The number of improper expense report requests – from the surprising to the mundane, from big-ticket items to everyday necessities – shows little sign of decline, new research suggests.
In a Robert Half Management Resources survey, chief financial officers (CFOs) said they have seen employees ask for reimbursement for everything from rental homes to beef in bulk to toilet paper. Only 11 percent of executives reported a drop in inappropriate requests over the past few years.
CFOs cited the following examples of unusual items submitted for expense reimbursement:
There were even a few items that defied categorization:
View a Robert Half Management Resources blog post with additional examples.
CFOs also were asked, "Have you seen inappropriate expense report requests increase or decrease in the past three years?" Their responses*:
Significantly increase | 3% |
Somewhat increase | 20% |
No change | 65% |
Somewhat decrease | 8% |
Significantly decrease | 3% |
99% |
* Total does not equal 100 percent due to rounding.
"These outlandish and sometimes funny examples shed light on what can be a serious problem for businesses. Inappropriate expense reports are costly – both to the company's bottom line and to the careers of the people who submit them," said Tim Hird, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources.
Hird added organizations should make the expense reporting process as simple as possible. "Ensure your policies are clearly communicated and accessible to all employees," he said. "Take a big-picture view of the program. Is it spelled out completely? Are you using the latest tools available? Removing ambiguity can help reduce the number of problematic requests."
Robert Half Management Resources offers workers three questions they should ask themselves before submitting an expense report:
About the Research
The survey was developed by Robert Half Management Resources and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on telephone interviews with more than 2,200 CFOs from a stratified random sample of companies in more than 20 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas.