Expense Reimbursement Issues New and Old

On Demand Webinar

Webinar Details $219

  • Webinar Length: 100 Minutes
  • Guest Speaker:   Mary Schaeffer
  • Topic:   Human Resources, Taxation and Accounting, Accounts Payable
  • Credit:   CPE 2.0, HRCI 1.5, SHRM 1.5, ATAHR 1.5, ATATX 1.5
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In a recent Travel & Entertainment survey, respondents identified their most pressing problems regarding employee expense report handling. Two clear factors emerged. First, the traditional expense reporting handling problems continue with no sign of improvement. Simultaneously, there is an emergence of new issues, sometimes related to new technology (think Uber). Only now are companies starting to identify these issues and create best practice policies around them.

That's why we created this session. In it, we will provide practical, implementable advice on how to deal with:

  • Missing receipts
  • Employees who submit their expense reports late
  • Manager who approve non-complaint expenses
  • Slow manager approvals
  • Extravagant or inappropriate T&E expenses
  • Employee misuse of company card
  • Employees who submit the same expense twice
  • Employees who do not use approved Vendors
  • Unused airline tickets
  • Loyalty reward points
  • Use of and accounting for new services such as Uber, Lyft, Airbnb etc.

Learning Objectives:

  • Create a best practice policy to address use of Uber, Lyft etc.
  • Reduce the number of employees submitting expense reports late
  • Design a policy to improve manager accountability for expense report approvals
  • Build a policy that deals with employee misuse or abuse of the travel and entertainment policy
  • Incentivize managers to approve in a more timely and appropriate manner
  1. Introduction
  2. About Mary Schaeffer 00:00:22
  3. Agenda 00:02:53
  4. New Issue: Remote Work Expenses 00:04:02
  5. Overview 00:06:10
  6. Overview - Best Expense Reimbursement Practices 00:06:13
  7. Role of Corporate Culture 00:07:54
  8. What’s the Big Deal? 00:08:59
  9. The Expense Reimbursement Battle: In Some Organizations 00:12:12
  10. Implications of Tax Law Changes 00:14:00
  11. Documentation vs. Deductibility 00:14:04
  12. Dues to Social, Athletic, Or Sporting Clubs 00:14:38
  13. Meals While An Employee Is Traveling 00:15:54
  14. The Big Debate 00:16:08
  15. Experts on Both Sides of Issue 00:16:32
  16. IRS Provides Some Guidance 00:17:13
  17. The IRS Speaks: Interim Rules 00:18:11
  18. Guiding Principle 00:18:21
  19. What’s Entertainment 00:18:47
  20. When Entertaining and Eating 00:20:01
  21. Some Per-Diem Guidance 00:20:49
  22. Some Guidance: Extravagant 00:20:57
  23. Your Mission 00:21:35
  24. In the Meantime 00:21:38
  25. The Million Dollar Question 00:22:11
  26. IRS An Tax Rules 00:22:39
  27. IRS Guidelines 00:22:42
  28. The Flexibility Issue 00:24:14
  29. The Frightening Statistic 00:34:34
  30. IRS Accountable Plan: Per the IRS 00:25:14
  31. Accountable Plans: What’s Reasonable 00:26:19
  32. Best Practice Note 00:28:10
  33. Cash Advance Best Practice 00:28:49
  34. Cash Advance Abuses 00:30:23
  35. Mileage Reimbursement Rate: Automobiles 00:32:16
  36. Must the IRS Rate be Used? 00:33:56
  37. Other Modes of Transportation 00:34:42
  38. Mileage Reimbursement Rate: Other Vehicles 00:36:03
  39. Substantiating Entertainment 00:36:50
  40. Substantiating Entertainment (Con’t) 00:38:02
  41. Per Diem: Definition 00:39:05
  42. Per Diems 00:39:42
  43. Use of Per Diems 00:40:28
  44. Per Diems for Fiscal 2024 00:40:42
  45. Per Diems for Fiscal 2024 Con’t 00:41:40
  46. A Compromise 00:41:59
  47. Who Uses Guidelines 00:44:12
  48. Receipts 00:44:56
  49. Information/Documentation Required by IRS 00:45:27
  50. Lost Receipts 00:46:18
  51. In Real Life: A Changing Palate 00:48:08
  52. Best Practices: IRS Compliance 00:50:19
  53. Checking 00:50:24
  54. The Expense Reimbursement Policy 00:51:46
  55. Approvals and Policy Compliance 00:52:53
