Bernice De Marco is from Malta but now works in the UK. She spoke to GRAPA staff writer Kathy B. during a recent training event in London.

Bernice with her GRAPA Certificate

How did you get started in revenue assurance?

I started working in telecommunications back in 2000. I started with Vodafone, before going to university. The first few years I was in the retail sector, and then moved to roaming and billing. I was doing revenue assurance jobs, focusing on roaming and billing. In the meantime, I started going to university, and went on to financial management. Shortly thereafter there was a restructuring within the company, so I moved to fraud for a few months. This was after nearly two and half years working in revenue assurance. I spent a few months in fraud before moving on to billing operations. I worked over two years in billing operations, and then decided I needed some more challenge. I also finished my university course in the meantime.

What prompted you to leave Malta and live in London?

Because Malta is quite small, there is limited opportunity, so I took a position with Carphone Warehouse and came to live in the UK.

What is your role there?

I started working in revenue assurance for the MVNO sector as that was in line with my experience. Then after eight months, I started focusing on the fixed line sector and that is what I am still doing.

What was it like to move to London from a small island country like Malta?

I moved from Malta in 2007. The city of London is very different. In Malta, the culture is very homogenous, but London is very multicultural.  Life is so busy here. Even the London telecom market is so competitive, so aggressive, and everyone is launching new products all the time. It is so much more challenging and there are far more opportunities. For me it was a bit of a culture shock. Malta is such a small country and although it was a British colony, it is still very different. Everything here moves so much faster and you have to learn to adapt much quicker to what is around you.

Is there anything you miss about Malta?

The weather there is very nice. We have three months of summer and every day you can go to the beach. Here you hardly get even one month of summer! There are no beaches in London! Of course, I miss my family and friends. I am here with my boyfriend, but we have had to make new friends and are facing new challenges.

Do you have any hobbies or interests?

My hobby is traveling, but traveling is of course expensive, so there is a limit as to how often I can enjoy my hobby. I like to experience new cuisine; I am very interested in food and love cooking. Even when traveling to other countries I really enjoy trying out the typical food of that culture. While at home, I try experimenting in my own kitchen. I love cooking Maltese food, which is very difficult to find here. My favorite food is horsemeat. In Malta, we eat horse, but in Britain you can not find horse meat for sale. Every time I go home, I ask for a special dish from my mom, and I have her cook horse meat.

It must have been difficult for your family, when you left. How do they feel about your work?

They were not happy that I was leaving everything behind for work. However, they understand that Malta is small and there are not the same opportunities. So, in the end they support my decision. Having a good career ultimately gives me satisfaction. If that makes me happy, then my family is happy for me.

GRAPA Social Media Manager Kathy B. interviewed Susan Kasule at a recent training. Friendly and outgoing, Susan spoke with great enthusiasm about her work and family especially her daughter GT. Susan’s background is in accounting. She graduated from university in Kampala, Uganda in 1999 and afterward got a job in a printery, then as an internal auditor and  is now in telecoms. Her entrance into revenue assurance was opportunity at the moment when the revenue assurance function was being established.

GRAPA member Susan Kasule

Susan worked in finance for over five years,  but only joined revenue assurance recently. “It was an interesting challenge; getting to learn on the job and working with the right people, with the right skills, and personality,” says Susan. “Also we had to get buy-in from stakeholders in the different departments, and avoid looking like competition. Quickly we got collaboration, and even staff was willing to become revenue assurance champions in their departments hence the formation of the revenue assurance “Super” Group.”

Sue then decided to attend GRAPA training in Cape Town in 2008, and more recently enrolled for the Bachelor of RA (CB-RA) in Kampala, Uganda. “It was awesome, and I would definitely love the rest my Team to take this course,” says Sue. “I also love the fact that it is in town, we have colleagues from other departments like Billing, Network, IS and Business Risk with me here, and I have met colleagues from next door. It is a good learning experience and fun too, but most importantly I will be more effective.”

Drawing people together is something Susan likes doing outside of her work as well. Sue loves social gatherings and organizing parties. “I love to cook, bake and do some ’sales’. I also work part time at the family hotel and love attending church fund-raising functions. Recently I have been learning about sickle cell anemia and diabetes to try to understand and emotionally help my friends, and who knows where this will lead. I still watch local basketball in town and it’s all great!”

