Universal Service Administrative Co. audits impose an ‘unnecessar...
Universal Service Administrative Co. audits impose an “unnecessary burden” on small rural telecom companies, said the Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association. In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, the group said the Office of Inspector General should set audit…
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procedures for USF oversight. “Such standardized procedures would go a long way toward mitigating concerns about the inconsistency of the current process,” it said. The association said auditors contracted by the Universal Service Fund high-cost program “are often entirely inexperienced, with little or no knowledge of the telecommunications industry and FCC cost accounting rules.” Auditors are “extremely inflexible” on audit dates and document deadlines, it said. The group worries about the reporting of audit findings, it said. “In the most recent round of audits, the amount of funds estimated to be potential improper payments far exceeded the actual amounts found in the audits,” it said. And rural telecom providers fear USF audits may lead to accusations of Customer Proprietary Network Information violations, the group said. For example, auditors have demanded copies of customer billing records, it said: “These requests naturally place company management in an awkward position of determining whether to comply with auditors’ demands, or violate the law.” The FCC should clarify whether and to what extent auditors may access CPNI, it said.