  56. Expense Reimbursement Fraud Overview 00:54:09
  57. What We’re Not Talking about 00:54:19
  58. Why Reimbursement Fraud Hurts 00:56:12
  59. Expense Reporting Fraud 00:56:48
  60. Out of the Mouths of Cheaters 00:57:25
  61. Chrome River Perpetrators 00:58:13
  62. AP Now Perpetrators 00:58:52
  63. How They Did It 00:59:21
  64. Startling ACFE Metric 01:00:13
  65. Commentary 01:01:03
  66. The AP Now Poll: Biggest Headaches 01:01:51
  67. Games Are Not Always What You Think 01:03:03
  68. Skirting Purchasing Guidelines 01:04:00
  69. How Employees Play Games 01:04:59
  70. A Word about Cash Advances 01:06:13
  71. The Yoga Pants 01:06:40
  72. The Detailed Meal Receipt 01:09:29
  73. A Word about Receipts 01:089:31
  74. Who Requests Meal Receipts? 01:09:39
  75. Receipt Requirement 01:09:49
  76. Some Absurd Readers’ Stories 01:10:03
  77. What the Detailed Meal Receipt Can Show 01:12:38
  78. Problems Detailed Receipt Won’t Address 01:15:17
  79. Receipts and Checking 01:16:02
  80. Commentary 01:16:13
  81. Other Expense Reimbursement Fraud 01:18:34
  82. What Flight Did the Employee Take 01:18:38
  83. Proving the Trip Was a Conference 01:19:43
  84. Playing the Tip Game 01:21:04
  85. Playing the Mileage Game 01:22:05
  86. The Parking Game 01:23:11
  87. The Fuel Game 01:23:30
  88. Travel Collusion 01:25:08
  89. Flying First Class 01:26:41
  90. Upgrading to First Class 01:27:17
  91. Who Gets the Points 01:28:31
  92. Falsifying Receipts 01:30:28
  93. Double Dipping 01:30:58
  94. Refunds 01:32:08
  95. The Heartbreaking Reality 01:32:52
  96. Best Practices For Dealing With Expense Reimbursement Fraud 01:34:36
  97. Problematic Reimbursement Approaches 01:34:41
  98. Dealing with Extravagant Travelers 01:36:08
  99. Best Practice Approach 01:36:41
  100. Best Practice Approach Con’t. 01:37:36
  101. Reality Check #2: Reign in The Problems 01:38:57
  102. A Worthy Quote 01:39:24
  103. Concluding Thoughts 01:39:46
  104. Thank You/Questions/Comments 01:41:41
  105. Presentation Closing 01:51:31
  • Accountable Plan 00:09:12
  • ACFE - Association of Certified Fraud Examiners 01:00:20
  • AICPA 00:16:40
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)00:07:49
  • Audit 00:14:29, 00:28:33
  • Expenditure 00:45:37
  • Expense 00:04:25, 00:05:42, 00:25:20, 00:37:11, 01:02:42, 01:05:10, 01:39:12
  • Expense Reimbursement  00:03:54, 00:06:16, 00:09:45, 00:39:17, 00:51:46, 01:00:36, 01:39:08
  • Expense Report 00:05:54, 00:27:16, 00:46:39, 00:53:17, 00:59:08
  • Fringe Benefit 00:10:01
  • IRS Publication 463 00:22:44, 00:26:25, 00:36:58
  • P-Card 00:05:52
  • Per-Diem 00:20:55, 00:22:34, 00:39:20, 00:42:04, 01:36:23
  • Standard Mileage Rate 00:32:24
  • Sunshine Act 00:19:33
  • Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 00:07:34

ACFE - Association of Certified Fraud Examiners: The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners is a professional organization of fraud examiners. Its activities include producing fraud information, tools and training.

AICPA: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants in the United States, with more than 418,000 members in 143 countries in business and industry, public practice, government, education, student affiliates and international associates.

Accountable Plan: An accountable plan is a plan that follows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations for reimbursing workers for business expenses in which reimbursement is not counted as income. ... However, these expenses must be business-related to fall under an accountable plan.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial intelligence is intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by humans or animals.

Audit: A formal examination of an organization's or individual's accounts or financial situation

Expenditure: An expenditure is money spent on something. Expenditure is often used when people are talking about budgets.

Expense: Offset (an item of expenditure) as an expense against taxable income.