I recently spoke to Tarig H. Rahamtalla at the Las Vegas training event. Tarig has a Bachelors in Business Management with a concentration in accounting from Cairo University. He has a Masters in Accounting from Strayer University, in Washington DC. He also has a Forensic Accounting certificate from Georgetown University in Washington DC and is an Associate member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Kathy interviews Tarig at the GRAPA Training Event Las Vegas '09.

His goal of course, was to work in finance and accounting, and he started working for Arthur Andersen CPA firms in 2000. He performed a function very similar to revenue assurance, reviewing billable revenues and ensuring they were collected and billed properly. After the collapse of Arthur Andersen due to the Enron scandal, he joined URS Corporation in a three-month project before moving to a software developer company called Conquests Systems. Tarig returned to his Anderson roots and joined Accenture, the consulting firm, where he was part of the Client Financial Management (CFM) personnel and worked in different federal government engagements such as the Department of Treasury, the Department of Health and Human Services, the IRS, the Department of Education and Transportation, Security Administration and a small engagement for the CIA. “We were basically responsible for managing those engagements financially, making sure each engagement followed the contractual agreement and met our pricing margins and that the products were delivered on time”. Tarig moved from Accenture to the Marriott Corporation and worked for the headquarters of Marriott in Maryland as a revenue recognition commissioner for about a year and half. He was on a team responsible for the limited service hotels such as Residence Inn, Courtyard Inn and SpringHill Suites. “Most small hotels don’t have large finance departments. I was responsible for recording, analyzing and forecasting the North America Managed Limited Service hotels revenue, and consolidated various revenue reports and analyses for Marriott Corporation Financial Reporting & Analysis group. Tarig currently works for the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). USAC was designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to administrate the Universal Service Fund (USF). Through contributions made by telecommunications companies, the USF provides communities across America with affordable telecommunication services. “This is a huge fund, so we are responsible for evaluating and analyzing the revenue numbers for about 6000 carriers in the US.”

GRAPA Certified Bachelor Revenue Regulatory Compliance and Telecommunications Revenue Assurance

“This job introduced me to the telecommunications industry where I’ve learned much about the types of services telecommunications firms provide. It is a very sophisticated business. You need to develop a good understanding of the telecommunication technology before you can analyze and determine the validity of quarterly and annual telecom provider revenue. The decision to come to GRAPA training was based on the weight of responsibility Tarig feels about his present job. Tarig began searching the internet and was surprised to find that, for the size of the telecommunications business and how essential revenue assurance is, there is only one institute providing training and education. “When I discussed the GRAPA training and the services GRAPA provides it really got the attention of my managers at work. There is a real lack of training and resources for those wishing to practice revenue assurance. My director was very enthusiastic about me coming to the GRAPA training.” Tarig feels the training gave him a good foundation and overview of telecommunication services and the revenue they generate. Outside the workplace, Tarig lives a busy life as well. He has been married for five years and has two sons. “When it is summertime and the weather is nice in Washington, DC I love to play tennis. I am far from being a professional tennis player, but it is one of my favorite activities. I have some friends that enjoy the game, and we have a good time.” Tarig also likes watching professional tennis, NFL football and soccer. “I have also been known to watch the NBA during the playoffs.” When I asked what he wanted people to know about him his response was, “I’m a family guy. I try to keep things simple”

GRAPA member George Abili  spoke with staff writer Kathy B. while attending  a recent training event. George has a degree in economics and is a certified public accountant. He started his career with the Ministry of Finance in Uganda and was part of a team that set up an integrated financial management system program to computerize government accounting. “This was a country wide implementation of a financial system. I was involved in that project for five years.” During that time, he was also involved with IT and created white papers in networking and computers.

George then joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in the process assurance function. This is part of the auditing field that supports the main financial accounting group , using IT to help businesses such as telcos, banking and manufacturing.

