Revenue assurance : expert opinions for communications providers

This cutting-edge reference represents a new phase in the talkRA project-an initiative dedicated to improving the discipline of revenue assurance (RA) for communication providers. From blog to podcasts and now a book, the project offers a platform for a select group of RA experts to share ideas and best practices in revenue assurance, revenue management, business intelligence, and fraud prevention in telecommunications and other industries. Drawing on the expertise and insights of some of the leading minds in RA, Revenue Assurance: Expert Opinions for Communication Content: Beginning at the Beginning Ten Tips for Starting Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Three Basics; Lee Scargall Revenue Optimization for Greenfields; Ashwin Menon Revisiting the Foundations of Revenue Assurance Revenue Assurance at the Crossroads; Hugh Roberts What Makes for a Successful Revenue Assurance Team? Mike Willett Dollars and Cents, Pounds and Pence; Eric Priezkalns Never Say ''No New Leakage''; Mike Willett How Democracy Stops Leakage; Eric Priezkalns Recognizing the Value of Revenue; Eric Priezkalns How Big Should a Revenue Assurance Department Be? Eric Priezkalns Linking Revenue Assurance to Fraud Management Synergy of Billing Verifi cation and Fraud Management; David Leshem When Fraud Belongs with Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Greatest Internal Fraud Risk? Eric Priezkalns Strategy, Scope, and Synergy Five Dimensions of Revenue Assurance; Mark Yelland Exploring the Concept of Maturity in the Performance of Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Revenue Assurance Is a Silo! Ashwin Menon Using Variances to Set the Scope for Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Import and Export of Responsibilities as a Tactic to Support the Revenue Assurance Strategy; Eric Priezkalns Revenue Assurance versus Revenue Maximization; Eric Priezkalns Billing Assurance and the Ends; Eric Priezkalns Conflicts between Revenue Reporting and Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Sarbanes-Oxley + Making Money = Confusion; Eric Priezkalns Macrodiagnosis versus Atomic Checks; Ashwin Menon The Zoom; Eric Priezkalns Being Proactive; Eric Priezkalns Epistemology and Metrics Epistemology, Icebergs, and Titanics; Eric Priezkalns Two Dimensions of Leakage Knowledge; Eric Priezkalns How Cable & Wireless Built a Reporting Framework around a Checklist of Leakage Points; Eric Priezkalns and Lee Scargall Metrics for Leakages and Benefits: Making the Key FIT; David Stuart A Strategy for Measuring Charging Integrity Based on the Three ''C's''; Eric Priezkalns Measuring the Fourth ''C'': Cash Collection; Eric Priezkalns Transition from the Indicator to the Director; Ashwin Menon Performance Management; Guera Romo Benchmarking; Guera Romo What Happened to the Subex-Analysys Survey?; Eric Priezkalns When $25 billion Is not Worth $25 billion; Eric Priezkalns Global Revenue Leakage to Fall; Eric Priezkalns Cost of Nada; David Leshem Myth of Average Intercarrier Leakage; Eric Priezkalns Raw Data, Workfl ows, and Mr. RA Analyst; Ashwin Menon On Analytics, Dashboards, and Revenue Assurance; Mike Willett Progress Key Performance Indicators; Ashwin Menon Using Analytics to Enhance Sales and Marketing; Eric Priezkalns Double-Edged Saw; Eric Priezkalns Hammer and Tongs: The Tools of Revenue Assurance Tools Overview; Eric Priezkalns What Revenue Assurance Tools Get Wrong; David Stuart Anyone Want a Revenue Assurance Tool? Mike Willett Automating Resolution; Eric Priezkalns Proof Before You Buy; Eric Priezkalns Duplicate Data, Duplicate Costs; Eric Priezkalns Managing Risk Fundamentals of Risk for Revenue Assurance Managers; Eric Priezkalns Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management within the Context of Enterprise Risk Management; Eric Priezkalns Linking Revenue Assurance, Risk, and Maturity; Eric Priezkalns Understanding Controls Control Frameworks and Their Purpose; Eric Priezkalns Control Objectives