Telecom Audit
Enjoy Sustainable Telecom Audit Savings
Cass telecom audit controls produce measurable results for our telecom expense management clients, who meet with their account manager regularly to review monthly reports.
Telecom expense management is a business process, and as such, it can be managed so that continuous process improvement is achieved. Systematic telecom invoice audits are a key component of the continuous improvement process. Process inputs include electronic invoice feeds. The Cass TEM software application applies business logic to audit the invoice data based on business rules specific to the organization and its contracts. Process exceptions are flagged, and an experienced telecom analyst evaluates the exceptions and manages disputes.
Telecom Audit Basics
Large enterprises should understand the basics of telecom auditing. When it comes to a telecom audit, you must distinguish between:
1. Event-driven vs. continuous – Is the telecom audit an after-the-fact “event” or part of a continuous, systematic process?
2. Data-rich or data-poor – How much invoice data is subject to the audit? Are you auditing data samples or some percentage of invoice information? Are you auditing every line-item charge of every invoice, every month?
3. Managed vs. unmanaged – What are the human factors of the audit? Is there an experienced staff reviewing system-generated reports? Who analyzes the data, reviews audit findings and manages disputes?
Continuous Process for Telecom Audit
As described above, the Cass TEM service offers the most rigorous examination of your telecom invoices. The Cass automated telecom audit process seeks to include every possible line-item charge. This goal is accomplished when the Cass team works with your carriers to convert your invoices to an industry-specific, electronic standard – EDI ANSI 811. When invoices are received via EDI ANSI 811, the most granular level of expense detail can be captured by the Cass TEM software application, facilitating robust, automated audits of each charge item on every invoice, every month. Such audits ensure the elimination of recurring invoice errors, which are commonplace in the telecom industry.
In contrast, an event-driven audit occurs when an organization brings in auditors to examine a sampling of paid invoices to detect errors. The problem with these audits is that they are non-systematic and non-recurring. Errors and over-charges can creep back into the process at any time.
Cass Telecom Audits are Data-Rich
Capturing feature-level detail is important because it’s where a large percentage of errors reside (such as unauthorized services). These often small, but repetitive overcharges can significantly increase costs when not addressed. The way to find these issues is through granular audits enabled by ANSI 811 invoice receipt.
If you are keying data from paper invoices or scanned images, you are processing at the summary level.
Some TEM providers take short cuts. They take in electronic invoice files without the granular detail, or they accept ANSI 811 invoices but don’t extract all the data.
Cass Telecom Audits are Professionally Managed
One key to successful telecommunications cost management is the experience and services provided by the team that’s working for you. Cass has experienced telecom professionals that expertly review billing records, contracts, tariffs and inventories by location. Enabled by preset reports, this team also identifies services that are no longer in use but still being billed.
Pre-Payment Invoice Analysis
Prior to invoice payment, Cass validates telecom invoices on a high level in order to approve them for payment. Validation activities include:
Some of the activities analysts perform during this telecom bill review include the following:
- Researching unnecessary features such as call forwarding, verify busy, caller id, call waiting, speed dialing, repeat dialing, three-way calling, call return, wire maintenance, call tracing, etc.
- Reporting on 900/976 calls and blocking them going forward
- Researching usage spikes
- Researching charges for unauthorized Internet, web hosting services, unauthorized calling plans with no usage, voicemail from third party companies’ monthly directory assistance plans, etc.
- Verifying all lines are lines are PIC’d and LPIC’d to contracted providers
- Adding notes for any questionable issues or spikes in charges
Dispute Management is Part of Cass Telecom Audit Service
Cass manages carrier invoice disputes through a staff of dedicated professionals and sophisticated workflow tools. Our longtime working relationships with telecom carriers afford us both knowledge of the carriers’ procedures and access to these vendors’ various dispute channels. With this experience, we can resolve billing errors, credits, refunds and cost reduction opportunities credit and recovery issues in a very timely manner.
Contact Us
For more information about how clients have achieved results using Cass for telecom expense management services, please view our TEM case studies. Would you like to ensure that every line-item charge on every telecom invoice you receive gets audited every month? Would you like a team of professionals to manage these issues with carriers and recover overcharges on your behalf and track your savings? If so, contact the Cass Telecom Group today.