GRAPA's social networking manager talks about revenue assurance professional Olusolape Daji, and how being a good revenue assurance pro is like being a good parent.

The big news this summer has been the release of the last Harry Potter movie. Like Harry Potter, we as revenue assurance professionals have the power to decide if we are going to hide behind old technology and complain "I can't do it," or learn new skills and meet the challenge. GRAPA president Rob Mattison discusses how to access the resources required to become an effective revenue assurance wizard.

"The revenue assurance discipline, and the standards provided by GRAPA, provide the revenue assurance professional with a comprehensive set of templates that make it possible to assure any type or level of revenue assurance risk, with a simple set of tools," says GRAPA president Rob Mattison. Learn how CEOs can use revenue assurance to their benefit.

In the second installment of The Beginner's Guide to Revenue Assurance, Rob Mattison tackles the question why do telecoms need revenue assurance at all? "Managers are finding that the methods used in the past, in order to establish control over the accounting, sales, marketing and operational environments simply cannot keep up with today's breakneck pace. The old controls are simply failing." Rob discusses the four symptoms that indicate things are getting out of control, the three key decisions that must be made and four disciplines that drive the revenue assurance process.

It's back to basics as Rob Mattison takes another look at the definition of revenue assurance. "It seems that Revenue Assurance (as promoted by GRAPA at least) is becoming more and more a “top of mind” issue for a lot of C Level executives and even telecoms board members. One of the unfortunate side effects of this renewed attention, is that the first thing we have to do is undo a lot of the confusion, chaos and misinformation that so many people have been spouting." Rob clarifies the definition of revenue assurance for 2011.

Partner or Privateer? While most of us are fascinated by the lives of legendary pirates, real pirates are not so romantic. GRAPA's Rob Mattison discusses what happens when a partnership turns into piracy, using Canadian owned Research in Motion as an example. (Margin) Pirates of the Canadians

Rob Mattison introduces the new Revenue Assurance Foundations training and certification programs being launched in 2011. The Revenue Assurance Foundations program is the third in the series of what we call our core curriculum for revenue assurance professionals. The core curriculum is an intense five day crash course in the fundamentals of the practice of professional revenue assurance as advocated by the GRAPA standards.

GRAPA President Rob Mattison reflects on the great strides forward made in 2010 and discusses the plans in place for 2011 for GRAPA and RA Academy that will keep the momentum rolling.

Find out what is in store for GRAPA in 2011. "Over the past year, we have been conducting an exhaustive set of benchmarks and surveys with revenue assurance professionals and CFO’s, and the opinions that they voice are pretty much unanimous." Find out what you can expect as the GRAPA team puts the final details in place for the new and much improved curriculum.

Batman, Superman, Aquaman or The Flash: What Kind of Revenue Assurance Hero do You Want to Be? GRAPA president Rob Mattison discusses the special powers needed by revenue assurance and fraud management professionals and what the key ingredient to being a superhero really is.

It is really no accident that GRAPA claims Kuala Lumpur as its birthplace. If you want to experience telecommunications in the fast lane, first hand, you don’t have to look any further than here. Because of its reputation for being the leaders in so many areas, we usually choose the South East Asian market as a key launching point for new programs, initiatives and standards activities. KL was a landmark event for GRAPA in many ways...

The 'Boston Tea Party' was a pivotal event leading to the American Revolution and independence from Britain. Now, a new political Tea Party movement has gained a toe-hold in the United States. Rob Mattison discusses how revenue assurance`s own revolution has been going on for some time now. Are you ready to join the party?

"The reason that GRAPA exists, and the reason that I travel around the world, 45 weeks out of the year, is to try to help revenue assurance managers to create that “meeting of the minds”, the “Now you get it” moment that empowers RA teams, and changes their status in their organizations." GRAPA president Rob Mattison discusses GRAPA training from the perspective of telco CFOs.

What if your revenue assurance problem is IT? How do you pinpoint the source of the problem and how can revenue assurance and IT teams work together to accomplish their objectives? GRAPA president Rob Mattison offers some solutions to IT problems that includes a good look in the mirror.

"When we started GRAPA back in 2007, there were many things that we thought would happen. However, one thing we were sure of was that the wireline incumbent telcos would not be high on our list of members." GRAPA President Rob Mattison discusses what is driving wireline carriers to turn to GRAPA training for help.

"The biggest and most involved discussions at the recent Cairo training were concerned with issues about the problems that carriers are facing with the “leading edge” business model deployments, specifically the almost epidemic of CAMEL Fraud and Revenue Loss conditions, and the utter chaos that seems to be surrounding GPRS and billing for it." GRAPA president Rob Mattison discusses who will be best equipped to handle new technology. Will it be you?

Never has the old adage 'what goes around, comes around' been more true, even in the fast paced world of telecommunications. Rob Mattison discusses how vendors, speakers and other 'thought leaders' may be giving new names to old solutions. How do you identify revenue mania? Give Rob a listen and learn how to take a discerning approach to the sometimes confusing mix of revenue assurance flavors offered by the current market.

"Say what you will about the “fairness” of individual referees, or the many different “political quirks” that make up world football championships, in the end, the process is a basically fair and entertaining process. It is interesting to compare the overtly civilized and politically correct way that the FIFA championship is run to less professionally managed championship events like the World Wrestling Federation and Wrestle Mania." GRAPA President Rob Mattison opens the Revenue Mania World Cup and challenges GRAPA members to a fair, but spirited debate.

"Clearly revenue assurance has greatly increased in scope over the past few years. Revenue assurance professionals are working less on “leakage” and more on “top line revenue delivery” as we get better at the fundamentals of our craft. The skills and knowledge developed while securing revenue streams is not the end of the value delivered, but only the beginning. By leveraging, good core understanding of telco technologies, operations and revenue management activities, revenue assurance professionals are expanding and applying their knowledge in a myriad of other arenas." Rob Mattison discusses the specializations now evolving in the revenue assurance field.