and Priorities; Eric Priezkalns Understanding the Parameters and Choices for Business Assurance Controls; Eric Priezkalns Serving the Retail Customer Billing Accuracy Complaints and the Value-Visibility Curve; Eric Priezkalns Using the Three ''C's'' to Tell When Customers Can and Cannot Protect Themselves; Eric Priezkalns Advanced Themes in Revenue Assurance Strength of an Argument; Guera Romo Testing the Accuracy of Recorded Durations; Eric Priezkalns Use of ''Forensic'' in the Context of Revenue Assurance; Guera Romo IPDR-Based Usage Meter Accuracy; Eric Priezkalns GSM Gateways: The Quiet Crime; Eric Priezkalns Suffering a Crisis in Confidence? Mark Yelland A Worked Example for Using Statistics in Precision Assurance Testing; Eric Priezkalns Is Revenue Assurance CAT or CAVT? Eric Priezkalns North American Revenue Assurance: Got Your Number? David Leshem Theory of Symmetrical Error; Eric Priezkalns Research Found Revenue Assurance to Be Responsible for Insanity; Guera Romo An Entity-Relationship Model for Revenue Assurance Controls; Eric Priezkalns Transdisciplinary Approach to Problem Solving; Guera Romo Minimize the Risks with Voice over WiMAX; Eric Priezkalns The Business of Revenue Assurance Revenue Assurance Caterpillar; Eric Priezkalns Horizontal and Vertical Expansion of Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Spicing up the Market; Eric Priezkalns Listening to a Market Leader; Eric Priezkalns Power to the People of Revenue Assurance Common Theme to Good Training; Eric Priezkalns Training for Revenue Assurance; Mike Willett Price of Professionalism; Eric Priezkalns Standardization Based on Generalization; Guera Romo Which One Are You? Eric Priezkalns Jobs in Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Tangents on the Theme of Revenue Assurance What Communication Providers Can Learn From Banking; Guera Romo If Health Means Wealth, Th en Plugs Mean Drugs; Eric Priezkalns A Memory for Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Can the ROC Be Lean? Eric Priezkalns The Future(s) of Revenue Assurance Future of Revenue Assurance? Mike Willett Current and New Paradigms of Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Does Revenue Assurance Have Confidence Issues? Mike Willett Pedaling Profits; David Leshem Content: Frontier for Revenue Assurance; Eric Priezkalns Revenue Assurance Doublespeak; David Leshem Evolution or Revolution; Eric Priezkalns Anecdotes from the Edge of Revenue Assurance How to Make Bills Confusing; Eric Priezkalns No Carry, No Cash; Eric Priezkalns When Revenue Assurance Stops: A Bedtime Story; David Leshem Battlegrounds and Graveyards; Lee Scargall Abstraction Reactions; Eric Priezkalns Metering Not Billing; Eric Priezkalns Saving Pennies, Saving Face; Eric Priezkalns It Makes You Think... Hidden Switch; David Stuart Fraudulent Engineer; David Stuart VAT Man; David Stuart Faulty Transmission; David Stuart NOC versus RA; David Stuart Fraudulent Prepaid Top-Ups; David Stuart Impossible Mission; David Stuart No, No, NO!! David Stuart Low-Hanging Fruit; David Stuart Bibliography Index About the Pagination of this eBook 2 Contents 9 Figures 17 Tables 19 Foreword 21 Acknowledgments 23 Authors 25 Abbreviations and Definitions 31 About This Book 37 Chapter 1: Beginning at the Beginning 41 Chapter 2: Revisiting the Foundations of Revenue Assurance 51 Chapter 3: Linking Revenue Assurance to Fraud Management 67 Chapter 4: Strategy, Scope, and Synergy 75 Chapter 5: Epistemology and Metrics 133 Chapter 6: Hammer and Tongs: The Tools of Revenue Assurance 193 Chapter 7: Managing Risk 211 Chapter 8: Understanding Controls 221 Chapter 9: Serving the Retail Customer 237 Chapter 10: Advanced Themes in Revenue Assurance 245 Chapter 11: The Business of Revenue Assurance 281 Chapter 12: Power to the People of Revenue Assurance 291 Chapter 13: Tangents on the Theme of Revenue Assurance 309 Chapter 14: The Future(s) of Revenue Assurance 319 Chapter 15: Anecdotes from the Edge of Revenue Assurance 341 Chapter 16: It Makes You Think... 353 Bibliography 365