Change and Challenge in Revenue Assurance and Auditing: Jeffrey Singayan

 

“As auditors it is not enough to know how to detect controls and put them in place. We have to acknowledge that telecommunications is a fast moving industry and we need to keep abreast of new developments, gather the right knowledge and marry these controls into a very high powered technology,” explained Jeffrey Singayan during GRAPA training in Luxembourg. “This training has strengthened my impression that the telecom industry is very dynamic and you have to be on your toes to keep up.”

However, for Jeffrey, that very dynamism and energy makes his role as internal auditor appealing. “The auditing practice is, I think, built on precepts that are quite established. Although there are relevant controls in all industries, in telecoms the practice becomes more challenging because of the rapidly changing technology. I find that exciting. This is a place I enjoy being.”

Jeffrey completed his education with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy. He then worked for the Bank of the Philippine Islands, one of the largest banks in the country. He began as a financial auditor, and after he took his CPA exams and a programmer’s aptitude test he qualified to be an IT auditor. From there Jeffrey moved on to Sykes, a business process outsourcing service, based in Florida and with many locations in North and South America. “I was with them for about 1 year and received experience in SOX audits from there.”

Now, working for a multi-national telecommunications provider, Jeffrey finds himself in a very new industry. “This is a big change and challenge for me. IT audits in banking are very conservative so the controls are extremely strict and stringent. I am not saying there are no controls in the telecom industry but here, in my situation, the technology dictates the controls. You have to adjust the controls based on what the technology gives you, as opposed to banking, where it is more about procedures and practices.”

When not working, Jeffrey admits to being a channel surfer. “I admit I am a television addict and will watch almost anything on TV. I am always flipping through the channels. I like to watch series like the American science fiction drama Heroes and the espionage series 24.” When he is home in the Philippines Jeffrey likes to work out at the gym where he spends time with friends. “I’ve become a lot more fitness conscious. In between assignments, that’s where I go to socialize.” He also enjoys reading novels during his downtime.

Even though he finds the travel tiring and the job is still new, Jeffrey says he is excited to be learning and experiencing what his new field has to offer. “I really enjoy going to new places. It is interesting to be able stay a little in each place and get to know the people. I am learning more about cultures and meeting new friends. That is very enjoyable for me.”

Marie Laure Steichen: Taking on the Human Challenge in Revenue Assurance

Marie-Laure Steichen is 29, of French and Luxembourgish descent and currently working for a multi-national telecommunications operator in Luxembourg. Marie attended business school and has a Masters Degree in management with a major in marketing. She graduated in 2004 and although most of her education was in France, she briefly attended school in Sweden. Marie describes the experience of living in a different culture with students from around the world as very rewarding. She feels studying in Sweden improved her English but found the style of study quite different to what she had experienced in France. “I was with many foreign students and the teaching was quite different. It was more pragmatic and proactive, based on discussions and reactions rather than the lecture based model I was used to.” Marie’s education also included two internships, the first with IBM France.

On completing her education, she joined ArcelorMittal, a steel company before moving on to her current employment. “IT, telecommunications and new technology has always been appealing to me, but it’s not something I envisioned at the beginning of my education.” In fact, Marie did her final internship with the European Court of Auditors based in Luxembourg. “The European Court of Auditors basically checks the EUs funds. There I was doing project management and process evaluations.”

The concept of revenue assurance may be new to Marie, but with the focused GRAPA training, it is something she intends to integrate into what she already does. “The training has helped me understand the process and the language,” she explains. “I had no idea how deep, different and detailed the process of revenue assurance is. Certainly, in the area of forensics, there are many similarities between revenue assurance and internal audits. But, the internal auditor doesn’t have any of the operational responsibilities.”

Travel is a large part of Marie’s role. Although the first challenge of her job within telecommunications is to understand the processes, she found equal challenge in the human factor. “Fifty percent of our work is human relations and you constantly deal with people of different cultures and backgrounds. Even your colleagues are of different cultures. You have to be sensitive about how you behave, and speak to people in a way that makes them comfortable answering your questions. You have to respect the rules even if it is against a personal belief.”

