Case studies
Case studies will show how a business and a partner firm worked through a cost review. None are published yet. This page explains what will appear here and the rules that apply before anything does.
Fairview Audit connects businesses with partner firms. The firms perform the reviews. Fairview does not, so every example will describe work done by a partner firm.
What a case study will contain
Each case study follows the same outline so you can compare them.
- The situation: what the business was paying for and why it asked for a review.
- What was reviewed: the type of contract, bill or record.
- How the review ran: which documents the business provided and how the firm worked.
- The result, as the firm states it.
- The approval that was obtained.
The examples will cover the kinds of review described in our services, such as leases, supplier invoices and recurring service charges.
Approval rules
Three rules apply to every case study.
- Written approval is required. A firm and the business involved must both approve the text in writing before it is published.
- Anonymized by default. No case study names the business or the firm unless both give written consent to be named. [CONFIRM: a partner firm supplies and approves this statement]
- Figures only as the firm states and approves. Fairview does not calculate, estimate or round any result. If a firm does not supply a figure, none appears.
What you will not find
Case studies will not promise that you will get the same result. Every review depends on your contracts, your documents and the terms you agreed with a vendor or landlord. A result in one example says nothing about another business.
You will also not find invented examples. If a case study appears here, it describes a real engagement that the parties have approved.
How to read an example
When a case study goes live, read it as a description of one engagement. Look first at what was reviewed and which documents were used. Then look at how the firm reached its result and who stated it.
Ask whether your own situation matches. A lease review and a review of recurring service charges examine different records. A case study about one will say little about the other.
Pay attention to the wording of the result. If the text says the firm stated the figure, the figure is the firm's statement and Fairview has not checked it. Fairview does not audit or verify the work.
Why the rules are strict
A cost review involves a business's contracts, payments and vendor relationships. Publishing details about them without consent could harm the business. Publishing a result the firm has not approved could mislead readers. The rules above protect both sides and protect you as a reader.
What you can do now
You do not need to wait for a published example to ask a question. Your partner firm can explain how it handles reviews like yours, what it will ask for and how it charges. Fees and terms are set by the firm. Ask for them in writing before you agree to anything.
For firms
If you are a partner firm and want to contribute an example, you provide the facts and the wording. Fairview helps you remove identifying details. Nothing is published until the approvals above are on file. To join the network first, see become a partner.
Learn how a review works
In the meantime, how it works describes the steps from request to findings. Each step is general, because the details depend on the firm and the category.
If you have a cost in mind, the request page explains what to have ready for each request path.
Tell us what you need reviewed. We match you by hand with an independent partner firm. You keep your existing vendors.Find out what you are overpaying.