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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in general and specifically Section 404 focuses on the area of financial control reporting. The goal of the act is to increase the accountability of management of publicly traded companies. To be compliant, organizations are documenting and testing their internal controls related to the financial reporting of their "significant" accounts (i.e. media budgets). An independent media audit can help substantiate the fact that the advertising actually ran, that all credits and rebates have been received and reported and that media buys have been properly valued and tracked and that the processes employed to manage the media planning and buying activities of an advertiser are sound. Therefore, an independent media audit will help an organization not only generate cost savings and process improvements, but assist in their goal of becoming SOX-404 compliant.
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Generally speaking, MMI is able to complete a quarterly media audit within 30 days of receipt of information from the advertiser and or their agency. Of note, the process requires a minimal investment of time on the part of the agency and of the Client.
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Depending on the media being audited, MMI will review the media plan, buying guidelines, original buy, final buy, MSAs, insertion orders, media invoices and proof of remittance. Most of this data already exists and can be easily transmitted electronically to MMI for our review and consideration.
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Chances are your advertising agency has already been audited on behalf of their other Clients. Agencies today recognize that with the advent of Sarbanes-Oxley and the increasing role of Corporate Procurement and Internal Audit departments that independent media assessments are here to stay. MMI strives to minimize the time and effort required by agencies to comply with the audit and has developed a suite of Circle Audit® reports that actually assist them in addressing the audit findings. At the end of the day, advertisers are interested in authenticating their media performance and in adapting industry "Best Practices" to help improve their ROI; an independent media audit can assist in these areas. Finally, an agency's primary concern is that the audit is fair and accurate. Given that MMI does not work on a recovery basis and that we do not plan or place media, nor do we conduct agency reviews the agency doesn't view MMI as a potential threat to their business.
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As you know, it’s a complex world from a media perspective, with a myriad of choices confronting advertisers with regard to media selection, posting methodologies, new audience measurement tools and emerging technologies. Our Clients have always sought our council in these areas, so formalizing our “Consumer Research & Innovation” practice made a great deal of sense. Our Team, led by25 year agency research veteran, Larry Goldstein, Chief Research & Innovation Officer works with our Clients and their agencies in reviewing and conducting marketing communications research to help our Clients make informed, fact-based decisions related to their consumer targets, media mix allocation, market segments and overall advertising optimization efforts.
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