Work takes up a great amount of Marie’s time but she does like to indulge in her passions—music, cinema and socializing with her friends. When her schedule allows, she enjoys volunteering at cinema festivals and comedy and science fiction movies are her favorites. She also enjoys pop and rock music, going to concerts and dancing. From her mother she received a treasured collection of cookbooks and she has taken cooking lessons in Indian cuisine. Her specialty is dessert, that culinary universal language that her friends new and old, appreciate.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

Patrick Koen: Precision and Foresight in Revenue Assurance

What does the game of squash and revenue assurance have in common? Both are fast paced, requiring precision and good foresight. In addition, both are Patrick Koen’s passions. Patrick describes himself as competitive and analytical with a ‘go for it’ personality that serves him both on and off the squash court. “I like to take on problems or tackle projects and make them work. I am the type of person who likes to see the big picture and meet challenges head-on,” Patrick told staff writer Kathy B, during GRAPA training in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Patrick presently works for KPN and lives in Haarlem, Netherlands with his long time girlfriend.

After receiving his master’s degree in business administration, Patrick began working at Deloitte as an IT auditor. “During that time many of my clients were in the media and telecom industry. I did IT audits for annual statements at some of the larger telecoms.” While working at Telfort he got to know the revenue assurance manager. That was his first introduction to revenue assurance. Later in his career he did internal audits for KPN and spent a few years in corporate Internal Audit. “I started to focus on the revenue cycle for KPN’s mobile business. Then KPN bought Telfort and because the revenue assurance manager remembered me, we started talking. That is how I became part of the revenue assurance department at KPN,” says Patrick.

Patrick has worked in the revenue assurance department for about a year now. “I work more with revenue assurance on the operational side. We work in two teams; business, DSL, internet and postpaid and prepaid mobile. I work with the mobile team,” explains Patrick. “It has been interesting seeing how the revenue assurance department has come together.”

When he is not working, Patrick spends a lot of time on the squash court. “Winning is the second most most important thing,” says Patrick, “the challenge is the first.”

Although it is difficult to imagine Patrick sitting still long enough, he also enjoys reading. His favourites are American writers like John Irving who wrote A Prayer for Owen Meany and The World According to Garp, post-modern writer Don DeLillo, and Thomas Wolfe.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

Miguel Alonso: Exploring the Possibilities of Revenue Assurance and SOX Compliance

 

GRAPA staff writer Kathy B. spoke to Miguel during two weeks of internal auditor training, held in Luxembourg.

What is your background before becoming an internal auditor at your current employer?

“I have a degree in business administration and financial studies. I started to work as external auditor at KPMG and then was an internal auditor for LEAR automotive (NYSE: LEA).

What is your current position?

I am a SOX compliance manager. The main objective of my work is to maintain our internal controls system to ensure compliance with internal policies and SOX procedures i n a sustainable manner.

You travel a lot for your work. Is that a particular challenge?

I am glad my work includes travel because that is something I really enjoy. The multi-cultural environment of my workplace is something I appreciate. Working with people of different cultures and with different backgrounds is very enriching.

When you are not working, how do you like to spend your time?

I like books and reading. I am a basketball fan and I follow the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers is my team, mainly because I like following fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol.

Has the GRAPA training provided you with any new insights?

The revenue assurance training was tailored for internal auditors and I found it very useful. We were shown an operating point of view of revenue assurance, which gives the internal auditor a better picture of how things are functioning. Understanding the Revenue Assurance roles and possibilities is crucial for the effectiveness of the SOX Compliance process. I took away some very useful knowledge with this training.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

Talking with Katja Eshuis, Revenue Assurance Professional

Katja, thanks for talking to us after a busy week of GRAPA training. First, may I ask you where your home is?

I am originally from the North of Holland but now I live in Den Haag where the KPN headquarters are. I love living by the sea with my husband and two little children. It is wonderful to be near the beach. Living in Den Haag, I do not feel like I am living in a big city, because we are so close to nature.

 

What is your academic and work background?

After finishing my university degree in business administration, I started an apprenticeship with KPN. Almost 10 years later, I am still with KPN, although I have held a number of positions within the company since then. For 9 years, I have been in an accounting job and focused on the management control cycle. I really liked what I was doing as it gave me a broad view of the business and exposed me to many aspects within the company.

