Brad Seitz @ Topaz

Verification that your travel program is working

In my last post, I spoke about people blindly following other people and getting hit by cars.  This was the lead in to this post about travel managers and buyers blindly trusting everyone and creating a poorly run travel program.  There are a lot of followers in the world that do not adhere to the the ideal "be a leader, not a follower".

So as you are creating your program, remember that you need to measure and verify that your pollicy, your agreements, and your philosophy is being used and adhered to.  Simple to say, hard to do.  So lets give you a list:

a) Are your negotiated hotel rates loaded correctly so they can be booked by your travelers?

b) Are you negotiated airline rates calcuating your discounts correctly either via your traditional TMC or an online TMC?

c) Do your travelers obtain and travel on the lowest airfares within the parameters of your policy?

d) Are your travelers using your travel program or are they going outside of the game?

e) Do your travelers use the corporate card or are they using a personal card to get other benefits?

Now, these are just a few of the things that do not work unless you measure and verify the performance of your travel program and only if you are a leader and not a follower.  Try and not get hit by that car!

Expense Report Auditing: Uncover the hidden truth of business expenses

Building on over 30 years of auditing experience, Topaz International is proud to offer our corporate clients a new tool to assist them in becoming more successful, Expense Report Auditing.  This final step in a comprehensive review process ensures that corporate guidelines and policies are being following and are within the parameters of your Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.  Unlike many automated tools in the marketplace, Topaz International applies a much more personal, human application to the audit process.  This personal process is required to truly understand what possible loopholes exist with your expense reimbursement process.  I thought it was important to share this on my blog because many of my readers are faced with the question at sometime during their career "I wonder what expenses are being reimbursed by my company and what can I do about it?"

This approach allows us to look at expense reports with much more detail and scrutiny.  Items that will be reviewed during this process include:

• Matching actual receipts to expense report amounts – Does the amount on the report match the receipt amount?  Topaz will check both to be sure they match.
• Verifying that preferred hotel rates are being utilized – If a traveler stayed at a preferred hotel, was the preferred rate utilized?  Are there any items that should have been free but were paid by the traveler?
• Minimum receipts required by policy are attached – If your corporate policy requires receipts for all amounts over $25, are all receipts attached as required?
• Non receipt requirements are scrutinized – If you have a minimum receipt requirement of $25 for example, are there amounts on the expense report for $24.99 that should be scrutinized in more detail?
• Verifying that preferred Car Rental rates and vehicle classifications are being used – Do your travelers use the right class of car and are they being charged the right amounts?
• Are you Airline discounts being applied properly?  If an airline negotiated discount was applicable was it applied?  We will look at the airline receipt to be sure that where negotiated airline discounts should be used are being applied correctly.
• Are there items that should not be reimbursed?  Is the traveler requesting reimbursement for non qualified purchases? Topaz will identify these items and report back to the client what items should be researched.

Finally, because such reviews can be cost prohibitive, Topaz International will utilize a statistical mathematical method to determine an appropriate sample size to test.  By using this method we can keep costs to a minimum and focus our findings on the small percentage of expense reports that have errors.  All reviews will be conducted at the client locations or at Topaz facilities.

 

So for everyone out there reading this, I hope you consider this audit as part of your comprehensive travel program.

Top Ten Fun things found in expense reports by Topaz International

10. Seven $300 bottles of wine for a dinner party for six

9. Rental Car for five days driven 12 miles

8. Employee Meal for over $250

7. Five Parking Tickets

6. Credit Card Interest and Late fees of $800

5. $6,000 dinner with no attendee details

4. Dog Kennel Fee

3. Beer Kegs and Tap for $1,200

2. Pack and Play Portible Child Crib

1. Pet Manicures for three dogs

The final audit: The Expense Report

This is the time of year in Maine that all of us Mainiacs wait for.  We put up with winters that drop 100 inches of snow so we can enjoy the 80 degree days and 60 degree nights during July and August.  So it was fitting that during one of those days on the beach as I was thinking about the services we offer at Topaz, I wondered what else we might be missing.

This led me to think of us as the complete end to end auditing solution.  I believe Topaz International is considered the independent expert in corporate travel when it comes to auditing, so it was only fitting that we help our clients by looking at what was happening at the end of the process:  when the travelers are paid for what they spend.  We now will verify and check that everything the travel managers are doing is really being followed, by auditing expense reports.

This final step is crucial to making sure fraud is not happening as well as understanding what leakage your program is facing.  But there are plenty of tools and products out there that may be able to audit expense reports.  Our approach is a little different.  The differences are based on the following four items:

a)      People:  We believe the effective audit will be dependent on the right people.  They need to look at an expense report with a critical eye and validating what software could miss.

b)     Statistical Sampling:  The cost of a people application can be prohibitive, so we use statistical sampling methods to reduce the number of expense reports we audit, but the results are mathematically just as valid as if we looked at them all!

c)      Customizable:  There may be different reasons why you want to perform such a project.  We will educate our auditors to meet your requirements and adjust their audit process to meet your needs.

d)     Follow up:  Finally, it is not just about delivering results.  We take our findings and will recommend actions that could impact future results.  If there is use of a non preferred agency, we can pinpoint our findings, and do follow up audits focused on these certain areas.

By applying these four key aspects of our expense report audit process we believe we can add value to your program, keeping costs low, and delivering results that can impact you bottom line.

This reminds me of a joke I have shared over the years, and says a lot about what we are trying to provide.  A seasoned salesperson is meeting with his manager to obtain the signature on his expense report for the month.  As the manager is looking over the expenses, he notices a $95 item under miscellaneous and asks the salesperson what it might be.

The explanation provided was that the salesperson was on his way to meet an important client during a heavy rainstorm.  He proceeded to step into a large mud hole, rendering his left foot covered in a smelly, muddy mess.  He went on to explain that luckily there was a shoe store close by and obtained a replacement pair of shoes.  The $95 in miscellaneous expenses was the cost of those shoes.

Upon hearing this story his manager informed him that corporate policy did not allow such a reimbursement and he would have to remove this item from his expense report.  Rather upset, the employee did as he was requested, and adjusted his monthly expense report.  Upon returning to his manager’s office, and finding him not there, he left his expense report on his desk with a post it note that read;

“Find the shoes”

It is the intent of the new Topaz International Expense Report Auditing tool that we will have success and finding the shoes and even more savings for your bottom line.