The more things change, the more they remain the same. That is an old saying that keeps proving itself to be true, and nowhere do we see more change than in the telecoms and revenue assurance area. Since GRAPA’s founding in 2007 there have been several major revolutions in the practice of revenue assurance. We have seen revenue assurance move up in status and importance in many organizations around the world. We have seen revenue assurance teams grow quite rapidly in most telcos. We have seen the role of revenue assurance expand to include dozens of new domains and areas as CFO’s and CEO’s have come to appreciate the real value that revenue assurance can deliver to the bottom and top line of the company’s financial statements.

As many of you know, I am American. And as many of you know, in America, we in general do not really appreciate what the rest of the world knows as football, or what North Americans call soccer. As most who know me personally know, I am not a typical American. For years,I have been an avid follower of “real football “ through my loyalty to a couple of German teams (Dortmund BVB and Bayern Munchen), both cities where I have lived and have family connections.