After a detailed analysis of invoices and on-hand inventories it was determined that most of the product received and sold for the promotion was paid for at the higher cost. The auditor verified with the supplier that these invoices should have been billed at a lower cost. The auditor calculated the purchases made of this product and discovered an invoice overcharge.

In this case, the Connolly auditor did not let the normal standard practices of a particular supplier dictate purchases and allowances were audited. Experience and intuition allowed the auditor to notice that an increase in purchases, without any promotional consideration, was incorrect. In addition, the auditor was very diligent and professional in dealing with the supplier’s representative. This experience, professionalism, and persistence allowed the auditor to recover a claim for over £179,850 for the client.

Connolly Consulting’s audit team recognised that because the client had multiple divisions within their company, payment errors may have been likely. While analysing Connolly’s standard duplicate payment reports, the auditor noticed additional opportunities for recoveries by changing the parameters of the report to focus on adjustment transactions. This particular transaction did appear on a duplicate payment report with two payments and one credit. Other auditors would have passed by the transaction - as it appeared the duplicate payment was properly corrected. However, with the help of the special customised adjustments report from Connolly’s data analysts, the auditor was able to quickly realise the payment was not for an invoice, but was an attempt to reverse an allowance.

During the process the auditor continued to review this comprehensive report and further investigate other areas that looked suspect. With the data and technology to quickly run queries at his disposal, the auditor discovered that there were additional overpayments associated with transactions resulting from the use of incorrect provider numbers on claims related to dialysis treatment. An overpayment totalling £26,000 was initially found, and after conducting further extensive research using Connolly’s proven audit techniques, the auditor identified 80 additional overpayments totalling £1,072,500 in valid recoveries.

This example illustrates that when Connolly auditors research overpayments in one area it often leads to overpayments in other, often unrelated, areas.