Section 2 : Chapter 3

that there are so many potential problems associated with running a

bill cycle, that it makes sense to create a formal, regular process that
assures that each bill cycle runs accurately.

There are many different types of audits, but what they all have in
common is that they:
• Are formally executed
• Follow a structured execution discipline of some kind
• Focus on a specific problem area

Monitoring

While auditing is certainly an important part of the revenue assur-

ance process, it is, in general, one of the less often utilized processes.
This is because it is extremely expensive and time consuming to as-
sure that revenues are being managed correctly. By far, the most
common form of revenue assurance activity is monitoring.

Monitoring is the process of generating a series of standardized re-

ports out of any one or more systems in order to be sure that it is
performing as it is supposed to. Monitoring reports are usually ex-
tremely detailed and are most often reviewed first and foremost by
the people who manage the systems themselves.

Some of the more common monitoring reports include daily billing

run reports, daily mediation reports and any of the dozens of stan-
dard reports generated by all of the different systems in the revenue
management chain.

Monitoring reports are the first line of defense against leakage, and
are the RA analyst’s first and most important tool.

The two most common scenarios where major revenue assurance

problems are found include situations where monitoring reports for
a specific operational area were never developed or where the re-
ports exist but people were not monitoring them or following up on
them efficiently or effectively.

eXcellence in Telecommunications 53