Preparing for Your Telecom Audit

Taking a few steps to prepare for your telecommunications audit can help make the process easier and ensure you get the information you are looking for. Completing the following list of pre-audit tasks will help define the focus of the audit and prepare you for understanding and implementing the results:

1. Make a list of hypotheses. Begin a list of ideas for savings opportunities as soon as you decide to get an audit and then add to the list throughout the process. These ideas for savings will be tested and then either considered for the recommendation portion of the audit or rejected as invalid.
2. Determine what you would like the size and scope of the audit to be. An audit can go in numerous directions at once with focuses in specific areas. Decide what you would most like examined and write it down.
3. Prioritize and organize project segments. Telecommunications projects can be large and daunting. Divide them into manageable segments that can be handled one at a time. Segments can be organized by location (organizational or geographical), and this is the most common method of organization in the early stages of most projects.
4. Gather and organize customer information. Gather the information contained in bills and contracts. Obtain all monthly, quarterly, annual and/or intermittent bills that are relevant to the audit. It is a good idea to collect the most recent bills for the last 2-3 months. Bills and contracts that need to be collected include those from Local Exchange Carriers, Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, Interexchange Carriers, Directory Advertising, Maintenance or Service Agreements, Leased or Equipment Rental, Wireless/Paging, Answering Services, etc.
5. Collect supplier information. Obtain any necessary Customer Service Records, Rates/Tariff Pages, duplicate bills, etc. from suppliers.
6. Determine the scope of surveys for end users. Surveys are conducted with end users and will help gather important information used for testing the hypotheses you have created. Surveys can include general user data, location data, etc., and will help you determine if lines and features are being utilized and billed correctly.

The telecom audit is a key offering of any good telecommunications consulting firm. To receive your free telecom audit, contact the Sygnal Group by calling (310) 463-8400.