USAC Audits...is your company prepared?
A press release dated November 26, 2008; from the FCC announced the results of their most recent Universal Service Fund (USF) audits administered by the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC). It was reported that erroneous payments were made to High Cost Companies estimated in the amount of $970 million or 23% of the payments made. This year over 300 companies funded with Universal Service Fund money will be audited by USAC. Has your company been selected for a USAC audit? Will you be able to provide the necessary information in a timely manner?
The FCC’s justification for classifying payments as erroneous in previous USAC audits was tied to a number of factors. Major factors listed include:
- Inadequate Documentation
- Weak Internal Controls
- Failure to Review/Monitor Work
- Inadequate Systems for Collecting, Reporting, and/or Monitoring Data
Does your company have the systems in place to respond to the needs of a USAC audit? Do you feel confident in the ability of your company to locate the information required for such an audit? Many companies have reported the need to devote hundreds of man hours to meet the request for information during these audits. If selected for an audit, your company will be asked to provide numerous reports for USAC selected Work Orders. As the results of the audits reflect, many companies were unable to locate the necessary information.
OPRAD was developed by Communications Consulting Services, Inc. (CCS) a telecommunications engineering consulting firm and a number of Telephony Accountants to meet the needs of the industry. Founded in 1988, CCS believes we have the solution that will assist High Cost Companies during such an audit. The OPRAD OSP CPR meets the USAC requirements to provide massive amounts of report data in a short period of time. Additionally, it is a business tool that increases efficiency, communications; GIS record management, saves money, and aids outside plant engineers and technicians as well. We sincerely feel that the OPRAD CPR is not only a key component to a successful USAC audit but it also leads to a smoother and more profitable operation.
OPRAD is the acronym for (Outside Plant Reports and Database.) The OPRAD CPR is PC based, user friendly, intuitive, and requires no changes to your current accounting practices. Many Telephone Companies that either had no OSP CPR (or were struggling to get reports from the one they currently had) are now using “OPRAD” as their OSP CPR software. Information can easily be located by using one of the many "Reports" features included in OPRAD. The OPRAD CPR can easily generate the reports your company needs for taxing bodies, utility authorities and other internal and external reporting needs.
To find out how the features of the OPRAD CPR can benefit your overall company please request an OPRAD CPR brochure. You may call us at (570) 945-7024 and ask for Sebastian Naro, Joseph Loffredo, or Brian Graves. You may also email us at: s.naro@ccstele.com / j.loffredo@ccstele.com or b.graves@ccstele.com.