How did you become involved with revenue assurance at KPN?

Over the last 2 years, KPN has been developing a revenue assurance department. After talking to the revenue assurance manager I thought it looked very interesting. I have enjoyed being a part of the process of getting the department set up and I have now been in revenue assurance since September 2008. While I thought I had a good view of the company because I had worked there for so long, revenue assurance has exposed a completely different world. It is all very engaging and I am very happy to make this shift.

You are a professional and a mom and that can be a challenge. What does your typical day look like?

With two young children, my mornings are very busy! After I get my kids to school and daycare, I ride my bicycle to work. At work, we have finished putting the revenue assurance department together for the consumer market and I am currently working with our team developing standard controls on reconciliation of traffic and performing several synchronization controls. We work closely with the network and IT people developing the systems and data feeds we need. We also have an assessment overview of innovations in the consumer market and we try to test new projects that will affect the revenue process. A major project now is the migration of systems and processes within KPN that will affect the revenue stream and requires a lot of planning. There are two teams in revenue assurance and they are very optimistic and easy to work with. There is good team spirit.

Many of us at GRAPA know that juggling work and family does not leave a lot of time for outside interests, but do you have any hobbies or activities that you particularly enjoy?

It is very hard to divide your time between work, home and other activities. However, I still try to stay involved with sports and I am an avid volleyball player. Of course, before I had children, I played more, but I still stay quite active. Right now I have practice once a week and a match every weekend. I look forward to beach volleyball in the summer. I used to like to go backpacking in the mountains in France and Switzerland and enjoy travelling.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

Batbold Dashnyam: Positive Steps to Revenue Assurance Aspirations

In Mongolia, a person’s name is considered auspicious and is chosen with the hope it will bring the bearer good fortune. Batbold Dashnyam lives and works in Mongolia and considered it his good fortune to be attending GRAPA training in London. Batbold, whose name suggests ‘strength,’ has a Bachelor of Telecommunications and a Masters of Science from the Mongolian University of Science and Technology.

Batbold started working at Mobicom Corporation, going into the telecommunications industry immediately after finishing university. He has worked for them since 1996. Currently he is an information technology auditor and works in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. His responsibility is to monitor the IT systems within the company, a job he approaches with enthusiasm. “Working within the regulations and standardizing the systems themselves can be a challenge,” he explains, “but I like the job because I feel very strongly about helping my company perform well in the market.”

Not all of Batbold’s challenges are work related, however. As the father of three children, one of whom is home schooled, he is very active in their education. He oversees that homework is completed and they are staying current with their studies. He believes it is very important to encourage his children to develop a love of learning outside the classroom, and in that pursuit, he is an enthusiastic teacher. He also encourages his children to participate in sports, whether in a school athletic program, or learning to swim at the local pool.

Like many of us after a busy day, Batbold likes to relax in front of the television, watching shows like X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent as well as local television shows.

Because the regulations and standardization issues have been a particular challenge Batbold feels the GRAPA training has been very useful. “Recently management realized revenue assurance was important, especially with the current economy in recession. “ It was decided we needed a revenue assurance infrastructure, so management went about setting up revenue assurance teams,” says Batbold. “That is the reason I’m at this training and it has provided a lot of information. There has been a lot to absorb and read.” He cites the useful examples, dialogue with peers and practical applications as important take-aways from this course. “When I return to work, I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with my colleagues. I believe it is a positive step to realizing our revenue assurance aspirations.”

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

Revenue Assurance Pros are Like Good Parents: Olusolape Daji

 

Olusolape Daji spoke to GRAPA staff writer Kathy B. at a recent training event. Olusolape attended the Yaba College of Technology in Nigeria and graduated from the accounting program. She began her career as an IT and network auditor in the banking industry. Olusolape has worked for a number of telecoms, including Celtel International, part of the ZAIN Group where she was a revenue assurance and fraud analyst. She moved to Ghana to work for ZAIN and was part of the revenue assurance and fraud management department start-up team. She is currently Revenue Assurance and Fraud Manager of ZAIN Ghana.

