Oregon’s Cell Phone Misuse Cost Taxpayers $588,000. You Should Be Outraged, But For A Different Reason
Residents of Oregon would be shocked to learn that a recent study conducted by the Secretary of State indicated that the inefficiency of cell phone use by some state agencies and government institutions cost them over half a million dollars. A report by the Oregon Catalyst indicated that mismanagement and waste were the primary culprits in this gross misuse of taxpayer money.
According to the report, 2 of the 3 carriers that the State utilizes for wireless services provided requested data to conduct an analysis for the department. (AT&T and Sprint provided data, Verizon did not provide the data requested)
The report goes on to summarize that areas where changes could be made that would reduce the taxpayer burden are:
1. Unused cell phones (phones just sitting around being paid for on the off-chance they’re needed)
2. Extra charges for overuse
3. Charges for missing phones
While some of this may surprise the average resident of Oregon, we are not at all taken aback. This type of thing occurs regularly, everywhere – in small organizations as well as in big companies and government agencies, worldwide
According to the Secretary of State’s study, during the year that was reviewed, total expenditures were approximately $3,000,000. Savings potential was, according to an internal report, $588,000 or approximately 19.6% of total. In our experience, waste and overage is only a PORTION of savings to be found; what the report neglects to show is that should a deeper audit have taken place – MORE savings could have been found. While the Secretary of State more than likely did a through job of finding areas of improvement, I will bet that there is still more money to be saved.
Where?
No disrespect to the Secretary of State Department, but while the charter of their department is to be the “auditor of public accounts“, the report does not mention the following items:
1. billing errors
2. overcharges related to refunds and credits
3. tariff violations
4. duplicate or erroneous payments
5. overlooked (most likely unknown) discounts and rebates
The above are all very typical for companies and organizations of this size (we have found all in small companies as well).
Why would any organization that was able to provide such an excellent analysis be lacking? Very simple – it is NOT their expertise. Incredibly, what was also lacking was any reference to the cost of what the actual audit cost the taxpayers of Oregon, and my guess is that it was large. Yet another reason why hiring an outside audit firm such as GrayBear Resources would be beneficial – our costs with almost all of our clients is zero or minisucle.
Lastly, for an organization the size of a state, at the VERY least, continuing and proper management with specialized Telecom Expense Management tools are absolutely MANDATORY. You would be shocked to know the organizations that simply use spreadsheets because they are unaware that certain tools exist that can show them instantly where each and every dollar is spent and where missing phones are, not to mention set spending amounts for departments and individuals.
I would welcome the opportunity to enhance the savings to the State the Oregon and allow GrayBear Resources the chance to review their bills and see if we are able to reduce their costs further as I would guess that there are savings left on the table.
Where is your organization in the mix? Don’t blame your executives or even department heads if you’re paying too much for any telecom services. Believe it or not expense control, when it comes to telecom, is a very specific practice (we like to think talent). We have seen studies conducted in VERY LARGE organizations where, with a fine tooth comb, every bit of savings possible was uncovered, or so they thought. In one instance they internally recovered 20%. Our expert auditors were able to go back in and recover an additional 25% ON TOP of their own found savings. A telecom audit is a must for any organization that watches their bottom line. When are you going to do the same for yours?
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Benny Carreon is the President and CEO of GrayBear Resources Group. GBR is a next-generation telecommunications consulting firm. We aren't a telephone company's vendor disguising itself as a consultant. We don't sell carrier products that would conflict with out mission - our goal is to work for our clients by reducing costs, streamlining services, eliminating waste and fraud while providing the least disruption to your business.
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