Frequently Asked Questions

Our comprehensive, telecom audit can save your organization thousands (sometimes millions) on your telecom costs. We will tell you exactly where and to what degree hidden costs are cutting into your profits. Our audit goal is two-fold: to get your refunds back and to help you keep your telecom system operating at maximum efficiency at the lowest possible cost. We offer cost containment solutions that have been proven to be consistently overlooked by our competitors.  We are certain of this: as on several occasions, we’ve been engaged to audit immediately after the termination of other audit firms. We have always been able to generate significant results.  Clients and vendors alike view Shaheen as one of the most comprehensive audit firms in the New York area with unparalleled contract and tariff expertise.  To date, we have negotiated over $260,000,000 in cash refunds for our customers and implemented billing recommendations and corrections that continue to generate millions in savings for years to come.

Shaheen & Associates has perfected our audit approach to keep your valuable time at a minimum. You will be given a single point of contact and will be updated regularly. We are mindful that most telecommunications professionals are hard-pressed for time with decreased head counts. Be assured that we will do whatever we can to work autonomously. You benefit from the important fact that there is no learning curve for Shaheen in this engagement – we will hit the ground running, enabling us to work efficiently and to complete your project on a timely basis. Our many years of experience have taught us where to allocate resources in order to produce quick results.

The audit begins with an inventory of your complete telecom facilities, services, technology, and billing requirements, along with an in-depth analysis of all tariffs and rates. Our audit process enables you to collect substantial refunds of past overcharges that have gone undetected for years and where the carriers themselves may be unaware of the ambiguities and contradictions in rates and tariffs. We correct invoices and billing errors and negotiate on your behalf to secure refunds before statues of limitations expire. We ensure that you are paying only for the services and equipment that you actually use. In short, we work with our clients every step of the way to reduce their monthly and yearly operational costs and to achieve meaningful savings. This vital service is effectively cost-free. If Shaheen & Associates cannot save you money or obtain vendor over-billing refunds, then your telecommunications billing audit is absolutely free!

Shaheen & Associates has an impressive track record of helping clients optimize their telecom spend. For over 28 years, we’ve helped clients reduce their costs, and we have the ability to source a wide array of sophisticated opportunities and not just “low-hanging fruit”.  Our experience has demonstrated the greatest savings and value to our client is found in the fruit that hangs a little higher. In addition, we’ve established several important procedures and safeguards to determine the validity of every recommendation. The advantages of network optimization extend beyond financial savings; these benefits include increase in operating efficiency, productivity, with an accurate service inventory for budget forecasting. 

Our technical approach differs from our competitors, as we are convinced that very few consulting firms spend the time reviewing historical billing. Most auditors will review a firm’s current bills and services and will refer to old billing only when they detect an error in current billing to retroactively recover past mistakes. Shaheen’s audit begins with a review of current invoices; however, we work our way back. We will recreate the network map by conducting a thorough review of old invoices and create a timeline of services installed. We extensively review old orders, disconnected accounts, repairs, and usage records. All available MAC orders and contracts are analyzed and compared to existing services. Valuable information is learned about the client’s network, such as previous projects, roll outs of new technology, and relocations, new locations, and discontinued services.

Although historical audits are time sensitive, the tradeoff is the significant increase in billing errors because we find mistakes that have been buried and are no longer evident in current billing. Most of our greatest financial windfalls of vendor refunds can be solely attributed to our historical approach. This approach has consistently worked. A historical audit reviews every charge over several past years can produce enormous results since old claims benefit from the magic of compound interest.

If Shaheen is unable to obtain cash refunds/billing credits and is also unable to produce future savings, then there is no commission fee due. Shaheen will not be entitled to any fees based on reductions in cost that were produced by any action initiated prior to the start date of the audits or separately from the audit. For cost-savings recommendations, Shaheen will submit all of its cost-savings recommendations in writing and is not entitled to receive compensation until the recommendation is accepted by the client and successfully implemented by Shaheen. We of course always obtain written permission prior to removal of any services. In addition to providing our clients with comprehensive audits, Shaheen provides valuable value-added service, including invoice consolidation, complimentary advice on contract negotiation,  feedback of usage rates and other cost-saving services.