Sunday, September 23, 2018

Why You Should Consider A Utility Bill Audit NY

By Melissa Smith


Most management teams strive to manage energy consumption and control energy costs all year round. One sure way of achieving this is through performing an audit of all utility bills. Utility bill audit NY is a comprehensive review of recent and past billing statements to determine their accuracy and correctness. It is a necessary step any management should take to control utility expenses.

This kind of audit is best carried out by auditors. You do not need experts in the energy sector to carry out the audit. What the auditors do is focus on the documentation of the utility expenses over a certain period to identify any errors that could lead to incorrect billing.

The paperwork mostly includes invoices from the most recent to previous months. The team of auditors try to identify any abnormalities or errors in the invoices presented. There are all types of errors that they are likely to find that can result in high bills. A very common error usually arises from the fact that most of the billing is done from visual meter readings. When reading the meter a clerk can read a digit wrongly and this can lead to a very high bill.

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.

It is therefore very important for a utility bill audit to be done as the first step to managing energy costs. For the audit to take place, the auditors do not need to be physically present in the company's premises. They could be in any part of the world. All that they may require is the paperwork which can be sent to them for review.

After receiving the paperwork, the initial steps are to identify any major errors. Afterward, they can focus on these errors and have them corrected as they continue with the audit. The most common expenses that are usually reviewed are electricity, gas, water, sewer, internet and telephone expenses. You can also engage them to audit other expenses such as shipping and fuel among others.

The auditors, after a comprehensive look at the utility invoices, are likely to uncover a number of issues. These range from clerical errors, meter malfunctions, wrong account classification and wrong types of meters installed. They may also find incorrect rates used that differ from any contract rates agreed upon.

Once all issues have been identified, it is part of the auditors work to follow up with the supplier and have each issue sorted. Sometimes this can take months as the supplier acts accordingly. The auditors usually expect their pay only after the supplier has corrected the issue like for example issued a refund. It is also their responsibility to ensure the future bills do not carry forward past mistakes.




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