Reconciliation

Reconciliation is an accounting process that is used to track the progress of claims over time. It should be performed at regular predefined intervals to ensure accuracy and minimize errors.

There are basically 4 steps involved in the reconciliation process-:

• Collation
• Sorting
• Investigation
• Acting on investigation

1. Collation

Collation is essentially the process of gathering the claims that need to be investigated into a particular place (usually a spreadsheet). This is usually data in raw form and needs a level of sorting to become more useful.



2. Sorting

The sorting of claims involves re-organizing the claims gathered (in step 1) in a way that will simplify the reconciliation process. It entails getting rid of unnecessary information and arranging claims by the relevant/ preferred metric.



3. Investigation

This step of the reconciliation process requires resilience to thoroughly go over claims with a view to determine the root cause of problems, where they exist. The investigation should only end when there is an obvious path to be taken to achieve a resolution. Investigations are carried out on carrier platforms and other relevant platforms as is required.



4. Acting on Investigation

Based on the results of the investigation, the claim cycle will either have come to an end or require further action to be taken. One such actions would be resubmission.

Note that it is important to always note any actions taken on the spreadsheet so as to keep track and record of the process and progress made.