As we move into the next season of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are still seeing a dramatically reduced amount of employee spend on travel (T&E) But a new report shows risk for businesses tripled when looking at year over year Q3 spending.
Why is risk rising dramatically against a backdrop of reduced spending and what should business leaders know?
Some of the key findings in Oversight’s November Spend Insights Report include:
- T&E Spend Drops, Risk Triples. A 77 percent decrease in travel and expense spend was counteracted by an alarming year-over-year increase in spend risk, which was three times higher than in Q3 2019.
- Fraud Activity Violations More than Double. Fraud activity violations increased 57 percent from Q2 to Q3 2020 to remain the most prevalent type of spend risk since the pandemic. Spend at electronic, computer and package stores triggered the majority of these violations.
- Ongoing work from home arrangements open the door to out-of-policy spend. From big-screen TVs to soundbars, employees often bend the rules on equipment purchases, payment and procurement methods as they work from home. Expenses submitted as office supplies and meals/restaurants accounted for more than 25 percent of spend violations.
Download the full report from Oversight below.
