Thursday, September 20, 2018

Why You Should Perform 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 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.

Once they identify the issue they get in touch with the suppliers to have them adjust and correct the billing. In most cases, the auditors undertaking the process take their payment once the process is complete. This is usually after the suppliers correct the different errors and even issue a refund where applicable. The auditors will ensure that the mistakes are corrected and do not carry forward to future billing cycles. This brings the utility costs down to where they should be.




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