Curly123PC --
The Wall Street Journal has an excellent search facility on its pages.
Using "Advanced Search" you can go back to 1996. I performed the
search in the following fashion back to Jan. 1, 2000 and found 294
articles from the Journal and Barron's:
telecommunications AND audit
One has to weed through the articles, as many deal with financial
reporting issues that have plagued MCI, Qwest, Global Crossing and
others.
Below are articles that appear to be relevant. The Journal provides
an abstract of each that's about 30 words long and charges $2.95 for
the full version. Another alternative would be to go to your local
library and use the Wall Street Journal on microfilm:
"New Taxes, Fees Hit Phone Bills: How to Decipher Your Statement"
September 18, 2002
The following topic may not appear to be related, but it's really
about theft using phone lines:
"Protecting Computer Files"
March 11, 2002
Improper billings by phone companies and how they happened at GSA:
"GSA Faces Fire Over Long-Distance Costs, Handling of Sprint, WorldCom Contracts"
April 26, 2001
A very similar search of the New York Times (back to Jan. 1, 2000 and
using the same terms) finds 44 articles, again mostly about troubles
with earnings reports. Like with wsj.com, the nytimes.com site has an
excellent search tool that provides the first 30 words of an article,
but nothing fit what you were seeking.
Similary, there was little on the CNN/Money Magazine site about audit
issues (absent the 35 articles about the same companies with
investigations into earnings statements):
CNN/Money Home Page
http://money.cnn.com/
However, a broader search of Money Magazine using a service available
from my public library, Proquest Magazines, reveals these articles
that may be of interest:
A discussion of special fees and charges on phone bills -- though it's
oriented to home bills:
"What Do You Pay to Stay Connected?" Dec. 2003
Again, suggestions on cutting domestic phone bills:
"Dial-a-dollar," August 2000
Most of the earlier articles in Money Magazine treat the costs of
cellphones and other services but are obsolete because of rapid
changes in the industry.
-----
As for other publications that have discussed the telecommunication
audits, here are some articles that seem to fit well:
Inc. Magazine
"Cost Cutting: The Money Pit" (Stuart, May, 2002)
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20020501/24180.html
Industry Week
"Controlling Connection Costs," (Kroll, Feb. 1, 2002)
http://www.industryweek.com/CurrentArticles/asp/articles.asp?ArticleId=1187
Business Communications Review
"Driving Down Communications Costs in a Tight Economy," (June, 2002)
not available online
Andrew Backover of USAToday has written quite a bit about business
service issues and telecommunications, including articles on
Voice-over-IP and potential new telecom fees imposed by the FCC. So,
you may find it useful to go to the USA Today site and search using:
Backover + telecommunications
This article, in particular, seems to fit what you're seeking:
USAToday
"Think your phone bill's crazy? Firms have it worse," (Backover, Aug. 7, 2001)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/covers/2001-08-07-bcovtue.htm
Also from USA Today, this article may be of interest:
USAToday
"Telecom Billing Complaints Increase," (Kessler, Sept. 2, 2003)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2003-09-01-mci_x.htm
Network Fusion has a couple of interesting articles, though the
publication requires registration on its website:
"Finding Cash in Bad Bills," (Greene, March 20, 2000)
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2000/0320audit.html
"Secrets of the Tariff Game," (Machtig, Dec. 13, 1999)
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/1999/1213feat.html
If there are issues with this search, please let me know via a
clarification request before rating this answer.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
