The Twelve Myths of Revenue Assurance

Recently, the 500th student went through GRAPA Revenue Assurance Academy core training. Reaching this momentous milestone inspires some reflection.

In meeting revenue assurance professionals from China, South East Asia, Australia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Africa, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Chicago a few things have become apparent:

• The practice of revenue assurance is moving in a consistent direction no matter where you go, being helped to no small degree by the GRAPA standards and other consensus building activities
• Revenue assurance professionals are alike wherever they practice. They are highly intelligent, risk takers, good negotiators, take pride in their work and work tirelessly and diligently.

However, regarding the actual function of revenue assurance, certain myths that the industry has come to accept continue to prevail. These myths are often based on falsehoods created by vendors, special interest groups, or antiquated ideas that no longer apply as we face new technology and services. In our training classes, we spend much of our time teaching people that these standard myths are not de facto, and that they may actually inhibit the revenue assurance manager from performing their role and getting the success and recognition they deserve.

I often hear these myths quoted and I have decided to do something about it. On the event of surpassing 500 students, I would like to explore and dispel these “myths” and open up the dialog in an effort to demystify the twelve most common myths of revenue assurance.