A telecommunication audit is recommended for virtually all enterprises regardless of their telecom spend. It it's a hundred thousand or a hundred million per year, the tenants of a telecommunication audit are constant. That is to identify and correct telecom invoice errors, and take every step necessary to create additional expense reductions not at all associated with telecom invoice errors. The telecommunication audit not only creates telecom cost savings, but it also optimizes your telecom network down to the smallest detail, and holds telecom carriers accountable for their service and billing. For these reasons, the telecommunication audit is the foundation of telecom expense management.
If an enterprise spends at least $10,000 per month on telecom and it hasn't performed or outsourced a telecommunication audit within the past eighteen months, then the Telecommunication audit is strongly recommended as a major element of fiscal responsibility. This is because telecom is widely recognized as a top five operating expenses. And all companies, regardless of their market or success level, should seek to increase cash flow from both the top line and bottom line perspectives.
The two main benefits of the telecommunication audit are as follows.
" Recovery of overpayments made in the past due to telecom invoice errors
" Reduction of ongoing expense when the auditor's findings and recommendations are implemented.
Although refund recovery seems to be the more dramatic and inviting proposition, it is the optimization of the network through implementation of the auditors recommendations that will yield the greatest cost savings to the enterprise. The telecommunication audit is usually performed on a contingency basis. The auditor will ask to share in savings it creates and if there are no savings, then there is no charge for the audit. Since the benefits of the audit seem so obvious, then why would an enterprise refuse the proposition? Frankly, telecom, while a top expense, is not necessarily on people's minds. In fact, the fact that it is so complicated in nature, it's no wonder why people avoid it altogether. This is especially true when the individual in charge of telecom has taken it on "voluntarily" when the job was thrust upon him or her.
Most companies run their telecom from the IT department or accounts payable. While IT professionals, these are not "telecom" professionals, so they may lack the specialized experience to perform telecom expense management functions such as the Telecommunication audit. The other major culprit is ego and there's no politically correct way to get around it. It may be potentially embarrassing to learn that you have missed an error or an opportunity to create telecom savings, especially when an outside consultant tells you (or your boss) so. Of course, the glass can be half full, also. An astute professional is always looking for a way to improve his or her company operations and bottom line, so many folks actually request an outside expert to fill an obvious gap.
What kind of telecom errors are identified?
There are many, which could include billing for services never ordered, double billing of services, billing for services actually used by another company with a similar name, incorrect long distance provider used, rate errors vs. the contract, incorrect taxes, surcharges, or fees, and more. When the auditor identifies these errors, he or she will work on the client's behalf not only to correct the errors, but also to collect refunds which will be directly applied to the client's account.
What kind of long term savings can be created over and above the errors?
Your auditors findings and recommendations could include unnecessary or unwarranted circuits, over allocation of bandwidth, contract renegotiation opportunities, comparison of competitive service, to list a few. But the constant is the recommendations have nothing to do with errors and everything to do with creating telecom savings that the client will enjoy month after month. In addition to correcting errors, collecting refunds, and establishing additional savings that replicate themselves every month, the audit also will provide the satisfaction of knowing that you are keeping the carriers accountable for their service, invoices, and contracts.
 

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