Bullshit back

Post #348,097 by crazy 9/24/11 5:43:30 AM Reply	Bullshit back My BIL arranges conferences for a living. This is the norm. I work for a company that hold hundreds of seminars and dozens of high end multi-day conferences (filled by SEC accountants and lawyers). They might spend days negotiating the prices, but when the final bills arrive, it can have almost any breakdown as long as the items are in their major accounting areas. Muffins and steaks are the same here. We don't care how the vendor allocates the bill, as long as it isn't over the negotiated amount. And we sure don't want to see hundreds of line items for a few dollars apiece.
Post #348,117 by beepster 9/24/11 12:09:19 PM Reply	Re: Bullshit back If you can't audit from service order to invoice, you're doing it wrong. I do this for a living too. Sure, understanding today's complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But...there they are.
Post #348,131 by crazy 9/24/11 4:28:07 PM Reply	Wrong? No. Wrong would be paying more than the negotiated amount. Wrong would be starving the attendants. Anything in between is subject to negotiation. The guy who ordered the food is in the room when it shows up. Even if he's not, by definition someone from our company is. If it is "wrong", he'll bitch and it will be made right. Or if they can't, it will be noted an we'll negotiate a discount. But we sure as hell are not going over individual bills and bitching about the cost of the items, we have a conference to run, and the food is just fine. If everything is done for the auditors, than nothing will ever get done. Sure, they are important when dealing at the big ticket items, but there is a reason they are called bean counters. Sometimes it costs more to count the beans than to spend them.
Post #348,133 by beepster 9/24/11 4:43:07 PM Reply	Dude, yes, wrong. 1) this is government. There are rules. They must be followed. 2) If you don't build an audit path and FORCE the management to that trail, you >will< get screwed. Period. (and a very good example seems to have been found by the auditors in this case). You build the conference by putting together the orders. You end the conference by paying the bills that match those orders and/or any change orders made during the conference (all must be signed and ONLY signed by agreed upon parties..anything outside of this WILL NOT BE PAID). Yes it is a fuckload of paperwork. Thats why conference planners exist...and why anyone doing this for a living has contract terms with the hotel/conference center that state specifically how differences will be dealt with. Sure, understanding today's complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But...there they are.

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