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Audit of Wireless Services for a large advertising agency

2008-08-16

A wireless audit was conducted for a large advertising agency in 2005. The agency consists of 250 wireless users and growing rapidly.
The audit included the review of the each individual user name, number, features, monthly plan, equipment and taxes. Ruby thoroughly examined all billing for accuracy. Interviews were conducted with key stakeholders at the agency to determine the use of all services and this is what was found:

Corporate rate plans

Most of their accounts only have one cell phone listed on the account. They would typically activate only one phone at a time, and the phone is handled individually. Because of this, the wireless carriers were not exactly sure what percentage of their customer base was commercial and what percentage was consumer. Ruby recommended that since the agency has multiple phones with the same carrier, it would qualify to be treated as a corporate account. Net savings per month over $4,500.

Some of the advantages of corporate accounts is that the monthly access charge is significantly reduced. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars a month in access charges, corporate accounts typically only charge $15 per phone. The corporate account for AT&T employees has a phenomenally low $10 monthly access fee and airtime only costs $0.10 per minute.
Next recommendation to combine pooled and non pooled accounts?
Like small group accounts, some corporate accounts use a pool system for the airtime. A typical pooled corporate account may charge $100 for the first phone and $15 for each additional phone. A pool of 1,000 airtime minutes for all the phones to share is included in the plan. The customer must pay for any additional minutes above the first 1,000.

No pooled corporate accounts charge the customer a low access fee per phone and bill the customer for each minute of airtime. You probably will not be given a choice between pooled or not pooled, as most carriers only offer one or the other. Ruby negotiated with carrier to combine accounts and agency saves around $500 per month based on this new clause in agreement.

Ruby was also able to combine the agencies other partners under same corporate account. Some carriers allow two businesses to combine their mobile phones to qualify for a corporate account. We were able to achieve this objective by having the carrier separately bill the two companies, this is a great situation. A large business can use its leverage to help a smaller sister company qualify for corporate pricing. Additional savings from other locations was over $600 per month.

Our audit examined areas of potential fraud and waste on all agency accounts.
Some of the offices allowed their employees to put their personal phones on the corporate pricing. This was implemented two years ago and company was not to pay for personal phones or a sister company’s phones, this system works great. Over time, the agency did not routinely track their cellular phones and regularly audit their bills and ended up paying for an employee’s personal phone. There were also a number of ex-employees that continued using the company-issued cell phone for months after employment has been terminated. We were able to help the agency retrieve the old phones and cancel billing accounts.

The total savings translated into a 21% reduction in the agencies annual wireless budget - $70,000.00 per year!