Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Operational Audit Communications topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District audit of communications spending finds modest recurring savings and inventory improvements
Summary
A third‑party audit by SpyGlass identified recurring billing errors and unused services; the district implemented several recommendations that will save about $1,900 annually and paid the auditor 50% of first-year savings.
District staff presented results of a communications-services audit performed by SpyGlass and said the review produced an inventory of every communications line and identified billing issues that the district could fix.
Rachel (Staff member) described the audit process: SpyGlass reviewed contracts and invoices, engaged vendors and compared billings to contracted terms. The company works on a contingency basis and takes a percentage of recovered or ongoing first-year savings; Rachel said SpyGlass collected 50% of the first-year savings after the district implemented selected recommendations.
Key findings the district implemented included removing legacy telephone-directory listings and duplicative line listings for each school, correcting undisclosed state-tax charges that the district is state-tax exempt from, and reclaiming an overcharge of roughly $100 per month from a Spectrum billing issue that the district had already identified. Rachel said the audit produced an inventory that will help the district monitor recurring charges going forward.
The district estimated the monthly forward-looking savings at about $160 and annualized savings close to $1,900; the audit fee (50% of year-one savings) amounted to $952. Rachel and board members said the district’s pre-audit efficiency benchmark compared favorably with other school districts and that this exercise was a low-risk way to find modest recurring savings.
District leaders noted additional opportunities flagged by SpyGlass—such as the rising costs of POTS (landline) circuits used for elevator and emergency service—and said they may revisit energy-utility and gas/electric audits once SpyGlass expands those services and the district evaluates market complexity.
