Recovery Auditing Misconceptions #2 of 4:  I already have a recovery auditor so I cannot use Lavante now.

The Short Answer

The Lavante Profit Recovery product is complementary to alternative recovery solutions.  Whether you are currently engaged with another provider, wrapping up an engagement, or planning to engage in the near future, Lavante’s unique offering is effective alongside a competitive firm or as a standalone engagement. The result in either case will be increased overall cash recoveries.

Why?

Traditional recovery audit firms specialize in client-side AP auditing.  The techniques needed to perform AP auditing are not the same as those needed to perform two-way communications with a virtually unlimited number of vendors.  When it comes to vendor contacts, traditional AP audit firms offer a cursory review at best and focus on a small subset of vendors.  Lavante does encounter instances when a client’s existing vendor review is contributing to the overall recovery effort, but in every instance where Lavante has been awarded the engagement, the vendor-side recovery dollar total has increased by a multiple while adding a comprehensive vendor file management component.

Lavante has the ability to penetrate much more deeply into a client’s vendor base due to three main factors.

1)      Our Proprietary Communication Application:  Lavante has developed a proprietary software application to perform automated, ongoing communication with virtually an unlimited number of your vendors.  Sophisticated tracking and workflow adjusts the communications process based on responders and non-responders, helping drive compliance from the largest proportion of vendors possible.

2)      The Lavante Supplier Network:  Lavante has built and maintains a supplier network that is leveraged constantly to help update client vendor records and pursue communication with non-respondents.

3)      Vendor File Management Services:  Lavante staffs every engagement with a team of experts to review vendor documents and facilitate communication efforts with vendors.  ’What’s more, our vendor analytics software helps spot vendor relationships that are not otherwise obvious. By combining automation with persistent and experienced auditors, vendor compliance rises dramatically.

Because no other company in the industry has the same vendor focus and reach that Lavante does, it’s possible to work alongside an existing audit firm with little overlap. Overall, audit recoveries will rise dramatically as a result. Of course, Lavante can also perform the complete audit and totally replace another audit firm’s efforts.

Recovery Auditing Misconception #1 of 4:  There aren’t enough recoveries to justify the effort

The short answer:

You don’t know what you don’t know. Especially if you don’t, or can’t look. Often, companies that we speak with have been underwhelmed by the volume of recoveries that traditional profit recovery firms have identified in the past, so they don’t believe there’s much money to be recovered.  They don’t realize they’re looking at only the tip of the iceberg. Lavante’s approach delivers expanded levels of recovery because Lavante does a much more comprehensive audit and thus reviews a completely different set of data than traditional firms can. This generates a completely different result.

Why?

Unlike traditional firms that primarily review historic client AP records, Lavante’s method focuses on opportunities beyond AP records and delivers a higher yield as a result.  Lavante begins with an exhaustive review of vendor AR statement data.  Where traditional firms review a sample of vendor records, Lavante leverages its proprietary communication application to correspond with virtually all of client’s active vendors.

Comprehensive vendor communication leads to significant opportunities for profit recovery in three major areas:

1)      Although recovery totals are generally weighted toward larger vendors, our experience has shown that the lower 80% of the population (on the basis of spend) represents 61% of the vendors with credits. Since others don’t typically communicate with these vendors, these credits typically go unrealized. (see sidebar)

2)      Communicating directly with vendors enables Lavante to manage and clean the client’s vendor file – fewer duplicate vendors leads to fewer duplicate payments. Moreover, establishing the links and relationships between vendors opens the door to negotiate better pricing and terms across what may otherwise appeared to be unrelated vendors.

3)      Once Lavante establishes links and relationships within the vendor population, a more comprehensive duplicate payment AP review can be performed.