Expense Reimbursement: Expense reimbursement is a method for paying employees back when they spend their own money on business-related expenses. These expenses generally occur when an employee is traveling for business but can occur in other work-related situations. (www.thebalancecareers.com)

Expense Report: A report that tracks expenses incurred during the course of performing necessary job functions. Examples include charges for gas, meals, parking or lodging. If your employees spend a lot of money in cash, you need to make sure you have them list these expenditures on an expense report form.

Fringe Benefits: An extra benefit supplementing an employee's salary, for example, a company car, subsidized meals, health insurance, etc.

IRS Publication 463: Publication 463 explains what expenses are deductible, how to report them on your return, what records you need to prove your expenses, and how to treat any expense reimbursements you may receive.

P-Card: A PURCHASING CARD (also abbreviated as PCard or P-Card) is a form of company charge card that allows goods and services to be procured without using a traditional purchasing process. In the UK, purchasing cards are usually referred to as procurement cards

Per Diem: (Latin for "per day" or "for each day") or daily allowance is a specific amount of money an organization gives an individual, often an employee, per day to cover living expenses when traveling for work. - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org)

Standard Mileage Rate: The standard mileage rate, also known as the mileage per diem or deductible mileage, is the default cost per mile set by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for taxpayers who deduct the expense of using their personal vehicles for business, charitable, or medical purposes.

Sunshine Act: The Sunshine Act, which took effect on Aug. 1, 2013, states that manufacturers of drugs and medical devices are obligated to collect and track payment, transfer and ownership information for all exchanges made.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, Pub.L. 115–97, is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Vendor: A vendor is a person or business that supplies goods or services to a company. Another term for the vendor is the supplier. In many situations, a company presents the vendor with a purchase order stating the goods or services needed, the price, delivery date, and other terms.

CPE Credit

Continuing Professional Education

Aurora Training Advantage is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaint and refund, and cancellation please contact our offices at 407-542-4317 or training@auroratrainingadvantage.com.

You must answer all questions during the webinar, view the recording completely and pass the test at the end with 70% correct answers to receive CPE credit.

HRCI Credit

Human Resource Certification Institute
This program has been approved for credit hours through the HR Certification Institute. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HR Certification Institute website at www.hrci.org.

SHRM Credit

Society for Human Resource Management
Aurora Training Advantage is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit www.shrmcertification.org.

ATAHR Credit

Aurora Training Advantage is offering continuing education points designed to recognize dedication to training and excellence in human resources.

ATATX Credit

Aurora Training Advantage is offering continuing education points designed to recognize dedication to training and excellence in accounting.

Guest Speaker

  • Mary Schaeffer

Webinar Survey Overall Rating

This webinar received a total of 8 survey responses. Attendees have given an average rating of 4.4 stars out of a possible 5, reflecting the quality and value of the content presented.

Average rating

4.4 / 5
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4.1 Stars
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4.3 Stars
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4.3 Stars
Speaker Performance
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4.7 Stars
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4.7 Stars

Reviews From Webinar Survey

Our webinars are crafted to deliver exceptional value and insight to business professionals. To ensure we meet and exceed your expectations, we conduct thorough post live webinar surveys. Below, you'll find genuine feedback from attendees, sharing their thoughts on the event and the speaker's performance. These reviews highlight our commitment to continuous improvement and excellence in providing top-tier educational experiences.

Juliana L.
April 3, 2024
5.0 / 5
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5.0 Stars
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no comment

Merry M.
April 3, 2024
3.2 / 5
Webinar Rating:
3.0 Stars
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3.5 Stars
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I felt too much time was spent on examples of fraud. The webinar could have been cut back with less of this.

Carolyn P.
April 2, 2024
5.0 / 5
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Very helpful presentation!

Maureen C.
April 2, 2024
4.4 / 5
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4.0 Stars
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Great job!

Cynthia B.
April 2, 2024
5.0 / 5
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5.0 Stars
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Very knowledgeable and prepared presenter. Thank you.

Pauline E. G.
April 2, 2024
4.0 / 5
Webinar Rating:
4.0 Stars
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4.0 Stars
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I WOULD LIKE TO AKE AGAIN AS IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE FOR ME AS i HAD JUST STARTED DOING REIMBURSEMENTS

Tina B.
April 2, 2024
4.2 / 5
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4.0 Stars
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4.5 Stars
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Great speaker and I really enjoyed her.

Kevin M.
April 2, 2024
4.6 / 5
Webinar Rating:
4.3 Stars
Speaker Rating:
5.0 Stars
Do you have any other comments, questions or concerns?
As a seasoned controller I took this class in advance of developing new policies and it was a great refresher of why we need policies and procedures around expense reporting.