CFO Corner

Increase Shareholder Value

Reduce Costs. Improve Operations. Reduce Risk.
Improve Controls. Be Smarter.

Let’s face it … telecommunication tariffs, FCC rulings, taxes and surcharges will never be core deliverable to your companies internal or external customers. It’s a necessary evil that can quickly get your IT, tax or finance department distracted. The CIO’s job is getting tougher and tougher to manage all the business priorities and initiatives that lie in front of us. Success requires focus and a purposeful alignment of resources against your most important corporate priorities. Focusing on what's important requires that business leaders conscientiously and intentionally choose what they and their teams will not do.

Choosing What Not To Do

Many of today's leading companies are turning to business process outsourcing as a way to shift their focus away from work that dilutes their organization's effectiveness... freeing up their resources to focus on more important priorities. By aligning with specialized outsource service providers these companies:

• Free-up internal resources to focus on their core business

• Gain access to specialized expertise

• Increase operational and business controls by accessing a specialized service provider who has the scale, expertise and technology to perform the outsourced function better than they could do in-house

• Reduce risk

• Lower costs

Telecommunication Cost Reduction and Tax Avoidance

Certain telecommunication functions are particularly great candidates for outsourcing. These functions have the following characteristics:

• Recurring Audits and Processes

• Taxes vs. approved Surcharges

• Taxes vs. Carrier Surcharge “Subsidies”

• High Volume of Transactions

• Complicated Legislation and Tariff rulings

• Complex and Frequently Changing Carrier Rules

• Easily Measured RIO and Tracked Performance Metrics

It doesn't take much experience with telecommunications invoices to realize that taxes and surcharges can now be expenses greater that the actual carrier services provided. Given the pass-through nature of telecommunication usage, tax and surcharges, there is little strategic benefit for a company to dedicate experienced IT, A/P or tax personnel to the recurring monthly verification process. Ariel Link is strategically position to verify that the monthly data auditing, payment preparation, remittance, reconciliation and processes associated with taxes and surcharges align perfectly with the characteristics outlined above. Telecommunication auditing, expense management, tax and surcharge compliance is simply a great candidate for outsourcing.

Audit and Expense Outsourcing Enables You To Refocus

Ariel Link has built its business by providing its clients with a stable, predictable and consistent telecommunication outsourcing service. The foundation of our service is our proprietary system, TIPS™. TIPS™ brings high levels of automation to each aspect of the audit and expense process, giving our clients access to technology that improves control, lowers risk and reduces the cost of carrier’s services and IT expenses.

What Ariel Link Can Do

Ariel Link routinely represent large users of telecommunications services, including Fortune 500 companies and other organizations, with respect to a range of communications/technology issues, including contracting with major Carriers, Federal Excise Tax refund claims with the IRS, Universal Service Fund and other regulatory charges and toll fraud. By way of example, our representation has encompassed the audit of carrier service agreements, negotiations with carriers, consulting with respect to maximizing value (including credits and rate stability issues), counseling with respect to termination/shortfall liability and business downturn issues, contract renegotiations, related Service Guide and tariff questions as well as handling contested disputes with service providers. Recent experience includes service agreements AT&T, SBC, MCI, Verizon, Qwest, XO, Sprint, and many other carriers. In addition to corporations, we have also represented hospitals, non-profit organizations and educational institutions with respect to their service provider agreements.