Revenue assurance as a function is dominant in telecommunication industries. However the lessons learnt can be applied in any industry.
What is revenue assurance?
Revenue assurance is
The activity is the use of data quality and process improvement methods that improve profits, revenues and cash flows without influencing demand. – Wikipedia
How Internal audit can help an organization in “maximizing revenue”? by ensuring the following:
- Adequate manpower hour reconciliation in place.
- Service deliveries are being monitored
- Productivity of employees are monitored.
- Services are billed at correct rate. (Clear definition of services)
- Ensuring that all services get billed. (even a billing of “zero” is billing.)
- Customer has not been offered any services without accounting.
- Bills are raised in time.
- Collection happens in time.
- Credit notes given to customers are monitored.
- Discounts given are being monitored and validated.
- Discount/ promo coupon and codes are being reconciled.
Data, collection of data, data analysis is the foundation of Revenue assurance.
For those who believe in simplification, start asking following questions to yourself:
- How much organization can bill for services/ goods based on today’s availability of goods and manpower
- How much goods and manpower organization has added during the period (say a month)
- How much organization has billed.
- Where the differences is going or coming from.
I believe by helping an organization increase revenue, internal audit can directly add value to bottom lines. Of course, people in operations should start asking themselves these questions and give answers, if they are not already doing it.
Call for action:
Inputs/ comments/ suggestion: I welcome inputs/ comments / suggestions from readers on how to approach this issue. Feel free to correct me, educate me.
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(Disclaimer: The views expressed constitute the opinion of the author and the author alone; they do not represent the views and opinions of the author ’s employers, supervisors, nor do they represent the view of organizations, businesses or institutions the author is, or has been a part of.)