subject: Telecom Expense Management Software-A Great Audit Tool [print this page] Telecom Expense Management Software-A Great Audit Tool
Business telecom expense management software has arrived.
As a professional telecommunications audit professional, I've been bucking the Telecommunications Expense Management (TEM) software trend for many years now. But lately, I've come around as I've seen the magic and technological wizardry and ultimate cost savings first hand that TEM truly offers. I am sold on TEM and I'm ready to tell the world that TEM has finally arrived and is truly ready for prime time. As I've reviewed and sat in on various TEM presentations and as a CEO of a company myself, and have now actually used many of the TEM software applications, I must say I'm now convinced that TEM software helps me better manage company costs and reduce expense. If it is good enough for me, it's good enough for my telecom audit clients. Perhaps we should even change the name from telecom expense management software to telecom audit software.
TEM software offers value and allows for automated telecom audit and telecom service reviews which ultimately results in significant cost savings for many kinds of businesses. TEM software can help businesses not only save money on their telecommunications services but also allow for far better control over invoices. Control is so very important because telecom billing across the large business enterprise is so complicated and many enterprises have lost the ability to consistently have control over telecommunications expense. Cost savings and control was something that traditionally only human auditors could accomplish, however, automated TEM software tools compliment the skills of the human auditor.
Does this mean that the manual telecommunications audit is dead and that telecom auditors are a dying breed? No, however, the further that I delve into what TEM has to offer and see the benefits, the more that it is evident that both the manual audit and automated TEM tools can co-exist and actually benefit and compliment one another. In fact, traditional auditors can still add value to the TEM marketplace and like myself, they can successfully offer TEM software applications to their clients because it finds errors that a human auditor can easily miss.
Here is a breakdown of what TEM software now offers businesses and how it can help with the telecommunications audit process:
Ability to reap huge telecom cost savings and establish control over telecom services and billing
Effectively Identify, track and file billing disputes
Robust reporting package
Centralization, simplification of the telecommunications billing network
Online access to the program from anywhere
Software backup of TEM program
Allocate costs to all or some users and cost centers
Successfullyaudit a wide range of telecom services effectively
Compliment a manual telecom audit
All billing media can be loaded into the program
Best pricing advantage across the enterprise
Increased speed of processing telecommunications invoices, approval and audit
Increased Budgeting effectiveness
Better ordering processes for new services
Telecom Billing interpretation and review in foreign languages
Inventory telecom
Finally, the reporting function of TEM is absolutely phenomenal. For example, if you need budget numbers and breakdown by cost centers (we always do) I now have immediate information and not just a summary of the total telecom spend across the enterprise. I can now break spend down by company telecom services, geographical location or cost center in a matter of minutes instead of days. I can break down telecom spend data in so many ways now and so can you. Invoice error and exception reports are available with a keystroke each month. Once you locate the errors, you can send off a email note to the carrier with your refund request, all in the same process.
In summary, things usually change for the better and so has traditional telecom auditing and TEM. It is time to examine TEM for your enterprise and use this great tool to compliment the skills we as telecom auditors have honed so well over the years.
