Agenda
Thursday, Oct. 15
Pre-Conference Fundamentals Workshop
8 9 a.m.
Registration, Coffee & Pastries and Exhibits
9 10 a.m.
5 Steps to a Money-Saving Audit
Denise Munro, Principal CRG Telecom Inc.
Gear up for the fast-paced main conference with the veteran advice of Denise Munro, who reveals the 5 critical steps of optimizations that put hard dollars back on the bottom line. Master techniques to build crisp, accurate inventories, scour invoices for budget-busting errors, make sure your invoices reflect the discounts and promotions you negotiated so hard for ... and much more! This step-by-step walk-through of a proven audit process uses the all-important CSR (customer service record), bills and contracts to unlock the secrets of local, long distance, network services/circuits and wireless billing.
10 11 a.m. 
Your Turn! Hands-On Auditing Exercises
Denise Munro, Principal CRG Telecom Inc.
Sharpen your pencils and pick apart real-world invoices in search of windfalls in this exclusive and unique hands-on session. Zero in on bills loaded with errors and inaccurate rates. Root out expensive unused and oversold services. Detect common wireless billing problems (HINT: every organization has them!) and learn proven tactics to make sure these problems don’t return to plague your enterprise! Rookies and experienced auditors alike leave this session with a sharper understanding of telecom auditing basics.
Main Conference
10:45 11:15 a.m.
Registration, Coffee Break and Exhibits
11:15 a.m. Noon
Bootstrap Your Auditing Career!
Sophie Boyko, Strategic Coach Strategic Business Solutions
Wouldn’t you love to get the recognition – and rewards – you deserve for the bottom-line results your audits deliver? No sweat! Sophie Boyko shows you how. A veteran career coach, she shows you how raising your profile within your enterprise will unlock all the benefits – job satisfaction, recognition and more – that come your way when management truly understands your value. Don’t wait for your results to speak for themselves … you risk being viewed as merely a cost center, and that’s no way to win the kudos and resources you’ve earned.
Noon 1 p.m.
Networking Lunch
1 2 p.m.
How I Saved $4 Million on Telecom Expenses
Marcus Johnson, Telecom Program Manager H&R Block
Marcus attended last year’s Total Telecom Auditing conference in Las Vegas and returned to his office to slash 12% – a whopping $4 million – from his communications spend! Now he returns to share the 5 steps he took to slice his local, LD, conference calling and mobile services costs. But beware! There are pitfalls you absolutely must avoid if you want to deliver the same outstanding results. Marcus details how to ace tricky accounting and budget adjustments, how to nail down fragmented management, and how to secure approvals from diverse – and oftentimes warring – internal groups, like corporate IT, purchasing and regional offices.
2 3 p.m.
43 Cost-Cutting Opportunities I Know You Missed
in Your Last Audit
Art Yonemoto, President Yonemoto & Associates
Jump start your audit with Art’s “tried-and-true” auditing punch list guaranteed to save you money. Here’s a preview: Zero in on special CLEC features (free local calling, anyone?), tax exemptions, voice/data consolidation and PBX routing changes and put $30,000 in the bank! No matter how much audit experience you have, Art guarantees that you’re missing at least half the gimme’s on his list!
3 3:15 p.m.
Refreshment Break and Exhibits
3:15 4:15 p.m.
Unravel Taxes, Fees & Surcharges
Martha Buyer, Principal Law Offices of Martha Buyer PLLC
Taxes, surcharges and fees can account for a staggering 20% of your telecom spend! (And as governments deal with declining revenues and growing deficits, your tab will only get bigger.) These insidious add-ons are the ultimate moving target, changing frequently (and morphing creatively – carriers are great at burying these charges!). Our expert presenter shares her inside tactics that you can use to manage and minimize these charges, from blockbusters like the USF fee (which has spiked as high as 12.9%) to arcane charges like the property tax allocation that you can’t afford to let slip through the cracks.
4:15 5:15 p.m.
