Travel Expenses

• Create a standardized travel reimbursement request form with instructions for completion.  Excel can be used for the form so totals will be automatically calculated once the form is completed.
• Require appropriate documentation for all travel reimbursement requests.
• Require the submitter of the travel reimbursement request to sign the request.  Require an approval for operational staff requests by their immediate supervisors and approval for non-staff requests by operational staff.
• Let employees know that travel expenses will be audited.  This could produce better self-monitoring of expense reports submitted by employees.  If these audit costs need to be reduced (maybe there are many reports with a small average dollar amount), randomly audit the reports.  Those employees with errors on their reports should have all future reports audited as long as errors continue.
• Let employees know which expenses are allowable.

Third party software is now available that allows receipts to be scanned with an expense report being generated at the end of a trip or other event. The employee who generated the expenses can then submit the expense report for payment. Similar approvals should be obtained for expenses submitted in this fashion.