinguish seasonal variation from persistent performance deterioration
• Target-setting methods combine historical trends, benchmarks and funded improvement actions
• Data-quality checks test completeness, timeliness, consistency and source traceability

Participants can connect utility strategy, asset condition and capital priorities to measurable performance outcomes.

• Corporate plans translate mandates into strategic outcomes and annual commitments
• Asset registers link critical equipment, condition grades and maintenance histories
• Risk-based asset prioritisation ranks consequence, likelihood and intervention urgency
• Lifecycle costing compares rehabilitation, replacement and deferred maintenance options
• Capital investment plans sequence projects against funding, capacity and service priorities
• Annual operating plans assign milestones, budgets, owners and performance measures

Participants can interpret utility financial performance and identify practical revenue and cost improvement actions.

• Income statements distinguish operating revenue, operating costs and depreciation charges
• Collection efficiency separates billing accuracy, payment behaviour and arrears recovery
• Accounts receivable ageing identifies overdue customer groups and collection priorities
• Tariff structures balance cost recovery, affordability, subsidies and consumption incentives
• 13-week rolling cash forecasts combine collections, payroll, suppliers and debt service
• Cost-to-serve analysis compares customer classes, service areas and operating burdens

Participants can use operational indicators to diagnose losses, interruptions and inefficient resource use.

• Water balance calculations separate authorised consumption, apparent losses and real losses
• Non-revenue water analysis links metering, pressure management, leaks and commercial losses
• Continuity indicators measure supply hours, planned outages and unplanned interruptions
• Energy intensity tracks kilowatt-hours per cubic metre produced or treated
• Preventive maintenance compliance measures completed work orders against scheduled tasks
• Root cause analysis applies five whys and fishbone diagrams to recurring failures

Participants can prepare decision-focused reports and run management reviews that result in accountable action.

• Board dashboards highlight exceptions, trends, decisions required and accountable executives
• Traffic-light ratings use defined thresholds rather than subjective status judgements
• Variance analysis explains deviations from target, budget and prior-period results
• Management-review agendas connect indicators, risks, actions and resource decisions
• Corrective-action registers record owners, deadlines, dependencies and closure evidence
• Escalation protocols trigger board attention when service or financial thresholds fail

Participants can integrate operational, financial and integrity risks into utility oversight and performance processes.

• COSO ERM links strategic objectives, risk assessment, controls and monitoring
• Risk registers identify service, financial, environmental, cyber and integrity exposures
• Business continuity plans define critical functions, recovery priorities and communications
• Procurement controls address bid evaluation, contract variations and supplier concentration
• Fraud risk assessments examine billing adjustments, procurement payments and cash handling
• Climate risk screening tests drought, flooding, heat and infrastructure vulnerability

Participants can prepare an implementable performance improvement plan for their utility or oversight function.

• Performance gaps prioritised using impact, feasibility, urgency and accountable ownership
• Ninety-day action plans sequence quick wins, dependencies and decision gates
• Change stakeholder analysis anticipates resistance from staff, customers and political actors
• Implementation dashboards track milestones, benefits, risks and unresolved decisions
• Review routines establish weekly operational meetings and monthly executive reviews
• Personal application plans identify immediate actions, sponsors and evidence of progress