Feature: Expense Management ➔


director of marketing for American Express Global Corporate Payments. The company recently developed BTAConnect,


an enhanced version of its Business Travel Account solution. The upgrade enables users to access the centralised payment and recon- ciliation tool via an online portal thus linking up TMCs, travel managers and anyone else involved in the process. Research carried out by Concur last year shows concern from the SME sector about how much expenses they are paying out and whether it is justified. The study shows one-in- four are unsure but don’t have the paperwork or resources to track it while one in six do not even have an expenses policy. Concur believes it has made huge strides


in creating a tool with all the strengths of its technology for large organisations but at a reasonable cost. Isabel Montesdeoca, senior vice president and general manager for Concur Europe, says the technology is becoming more seamless and points to the company’s integration of the TripIt itinerary management


STARTING OUT ON THE JOURNEY


MERIDIAN Global Services is about to embark on implementing its system for a transportation company. Until now the company, which has offices in 11 countries, has not had an automated expense management system although two territories have had some degree of automation. According to the financial controller it has not been


a sudden change of attitude but more to do with the acquisition of the company by a larger US-based entity. “It has been on the table for some time but now, not only are there regulations and standards that we need to comply with, but there is also more of a global platform for some of the processes,” says a company spokesperson. The approach to adopting the system has been a pragmatic one in terms of estimating the potential savings that more control of spend brings, as well as the improved procurement opportunities, VAT compliance and the potential for it to be reclaimed. The first steps of the imple- mentation process involve gathering information on annual travel spend and spend types across all regions to establish what areas are in common. After that, the plan is to create a policy with common guidelines with some flexibility for local customs, rules and regulations. Financial directors in each of


tool which it acquired back in January 2011. “You can sign up, get started in 15 minutes


and get integrated with TripIt. It’s on your phone so you can easily put everything into an expense report while you’re travelling and hit the button to submit it,” she says. She adds that the technology is about 90 per


cent of the way there in terms of providing a seamless experience and the company is now working on furthering TripIt integration so that whatever website a traveller uses they can still pull the information back into TripIt. One computer software specialist says the technology has helped it automate the expense process and integrate its workflow. “It saves us time – I don’t even want to think back to before,” says the financial controller. WebExpenses' Parekh also agrees that the process is becoming more seamless but says there are still gaps and that it is up to technology companies to bridge those gaps. “Travellers go online and do it themselves


and the issue is once they have booked something on Expedia how do they get the


➔ AN IMPLEMENTATION SUCCESS STORY


KEN Honister, group cost accountant at Honister Capital, talks to The Business Travel Magazine about his experience of implementing an expense management system and the subsequent results.


How did you choose your supplier, and how easy was it to integrate new technology? We chose WebExpenses because the system is so easy to use and clear. We are now one of Britain’s biggest independent financial advisory groups and it was essential that we found an expense management solution that would work seamlessly across the entire array of businesses and employees. The great thing about WebExpenses is that you can make it as complex or as simple as you want.


“The first steps involve gathering information on annual travel spend and the type of spend across all regions”


the company's country locations have been informed and the plan has not met with any resistance so far. That said, the financial controller is anticipating some objections in some territories which are using local technology. The company is also prepared for resistance to the change in working practises and employees having to submit claims and documen- tation and receipts. “It’s a journey – we have started and I’m confident


we’ll get there. I have seen the tool and I am convinced the reporting capability will add value from a savings point of view,” says the spokesperson.


What benefits has it seen in terms of cost and time-saving measures? The benefits in terms of time-saving have been extraordinary. Processing claims used to take up to two weeks a month – now it takes just two days a month. Incorporating the system has brought admin and processing cost- savings of 15-20 per cent. It also brings real cost-saving benefits by helping identify where savings can be made. Honister has recently been focusing on costs and the software helped facilitate that, by making it easy to see exactly where our companies are spending money.


What has the new system done for you in terms of data analysis? We can now analyse all the data much more effectively. We can go into the system and bring up a whole year’s worth of claims for one employee which can be split down by mileage etc. The ability to design reports according to tax or financial year, or by person or expenses code, gives the company a clear and accurate financial picture. It also saves money by helping us swiftly identify and clamp down on excessive expenses claimants. Any claims that exceed company policy are


instantly flagged up to our remote finance department. The system notifies employees if a claim is erroneous and centrally and seamlessly integrates all claims and evidence with our existing financial accounts, giving an instant overview of spending patterns both across entire departments or individual employees.


Is there any particular feature the company would highlight as of particular benefit? Two features have been of particular benefit. Firstly, the Mileage Verification Tool has proved essential in curbing waste. Previously, we relied on employees to give a true recording of mileage – this was often a rough approximation of the most direct route, which leaves the door open to excessive or inaccurate claims. WebExpenses uses GPS tracking and postcode data to provide precise distance calculations for each journey. Secondly, the fact that the system polices claims


based on an automated, menu-based system, means that it contributes to the HR function because it encourages voluntary compliance by treating everybody equally and making expenses completely transparent. We have all the claims on a dashboard so the whole


history of claims is instantly visible. If one department is claiming far more than other departments for, say, travel and accommodation, the system instantly exposes this discrepancy, placing pressure on that department to curb its extravagance. Prior to the system, each of the group companies had


a different policy. Now everyone uses one central policy and everyone is treated the same – including directors.


What would make expense management even better or easier for the company? From a company perspective the aim is to spend as little as possible on T&E while trying to ensure the job is carried out properly and be fair to employees by making sure they’re not out of pocket. From an employee perspective, they want to get back


as much as they can to cover costs. In an ideal world, pre-trip approvals – which WebExpenses now incorporates – would help to reduce cost on one hand, but they would require more approval and time spent by managers, and possibly cause issues where approval has not been received but trips have been made.


WWW.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM I 59


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88