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With increased mergers and acquisitions, changes in Phone Company billing systems, telecom costs are on the rise. Take a closer look at your telecommunication bills. There are many ways that your bills have hidden charges applied, not to mention telecom contracts that were signed without Management approval. It’s time for Management & their Accounts Payable Department to be on the alert for errors, over-billings, and tariff violations.
If more than one person within an organization places orders then overlapping occurs. Mike requested Sally order phone lines for a new call center, Hal heard the request and placed the order as well. Now which lines were installed, those ordered by Sally, or Hal, or both?
One very common oversight found in bill auditing is line cancellation. Sally (the Telecom Manager) is certain she disconnected a line no longer needed. She even dials the number to ensure the line is cancelled. When she hears the disconnected message she feels sure the line will no longer bill. But does the billing stop? Not always. Only a detailed review of the bill, or calling the phone company a month or so later, will determine if the line is no longer billing.
When companies have mergers and acquisitions they inherit the bills from their predecessors. All the contracts they've signed and advertised listings need to be reviewed. Names need to be changed and their billing address revised. Phone equipment inventory and site evaluation needs to be conducted. All lines and circuits need to be identified then documented. Next an audit needs to be conducted to determine if your company is actually paying for what they need, or just paying for what they get.
Many double billings occur because of line portability and businesses changing providers hoping to reduce telecom costs. The lines are ported from the old provider to the new provider and if any error occurs the double billing begins. These double billings of lines, features, and services are easliy overlooked. It is a real challenge for a Telecom Manager to determine when it started, who is at fault, how to prove it, and how to recover the money. This is assuming the Telecom Manager knows how to discover double billing in the first place. Funds are being paid twice for the same services (every month!), and there is a procedure to follow to get this corrected and to obtain the refunds your company is due.
Telecom Management and organization skills are necessary to gain and maintain control of telecom contracts, circuit inventory, advertised lines, features, and telecom equipment. Placing correct orders is the first place to start in any telecom department. Learning to place telecom and phone line orders properly is essential but learning how to review the orders is imperative. Without accurate, detailed records many refunds will not be available.
Contact Information: Barbara Clements, Phone: 800-473-5655, email: auditel@auditelinc.com website: www.auditelinc.com
About the Author:
Barbara Clements, President and Founder of Auditel Inc. Auditel Inc. provides telecom expense management and training for corporate and government entities and has for over 14 years. Our telecom audits add protection and savings. Call now for a free consultation 800-473-5655. White papers may be viewed at http://www.auditelinc.com/TelecomWhitepapers.aspx
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Merger and Acquisition Advice