How to review your travel & expense programme for compliance, cost control, and growth

No matter the time of year, it's always valuable to take a closer look at how your company manages employee spending. For finance leaders, auditing expense reports may feel routine, but the bigger picture is just as important: evaluating whether your travel and expense (T&E) programme—the workflows, systems, and policies that support it—is really running at peak efficiency. 

If you can't remember the last time you reviewed your T&E processes, now's the time. The way businesses spend money has changed, and your expense programme should evolve with it. Employees are using more payment methods, across more categories, and in more flexible working environments than ever before. Without the right visibility and controls, spend data gets scattered, compliance slips, and costs rise. 

To help you stay ahead, we've compiled eight key questions you and your team should ask as you plan and prepare for what comes next. These questions will help you identify opportunities to tighten compliance, improve efficiency, and better manage cash flow so you can build a programme ready for the future. 

1. Are we all defining T&E the same way? 

Alignment matters. If leadership, managers, and employees all have different definitions of T&E, your processes and policies will never be consistent. Establishing a shared understanding across the company is the foundation for success. 

2. Can we manage spend in a hybrid and remote world? 

Whether employees are working remotely, in the office, on the road, or in a hybrid setup, they spend in many different ways. Your programme needs digital, mobile-friendly tools that give employees flexibility whilst keeping finance teams in control. 

3. How agile is our business when it comes to spend? 

Business agility depends on real-time visibility into expenses. Do you know where your money is going, and can you adapt quickly when priorities shift or disruptions hit? 

4. Are we doing everything we can to reduce fraud? 

Companies lose an average of 5% of annual revenue to fraud. Strengthening compliance, using technology, and monitoring spend patterns are essential steps in protecting your business. 

5. Does our compliance protect both the company and employees? 

Compliance isn't just about catching errors. It's about protecting the business and employees from financial risk. The right checks and balances reduce fraud, ensure accuracy, and safeguard your reputation. 

6. Does our T&E system need a change? 

If your current tools create bottlenecks or lack integration, it may be time to modernise. Digitising your spend management can cut costs, improve accuracy, and provide data-driven insights to guide better decisions. 

7. Do we have an expense policy employees will actually follow? 

Policies only work if employees use them. A clear, easy-to-follow expense policy helps employees make better spending decisions and gives finance leaders confidence in compliance. 

8. Do we have the right tools to measure success? 

Your KPIs should evolve as your business and spending patterns change. If you're still measuring spend the same way you did years ago, you may be missing valuable insights. 

Ready to take action? 

Strong systems and processes are essential for managing employee spending effectively, no matter what challenges lie ahead. Asking these eight questions is a great first step toward ensuring your programme runs smoothly and keeps both employees and finance teams on track.  

Download the 8 Questions to Help Assess Your T&E Programme eBook to explore these topics in detail and access additional resources like compliance tips, fraud prevention strategies, and an expense policy template you can put to use right away.