He stayed with PricewaterhouseCoopers for a year and then joined Warid Telecom in Uganda. “I started as a senior executive in revenue assurance and was involved with the management systems. Since June of 2009, I have been head of the revenue assurance department. Warid is a new company and launched commercially in Feb 2008. The department was in place when I began, but of course everything was still new and it is still a growing unit. I am helping develop the function further so it is more useful to the organization,” he explains.

Because of his experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers, George was already familiar with the telco environment, but he felt he did not have the whole picture. “The main difference in telcos is that things happen so fast. Changes happen almost every day. You really have to be on your toes all of the time. You have to be flexible to keep up with the new changes, programs or products.”

Outside of his work life, George admits to being a sports addict. “I keep a small window open on my laptop every day so I can watch sports scores and news, be it golf, cricket, Formula One racing, you name it.” Until recently, he played cricket, and still plays football.

George loves adventure too and often explores the countryside. Uganda is very diverse, culturally and geographically and George enjoys taking road trips to meet new people and see new areas. He has also participated in charity events, driving off-road vehicles to raise money for a chimpanzee sanctuary in Uganda. The races, routed over challenging terrain, tested George’s driving skills and the ability to work with a navigator. In one event, George triumphed over the tough course and conditions to finish in first place. “I have a short attention span, I don’t like to be bored, so I look for new ways to have fun and challenge myself. I enjoy being with friends, I like to learn new things everyday. I think if you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space.”

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

For Chijioke Obuna there are rarely two days in a row that are the same. “My workdays go in cycles; it depends on what phase of the financial cycle we are in. That will dictate exactly what I’m doing at any given time,” he explains. “Working in two different offices means I have to move quickly to keep up. There are many reports to get ready, and challenges, like the systems themselves, that need to be dealt with.”

Chijioke currently works for MTN Uganda. He has been with MTN over seven years. His initial work experience, after graduating from the university in Nigeria with a degree in finance, was with Arthur Andersen where he was involved in Audit and Tax advisory services and then Standard Trust Bank. “For me the main difference between working in a bank, and working in a telco, was that I found banking repetitious,” says Chijioke. “I have now worked in several different places in Africa, and in different departments within telcos. I find the telecommunications industry very exciting.” 

Credit management, interconnect and roaming are just few of the things included in Chijioke job description. He oversees several large teams responsible for these different services. This offers him a unique end-to-end perspective of the telco’s processes.

The penchant for fast paced, constantly changing scenarios requiring focus and agility is reflected in Chijioke’s choice of sport. He plays tennis several times a week at his club in Kampala. He is also an avid chess player. Even in his down time, Chijioke is ‘keeping up’, reading about new technologies and learning new software programs.

Chijioke is constantly upgrading his education as well. Not only does he have an MBA in finance as well as a diploma in Mobile Communications, he is also working on his MA in Economics. He is a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Institute for Credit Administration.

As part of his ongoing education, he recently attended GRAPA certification training. He took special interest in the information about wireless, SOX, and new technologies. “The training for me was exciting because, although I have attended some revenue assurance workshops before, I now have more experience on the job. The experience combined with the training has helped me to better understand the concepts we discussed and to envision how everything fits into the over all picture.”

“How are you?” is one of the most common questions people ask in greeting. ‘’ When Sheila Leta of Uganda answers this question she does not give the standard answer ‘fine, thank you.’ Rather, her answer is an expression of her faith. Ask her how she is and she will tell you, “I’m blessed,” or “I am shining.” It is her faith that sustains her through her busy days as a revenue assurance professional, mother of two and wife of an aspiring church leader. “I love putting my faith to work,” she says. “The bible says; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I like to see that at work in my life. “

Her church is a very important part of her life and recently, she and her husband were responsible for running a pastoral charge. “This was a very busy time, because he was studying, we were both working and caring for our family.” With two very young children, time is always at a premium. “I have the help of a nanny who stays with my kids, but there is still a lot of work to do when I get home —I jump from one job to another!” she laughs.

Sheila attended university in Tanzania where she graduated with a Bachelor of Electronic Science and Communications. After graduation, she worked for a clearing and forwarding company and later telecoms. She has been in her current position for the last two and a half years. Always testing her own strength, she found her original position lacked challenge and she asked to be transferred to another department where she hoped to find more challenge. She worked in the more technical areas of the telco before finding her true vocation in revenue assurance. Now she feels she has a job she loves. She enjoys the broader overview over the entire company and being able to follow the revenue stream from beginning to end is a process that interests her greatly.

Sheila has found the GRAPA training to be very enlightening. “Management was always as helpful as possible, sharing what they knew, and often referring to The Telco Revenue Assurance Handbook, but we still didn’t feel we were being effective. We knew there was revenue leakage, but didn’t know where to find it or the best approach to stop it.” She found the handbook essential. However, with the GRAPA training she is finding that she is learning much more and learning to focus on the exact scope of revenue assurance. “Now I can take the initiative and do what I believe will fix a problem from the roots. The results will be more accountable to management, consistent and quantifiable. This training has helped me to focus. I will waste less time doing things that are not priority. I feel I finally know what revenue assurance is all about.”

“As auditors it is not enough to know how to detect controls and put them in place. We have to acknowledge that telecommunications is a fast moving industry and we need to keep abreast of new developments, gather the right knowledge and marry these controls into a very high powered technology,” explained Jeffrey Singayan during GRAPA training in Luxembourg. “This training has strengthened my impression that the telecom industry is very dynamic and you have to be on your toes to keep up.”

However, for Jeffrey, that very dynamism and energy makes his role as internal auditor appealing. “The auditing practice is, I think, built on precepts that are quite established. Although there are relevant controls in all industries, in telecoms the practice becomes more challenging because of the rapidly changing technology. I find that exciting. This is a place I enjoy being.”

Jeffrey completed his education with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy. He then worked for the Bank of the Philippine Islands, one of the largest banks in the country. He began as a financial auditor, and after he took his CPA exams and a programmer’s aptitude test he qualified to be an IT auditor. From there Jeffrey moved on to Sykes, a business process outsourcing service, based in Florida and with many locations in North and South America. “I was with them for about 1 year and received experience in SOX audits from there.”

Now, working for a multi-national telecommunications provider, Jeffrey finds himself in a very new industry. “This is a big change and challenge for me. IT audits in banking are very conservative so the controls are extremely strict and stringent. I am not saying there are no controls in the telecom industry but here, in my situation, the technology dictates the controls. You have to adjust the controls based on what the technology gives you, as opposed to banking, where it is more about procedures and practices.”

When not working, Jeffrey admits to being a channel surfer. “I admit I am a television addict and will watch almost anything on TV. I am always flipping through the channels. I like to watch series like the American science fiction drama Heroes and the espionage series 24.” When he is home in the Philippines Jeffrey likes to work out at the gym where he spends time with friends. “I’ve become a lot more fitness conscious. In between assignments, that’s where I go to socialize.” He also enjoys reading novels during his downtime.

Even though he finds the travel tiring and the job is still new, Jeffrey says he is excited to be learning and experiencing what his new field has to offer. “I really enjoy going to new places. It is interesting to be able stay a little in each place and get to know the people. I am learning more about cultures and meeting new friends. That is very enjoyable for me.”

Marie-Laure Steichen is 29, of French and Luxembourgish descent and currently working for a multi-national telecommunications operator in Luxembourg. Marie attended business school and has a Masters Degree in management with a major in marketing. She graduated in 2004 and although most of her education was in France, she briefly attended school in Sweden. Marie describes the experience of living in a different culture with students from around the world as very rewarding. She feels studying in Sweden improved her English but found the style of study quite different to what she had experienced in France. “I was with many foreign students and the teaching was quite different. It was more pragmatic and proactive, based on discussions and reactions rather than the lecture based model I was used to.” Marie’s education also included two internships, the first with IBM France.

On completing her education, she joined ArcelorMittal, a steel company before moving on to her current employment. “IT, telecommunications and new technology has always been appealing to me, but it’s not something I envisioned at the beginning of my education.” In fact, Marie did her final internship with the European Court of Auditors based in Luxembourg. “The European Court of Auditors basically checks the EUs funds. There I was doing project management and process evaluations.”

The concept of revenue assurance may be new to Marie, but with the focused GRAPA training, it is something she intends to integrate into what she already does. “The training has helped me understand the process and the language,” she explains. “I had no idea how deep, different and detailed the process of revenue assurance is. Certainly, in the area of forensics, there are many similarities between revenue assurance and internal audits. But, the internal auditor doesn’t have any of the operational responsibilities.”

Travel is a large part of Marie’s role. Although the first challenge of her job within telecommunications is to understand the processes, she found equal challenge in the human factor. “Fifty percent of our work is human relations and you constantly deal with people of different cultures and backgrounds. Even your colleagues are of different cultures. You have to be sensitive about how you behave, and speak to people in a way that makes them comfortable answering your questions. You have to respect the rules even if it is against a personal belief.”

Work takes up a great amount of Marie’s time but she does like to indulge in her passions—music, cinema and socializing with her friends. When her schedule allows, she enjoys volunteering at cinema festivals and comedy and science fiction movies are her favorites. She also enjoys pop and rock music, going to concerts and dancing. From her mother she received a treasured collection of cookbooks and she has taken cooking lessons in Indian cuisine. Her specialty is dessert, that culinary universal language that her friends new and old, appreciate.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

What does the game of squash and revenue assurance have in common? Both are fast paced, requiring precision and good foresight. In addition, both are Patrick Koen’s passions. Patrick describes himself as competitive and analytical with a ‘go for it’ personality that serves him both on and off the squash court. “I like to take on problems or tackle projects and make them work. I am the type of person who likes to see the big picture and meet challenges head-on,” Patrick told staff writer Kathy B, during GRAPA training in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Patrick presently works for KPN and lives in Haarlem, Netherlands with his long time girlfriend.

After receiving his master’s degree in business administration, Patrick began working at Deloitte as an IT auditor. “During that time many of my clients were in the media and telecom industry. I did IT audits for annual statements at some of the larger telecoms.” While working at Telfort he got to know the revenue assurance manager. That was his first introduction to revenue assurance. Later in his career he did internal audits for KPN and spent a few years in corporate Internal Audit. “I started to focus on the revenue cycle for KPN’s mobile business. Then KPN bought Telfort and because the revenue assurance manager remembered me, we started talking. That is how I became part of the revenue assurance department at KPN,” says Patrick.

Patrick has worked in the revenue assurance department for about a year now. “I work more with revenue assurance on the operational side. We work in two teams; business, DSL, internet and postpaid and prepaid mobile. I work with the mobile team,” explains Patrick. “It has been interesting seeing how the revenue assurance department has come together.”

When he is not working, Patrick spends a lot of time on the squash court. “Winning is the second most most important thing,” says Patrick, “the challenge is the first.”

Although it is difficult to imagine Patrick sitting still long enough, he also enjoys reading. His favourites are American writers like John Irving who wrote A Prayer for Owen Meany and The World According to Garp, post-modern writer Don DeLillo, and Thomas Wolfe.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.

GRAPA staff writer Kathy B. spoke to Miguel during two weeks of internal auditor training, held in Luxembourg.

What is your background before becoming an internal auditor at your current employer?

“I have a degree in business administration and financial studies. I started to work as external auditor at KPMG and then was an internal auditor for LEAR automotive (NYSE: LEA).

What is your current position?

I am a SOX compliance manager. The main objective of my work is to maintain our internal controls system to ensure compliance with internal policies and SOX procedures  in a sustainable manner.

You travel a lot for your work. Is that a particular challenge?

I am glad my work includes travel because that is something I really enjoy. The multi-cultural environment of my workplace is something I appreciate. Working with people of different cultures and with different backgrounds is very enriching.

When you are not working, how do you like to spend your time?

I like books and reading. I am a basketball fan and I follow the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers is my team, mainly because I like following fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol.

Has the GRAPA training provided you with any new insights?

The revenue assurance training was tailored for internal auditors and I found it very useful. We were shown an operating point of view of revenue assurance, which gives the internal auditor a better picture of how things are functioning. Understanding the Revenue Assurance roles and possibilities is crucial for the effectiveness of the SOX Compliance process. I took away some very useful knowledge with this training.

The GRAPA Blog features profiles of attendees of GRAPA training and GRAPA members.