Juliet:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
“Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2) 

Juliet claims that a name is just a name, but clearly all marketing people will tell you that a name is an important part of the essence. Just think that starting tomorrow we would call Coca-Cola  Pepsi and vice versa.

I believe that RA is an evolving profession and not a random occupation. We have an established name for our profession, Revenue assurance. It may not be such a great name, because it also covers costs assurance. However, it is a well known and widely used name and so I am happy with it. My problem is with the way we call ourselves; are we RA experts, RA practitioners? Think of calling Doctors and Nurses “Medicine practitioners”, or a Lawyer or Litigator a “law expert”. Certainly all these new names will not change the essence of what they do, but they will change the both the self and external perception of their occupation. By calling them Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers, and Litigators, you make it clear that they are not just practicing some trade, but that they are part of a professional guild. I would like to see something similar for our profession.  Of course a name is not enough; it should be accompanied by proper education, conduct rules, etc. But having the proper name is not something to be neglected, and it shouldn’t be postponed until everything else is in place. Yet we are still stuck with RA expert. I would love to see a more appropriate name for ourselves.Gadi