Marketing and Advertising Finance can often be a "black box."  Large sums of money are paid into agency processes, often with minimal client-side review and a reliance on unchecked agency reporting. AARM strives to make the financial side of working with marketing and advertising vendors transparent by providing “targeted knowledge” to our clients. Clients benefit from improved financial flows and efficiency in their expenditures throughout the entire process. AARM services span the advertising and marketing spectrum including:

» Comprehensive Audit – Detailed audit of historical financial transactions between client and advertising or media agency. Testing is focused on agency accounting process, transparency, support for billings, appropriate utilization of third-party vendors and future savings.

» Interactive Marketing Audit – Enabled by subject matter expertise, this unique audit covers “New Media” / Search Engine Marketing agency contract compliance, compensation, financial processes and adherence to emerging standards.

» Event Management Audit – Been there done that. Each audit is led by a team with 60 years combined experience managing events for some of the world’s largest and most admired companies. The review maintains a laser focus on transparency issues, cost containment opportunities, process controls, “insider secrets” and industry practices.


AARM combines years of marketing audit experience and in depth understanding of the advertising accounting process with state of the art technology, AArmor CAI Analytics™.  Our technology ensures a thorough review and analysis of all marketing information and is unparalleled in the industry.  AARM empowers management to better understand and monitor the performance of core marketing and advertising vendor partners as well as ensure the proper level of financial controls.

 

Agreement Review	Billing Compliance Testing	Fee Reconcilliation	Ancillary Services
Does your advertising agreement represent your best interests? We review your existing contracts, identify missing or ambiguous contract terms, provide testing methodologies and guidelines to ensure compliance, and suggest improved contract language to enhance your future advertising relationship and reduce financial exposure.	Do production and media payments match up to agency expenditures? We review agency billings including third-party costs to ensure compliance, verify discount and rebate opportunities are taken, and review actual job cost to budget.	Do the numbers tie out? Are time-keeping guidelines being adhered to? We audit billed hours and costs, test overhead rates and profitability parameters, and review staffing plans to actual activity to confirm that fees were appropriately accounted for and billed.	Do you need help with other marketing and advertising issues other than audit? We have deep expertise in non-audit services including: • Compensation • Agency Agreement Review • Internal Audit Process   Review • Risk Based Audit   Prioritization • Exit Reviews for Agency   Transitions