Michael Richards, chairman of business software firm webexpenses, said businesses had to create much tougher policies to crackdown on employees “stretching the truth” when it comes to filling out their expense claims.
“Padding in the expense claims and adding mileage is technically fraud. It is a strong word, but it is fraud,” he stated. “But line managers don’t want to challenge claims of colleagues who might be friends and chief executives are concerned about whether a crackdown would hit staff morale. This organisational and cultural acceptance of expense claim abuse is difficult to break. But this is a problem for the majority of organisation and money is being wasted.” According to research carried out by webexpenses last year, expenses fraud costs UK businesses over £100m each year with employees even claiming for 30p toilet trips at train stations on their way to a meeting and mileage for car journeys to a client’s office and back to their home. One in four employees admit to bending the rules when claiming expenses stating that a lack of expenses management software and not being aware of an expenses policy at work made it easier to do so. Almost 10 per cent said their expenses were never queried or checked. “Too many chief executives are themselves guilty of expense excesses so any change must be handled from the top,” said Richards. “You have to have the courage and stand up and say that much tougher policies will be coming in and remind everyone that expenses are not a perk but a recompense. You have to draw the line firmly.”
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