Friday, September 21, 2018

Why You Should Consider A Utility Bill Audit NY

By Melissa Smith


It is the aim of any management team of a company to ensure the company cuts down on major costs and expenses in order to maximize profit. The common focus is usually on the energy bills as these are recurring expenses that when controlled can lead to increased cost savings. Performing a utility bill audit NY has been noted as an effective way of controlling costs. It involves a comprehensive review of the recent bills to ensure billing is accurate.

A typical utility bill audit is usually carried out by auditors. They focus mostly on the documentation of a company's utilities monthly expenses and look out for billing errors. The audit does not necessarily require engineers in the respective energy sector to be successful.

The other thing to note is that the auditors do not necessarily have to come to the company's premises and disrupt operations as they undertake the audit. They could be located in any part of the world and still be in a position to review the documents sent to them. Most of the documents are in the form of invoices which they review for any errors that may lead to incorrect billing. A simple mistake such a wrong meter reading can lead to very high bills.

Once a company receives an exaggerated high utility bill, the best action to take is to pay it first before the supplier disconnects the supply. Thereafter the company can do a follow up with the supplier to try and correct any mistakes that may have been made when billing. In most cases, the best scenario that can arise is a future credit being issued by the supplier. It is not common to get a refund from a supplier for an overcharged amount. Sometimes the mistake can go unnoticed and the company continues to pay high bills.

This is why it is important to hire auditors to undertake a utility bill audit to verify the billing. This will ensure that the company is receiving the correct bill amounts as per the consumption. The auditors do not need to physically visit the company for them to carry out the audit. It can be done remotely after all the documentation has been sent to them for review.

Once they have the information they can start the process and within a day or two, identify any errors that they will need to focus on and correct in the course of the audit. A utility bill audit can cover a wide range of utility expenses from electricity and gas which are the most common to the telephone, internet, water and sewer expenses. Some auditors can also look at shipping and fuel among other expenses upon request.

After a more comprehensive review of all the utility invoices, there are several issues that the auditors can come across. Some of the most common issues include clerical errors, having the wrong type of meter installed, the wrong classification of the account type and even meter malfunctions. Sometimes after reviewing the agreed contract rates, they may find the supplier has been charging differently from the agreed rates.

After identifying the different issues that need to be addressed, it is part of the auditors work to follow up with the relevant suppliers and have the issues corrected. If refunds are to be issued by the supplier, the auditors will only ask for their payment after the supplier submits the refund to the company. They also follow up with the supplier to ensure the future bills do not repeat the same mistakes.




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