Olusolape is just as committed to her family as she is to her career—although perhaps some aspects of her revenue assurance career carry over to the care of her family. During the free weekends at the Kuala Lumpur training event, she took advantage of the city’s shopping opportunities and bargain prices to stock up on clothing for her young children. She was very intent on getting everything they needed and spent three hours shopping in the Chinese market. When fellow attendees caught up with her, they were recruited to carry ten bags of pants, shirts, shoes and other clothing to the taxi and up to her hotel room. That was only the first day’s purchases!

Not only does she like to make sure her boys are well clothed, but also well fed. When asked about her hobbies she admits to a passion for baking. Olusolape’s kitchen is a popular place where her whole family gets together to prepare and enjoy meals. Olusolape considers her specialty to be pies. Again, the revenue assurance professional carries into her home life. Pie baking is both art and science with both crust and filling being temperamental to work with and subject to variations of ingredients, dishware and even weather—not unlike the rapidly changing environments of telcos.

Her present career requires a little less travel and that is something she appreciates as a young mother. With the new revenue assurance and fraud management department in place, she is busy setting the wheels in motion, hiring and specifically, training revenue assurance staff to build a strong team. She is enjoying her work in Ghana and like a good parent, enthusiastically takes up the challenge of helping her staff learn to work together and deal with all the aspects of the end-to-end revenue assurance the team will be facing.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

Concept Owner: Testing the Mission of Revenue Assurance

Anneli is a concept owner for a large multi-national telecommunications company. GRAPA staff writer Kathy B. was curious to learn what a concept owner was and, Anneli, who attended training in Madrid, was good enough to take time during the training to explain her role; a title she believes is unique in the industry. Anneli has been working with the same company for more than twelve years. “I started with finance and then accounting for other operations internationally. I have had many different positions within that area: accounting, account manager and key account negotiating with other operators.” Anneli has been involved in revenue assurance for about four years.

Anneli herself says she has never heard of anyone with this title and she defines her role as a concept owner; “We are an organization that has many operations in many different countries so there are central functions and there are local functions. The concept owner defines the requirements for revenue assurance, what we are going to assure and areas we should focus on.” Anneli clarifies, “It’s more than being a coordinator as you are creating a vision of what the desired outcomes are and creating benchmarks within the different operations. I am not involved with the operational end of revenue assurance. The concept owner tests the requirements and mission of the revenue assurance within the company.”

Anneli attended classes during the Manager Training week in Madrid. “I am enjoying this training. There has been lots of interesting discussion and information exchanged. I will be taking what I have heard here, and re-thinking a lot of things,” she explains. The most intriguing outcome of the training for her is seeing everyone suddenly grasp techniques and ideas that they would like to try. “Now we need to go back and discuss some new ideas with our management,” she says.

Anneli felt the biggest challenge, and something that the trainees talked about, is the basket of disparate tasks often handed to revenue assurance staff. “In our company, we have many different organizations and services. We cannot cover everything all at once.” She sees the challenge as setting goals in a measured and detailed way and developing (sometimes small) steps to reach them. She also sees delegation and providing support for the operational teams as part of the strategy. Anneli found discussion about budgeting, revenue assurance systems and tools for revenue assurance interesting and useful.

“The most important thing I’ll be taking back from this training is a framework of standards. We can then decide to work according to the standard or adapt the standards to the individual situation,” she says. “Perhaps we are not exactly deciding on the process of revenue assurance, but developing a basis for what it could be. And what it could be is very different from how my organization is doing things presently,” she reflects.

Anneli was very interested in hearing the other trainees’ ideas and experiences. She plans to earn her GRAPA certification with a focus on network controls, as she is able to attend trainings in other parts of the world. “But right now, I’m looking forward to going home and redoing everything,” she laughs.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

Revenue Assurance Professional Osama Eldermerdash

Osama Eldemerdash has been an accountant for 23 years and for nine of those years has worked for Vodafone Egypt. Just six months ago, Osama began working in revenue assurance. He has been married for 20 years and has three daughters, the eldest attending the University of Cairo.

