Baystate Health Inc. Uses ACL™ Analytics Exchange to Identify $2.5M in Lost Revenue and Saves $18M in Cost-Avoidance

Automated Continuous Auditing Technology Streamlines Healthcare-Specific Revenue Processes

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ACL

Apr 30, 2013, 09:00 ET

ATLANTA, April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ACL announced today at the sold-out ACL Connections 2013 customer conference that Baystate Health, a Massachusetts-based healthcare system and employer of more than 10,000 people, has uncovered $2.5 million in lost revenue and saved $18 million in cost-avoidance in just two years by preventing duplicate payments and correcting inaccurate billing functions through use of ACL™ Analytics Exchange (AX).

As data management and storage has emerged as an increasingly vital facet of the healthcare industry, Baystate recognized that its auditors were in need of faster data processing and automated analytics that could be scheduled at regular intervals, in order to manage the organization's growing volumes of data. The Audit Services team found ACL technology as a solution that would provide a higher level of automation and efficiency.

Baystate began using AX to automate data investigations in several key areas, including the implementation of a new daily Accounts Payable (AP) test, which identifies potential duplicates before the payments are made. In addition, the Baystate auditors have developed a unique analytic process that compares data between physician and hospital billing systems to pinpoint lost revenues in the Cardiac Catheter Lab, a department in which the detection and correction of problems carries a substantial financial impact.

"ACL enables us to regularly perform risk-based investigations in business areas that might otherwise be audited every five or ten years," said Baystate Audit Services Manager, Gail Hormats. "There's no longer a need for manual analysis, so business-specific controls can be handed off to stakeholders, leaving our auditors free to monitor remediation activities and make technical changes as necessary."

The internal audit team at Baystate also uses ACL software to support analysis work for the company's external auditors, conducting annual searches for unrecorded liabilities and performing a monthly General Ledger roll forward.

"Healthcare systems have extremely specific and complex revenue processes, which intersect various business practices and departments," said Laurie Schultz, President and CEO of ACL. "Continuous auditing and monitoring technologies seamlessly integrate these processes across different systems to ensure accurate analyses and reporting." 

To read the full case study, visit, http://www.acl.com/portfolio/baystate-health-inc/.

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ACL delivers technology solutions that are transforming audit and risk management. Through a combination of software and expert content, ACL enables powerful internal controls that identify and mitigate risk, protect profits, and accelerate performance.

Driven by a desire to expand the horizons of audit and risk management so they can deliver greater strategic business value, we develop and advocate technology that strengthens results, simplifies adoption, and improves usability. ACL's integrated family of products—including our cloud‐based audit and compliance management solution and flagship data analytics products—combine all vital components of audit and risk, and are used seamlessly at all levels of the organization, from the C‐suite to front line audit and risk professionals and the business managers they interface with. Enhanced reporting and dashboards provide transparency and business context that allows organizations to focus on what matters.

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SOURCE ACL