Corporates Can Save Travel, Entertainment Spend With Corporate Cards

MUMBAI: Corporates can save up to 12 per cent in their travel and entertainment expenses by replacing expensive form of fund transfer such as cash and electronic transfers with corporate cards and also through better expense management, said a report.

According to a report by global payments technology Visa and Deloitte Consulting, less than one in five domestic businesses or 18 per cent are using corporate cards to manage their travel and entertainment expenses.

The findings reveal that only 13 per cent of companies have a fully-automated reporting process to monitor spending.

"Domestic corporations could save up to 11.6 per cent in their travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses by doing away with less efficient and more expensive forms of payment such as cash and electronic funds transfer, and from better automation of T&E processes," the report said.

Apart from efficiencies, corporate cards provide added convenience of managing T&E expenditure, and also greater transparency to ensure compliance, enabling real time audits to identify potential out-of-policy spends.

The study was based on an online survey wherein a total of 77 corporates participated and was conducted in the first quarter of 2013. It showed that airfares and accommodation accounts for 82 per cent of all T&E expenditure. It said that all the travelling employees take 21 local trips and five international trips annually.