 Osama is an enthusiastic sports fan and enjoys many different sports. He is a SCUBA diving instructor and instructs in the Red Sea. He also plays football (soccer) recreationally, but his greatest passion is motorcycle riding. When he gets together with friends, he enjoys off-road racing and jumping just for fun. But his Harley-Davidson gives him the freedom of the open road and he is the chairperson of the Egyptian Motor Biking Club. Although he spends about 9 hours at work each day, he makes sure he spends time at the gym, staying fit for biking.

One of the most interesting aspects of his role with the motor biking club is the organization of road trips. The club frequently organizes short tours on the weekends, and schedules longer events twice a year. “We organize two major road trips, one within Egypt and the other through nearby Middle East countries. One trip we organized took us to the Red Sea Coast and covered 1500km (932 m). Now we are preparing for another long trip to go into Jordan and Syria.” Around 50-60 Harleys will participate in these tours. Osama is familiar with North America’s Ride for Sight and has been invited in the past. “We are trying through our group here in Egypt to organize a similar event through the Middle East,” he says.

At work, Osama’s job description is varied. “I cover revenue assurance, taxation, business assurance for retail shops, and I am finance director for Vodafone International Services company. But in all of my roles, the focus is cost savings and getting the best out of the processes and performance of the company.”

“Currently we are testing that there is no leakage in the revenue stream, and we are augmenting new techniques, and new abilities to assure future benefits. We want to assure revenue before the risk happens. Then we need to consider the taxation and this is a difficult part of the process. We are examining tax-planning techniques and try to be sure we are on the right track. I also oversee outsourcing to call centers and IT programming both internally and outside the group. At each meeting, at each job, it is challenging having several different roles. It requires me to be focused on each separate task.”

However, Osama makes sure he has a little time to play during his busy workday. “I have to drive 25km (15.5 mi.) to work and I don’t have to wear a tie –the dress code is business casual—so I can ride my bike to work. I can enjoy my hobby, a least a little, every day.”

 

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

Aneel Syed: Gaining Perspective on Revenue Assurance

Saudi Arabian born Aneel Syed is the second eldest of four brothers and the only one not a doctor. While his brothers take care of their client’s medical health, Aneel spends his time diagnosing the financial health problems of his clients as a consultant for Pricewaterhouse.

After his middle school years, Aneel moved to Pakistan where he attended secondary school and university. On completing a bachelors and masters degree in computer sciences, he began a career in IT Consulting and completed his Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam. He worked in business and software development before moving on to Ernst and Young as an IT auditor in 2006. In 2008, he joined Pricewaterhouse in Saudi Arabia and now works as a consultant and Assistant Manager in the Systems & Process Assurance department.

Currently, Aneel is working on several projects. “I have been doing IT audits for the last four years for different industries like banks and telcos, and consulting assignments—data analysis, databases and systems controls and community and security analysis and other projects related to IT.”

Aneel first discovered revenue assurance about two years ago. “I did a web search for ‘revenue assurance’, and found the Global Revenue Assurance Professional Association (GRAPA) website. I joined, received the standards and have been following GRAPA’s development ever since. I asked my management to send me to the training and I received approval a week before the training began,” explains Aneel. “I had quite a different perspective on revenue assurance when I was out working in the market. With my narrow vision of revenue assurance, I thought that I would be identifying some specific controls in specific areas and that would be it. Often when you attend revenue assurance training, they will identify the systems and tell you what controls you need to check. However, I can see now that I cannot just focus on the current task.”

Aneel is looking forward to getting back to work and working with new members on his IT consulting team. He is diligent about keeping up with developments in his field and spends a lot of time reading about new technologies and systems. “I like to keep up with what is new.” When we spoke to Aneel after the Cairo training event, he felt he had gained perspective of the bigger picture, and feels more able to apply these concepts to future situations. “When I return to work, I know that I can sit down and plan how I will do a revenue assurance audit. This training has helped me identify areas I need to focus on and how to address specific problems.”

Aneel’s work and family are now based in Saudi Arabia. He visits his family on the weekends and they enjoy catching up on what is going on in each other’s lives. When he has time, Aneel plays football with friends and he participates in recreational swimming. Recreationally, his analytical thinking style is a benefit. “I am a keen chess player and even won some competitions in my university years.” Aneel also enjoys sketching, “Sketching is something I don’t have much time for now, but really enjoy,” he says.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.