Mid-sized businesses could be losing $17,000 a year due to fraud: SAP Concur global survey
DUBAI: Mid-sized businesses could be losing $17,000 a year due to fraud, according to an SAP Concur global survey.
“The Hidden Cost of Expense Fraud and Non-Compliance” report takes a closer look at the topic of expense fraud and employees’ attitudes towards it, how businesses are tackling the issue, and the digital tools which have the potential to help.
Adjusting expense submissions might encompass a broad spectrum of behaviours: from deliberately falsifying receipts to claiming a “little bit extra” as recompense for a long weekend business trip. The research reveals that employees believe that it’s acceptable to knowingly submit a false expense claim of up to $145 on average.
While it’s important to understand that most incorrect claims are raised unintentionally, it’s also important to understand those factors that make deliberate expense fraud more likely to happen – and these are often related to employee awareness and satisfaction.
According to the survey:
There is a widespread lack of understanding of fraudulent activity and its implications for employees and the business. For example, 49 per cent of employees have rounded up mileage fees, while a further 14 per cent would consider doing it. In addition, 41 per cent have expensed private restaurant bills, and another 16 per cent would consider doing it.
Almost half (48 per cent) of employees think it is perfectly acceptable to over expense or disregard company policies regarding expenses on a yearly basis.
Should all these people act on these attitudes, a company of 250 people that hand in expense reports could potentially be looking at an annual loss of $17,000. Many employees cite fairness as a reason for their tolerant attitude towards cheating: whether that’s to get a little extra compensation for the overtime they don’t get paid for (19 per cent), for the private money they need to spend on working from home (18 per cent), or for the time spent travelling for business (17 per cent).