Technicians Secrets for Validating Inventory
Jeff Cooper, President Cooper & Associates
Don’t gamble that the unknown lines and circuits you disconnect are not being used. Jeff Cooper, a 22-year auditing veteran, goes into phone rooms himself to trace and validate the inventory. You won’t turn into a technician overnight, but Jeff’s fast-paced tutorial puts you in the driver’s seat when you hire subcontractors. Jeff’s exclusive process helps you understand what must be done on-site before and during the inventory. Even the technicians you hire would benefit from this session!
Friday, Oct. 16
8 a.m.
Coffee & Pastries and Exhibits
8:15 9:30 a.m.
Bring Your Own Bills
How would you like to resolve – once and for all – those nagging invoice issues that keep you up at night? Bring a recent wireless, local, long distance or data bill (even if it’s for international services!). Then roll up your sleeves and work side-by-side with our expert presenters to seize critical savings opportunities and unravel your toughest audit and optimization challenges.
9:30 10:15 a.m.
Grass on the Other Side:
Lessons from My Career Change
Chuck Taylor, Agent RCOM Consultants
Chuck Taylor ended a successful 30-year run at the Tribune Company last year ... and turned that valuable experience into a second career as a consultant. Along the way, he discovered that life on the other side has some valuable lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid for enterprises. Learn everything Chuck wishes he knew while working on the enterprise side, like how to bust the "greater volume equals lower prices" myth ... how to push for the better rates you know are out there ... and how to break the grip of the Big 2 carriers with strategic use of smaller players.
10:15 10:30 a.m.
Refreshment Break and Exhibits
10:30 11:30 a.m.
5 Things You Must Know About Tariffs & Service Guides
Denise Munro, Principal CRG Telecom Inc.
Carrier tariffs, price lists and service guides are dense, virtually unreadable and constantly changing, particularly for telecom rookies. Odds are they’re an integral part of your enterprise’s agreements for network-based technology services. Learn to read these often cryptic documents and you’ll know what you really pay for services. Even better, learn to use tariffs and service guides to bolster your leverage when you negotiate custom contracts and master service agreements! Denise shares her 5 secrets for tariffs and service guides, including why they are important, where to find them, when they apply to your specific services and how changes alter what you pay (even mid-term!).
11:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m.
Auditing and the TEM Lifecycle
David Taylor, Telecom Manager DS Waters of America Inc.
Solid audit work can form the foundation for deploying a telecom expense management solution. Just ask David Taylor, a telecom manager who is in the process of selecting his enterprise’s third TEM vendor. David – last year’s top-rated speaker – will present a revealing look at the techniques he successfully uses to boost auditing’s contributions to overall TEM performance. After this session, you’re on your way to cementing your role in your enterprise’s TEM strategy!
12:30 1:30 p.m.
Networking Lunch
1:30 2:30 p.m.
Interactive Panel Discussion
Pose your toughest questions to auditing experts and seasoned enterprise telecom pros in this panel discussion, moderated by
Voice Report’s Jessica Gdowski.
2:30 3:30 p.m.
Steves Top 10 Wireless Optimization Techniques
Stephen Leaden, President Leaden Associates, Inc.
Here’s one telling fact from a recent Gartner report: By 2011, enterprises will support more mobile phones than desktop phones. That’s frightening news for auditors already awash in mobile bills and overwhelmed by more and more powerful mobile devices – but you have a lifeline! Join optimization pro Stephen Leaden for as he charts a 10-step course to put – and keep you – one step ahead of the wireless tsunami.
3:30 3:45 p.m.
Refreshment Break and Exhibits
3:45 4:45 p.m.
9-Step Blueprint for International Audits
Ken Krupp, Consultant Global Telecommunications
Today’s global economy, coupled with a boost in the mobile workforce, means international communications are now a big part of an enterprise’s communications costs. And that trend will only accelerate. You need to nail down – now – the skills to take your domestic auditing talents global. Ken Krupp, a 31-year telecom professional who has worked with ILECs, CLECs, LD and cell carriers in 28 countries, shares his 9-step blueprint of the steps and processes you must have in place to be a successful international auditor. Hint: Don’t underestimate the complexity of currency conversions and foreign governmental fees!
4:45 p.m.
Conference Adjourns
