Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000092122-25-000018
Chunk: 2343

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 2
Chunk 2343
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 and a return on, and recovery of, its investment in the utility business. Current and future regulatory decisions can have an impact on the recovery of costs, the rate of return earned on investments, and the timing and amount of assets to be recovered through rates. The Commissions' regulation of rates is premised on the full recovery of prudently incurred costs and a reasonable rate of return on invested capital. While Southern Company's regulated utility subsidiaries expect to recover costs from customers through regulated rates, there is a risk that the Commissions will not approve: (1) full recovery of the costs of providing utility service, or (2) full recovery of all amounts invested in the utility business and a reasonable return on those investments.

We identified the impact of rate regulation related to certain assets and liabilities as a critical audit matter due to the significant judgments made by management to support its assertions about impacted account balances and disclosures and/or the high degree of subjectivity involved in assessing the potential impact of future regulatory orders on incurred costs. Management judgments include assessing the likelihood of (1) recovery in future rates of incurred costs, (2) a disallowance of part of the cost of recently completed plant or plant under construction, and/or (3) a refund to customers. Auditing these judgments, which include assumptions about the outcome of future decisions by the Commissions, required specialized knowledge of accounting for rate regulations and the rate setting process due to its inherent complexities.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the impact of rate regulation on certain assets and liabilities included the following, among others:

•We tested the effectiveness of management's controls over the evaluation of the likelihood of (1) the recovery in future rates of certain incurred costs and (2) refunds or future reductions in rates that should be reported as regulatory liabilities; and the monitoring and evaluation of regulatory developments that may affect the likelihood of recovering certain costs in future rates or of a future reduction in rates. We also tested the effectiveness of management's controls over the initial recognition of certain regulatory assets or liabilities.

•We read and evaluated relevant regulatory orders issued and/or other relevant publicly available information to assess the likelihood of recovery of certain incurred costs in future rates or of a future reduction in rates based on precedents of the treatment of similar costs under similar circumstances.

•We tested certain incurred costs recorded as regulatory assets or liabilities during the period for completeness and accuracy.

•We obtained representation from management regarding the likelihood of recoverability of incurred costs and potential refund or future reduction in rates