New Technologies and Best Practices in Expense Management: Insights to Drive Growth
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More than 80% of companies polled indicate they plan to make the switch to online expense management software within the next 18 months. While leading finance professionals are moving their manual processes to the cloud, what are the real benefits of switching to these automated systems? Implementing company-wide software is no easy task. How are these Fortune 500 companies (with thousands of employees) migrating to these new technologies? Join us as we review the results of Certify’s Expense Management Outlook 2014 survey; benchmark your company’s travel and entertainment (T&E) expense management processes, pain points, and use of technology in helping to tame T&E expenses; and discover how T&E management automation is delivering return on investment (ROI) to companies of all sizes.
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New Technologies and Best Practices in Expense Management: Insights to Drive Growth
- 1. New Technologies and Best Practices in Expense Management: Insights to Drive Growth Bob Neveu Tim Harrison October 14, 2014 Sponsored by:
- 2. Moderator Steve Shannon Director Partnership Marketing IMA © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 2
- 3. Featured Presenter Bob Neveu President, Cofounder Certify, Inc. © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 3
- 4. Featured Presenter Tim Harrison Director of Corporate Systems H&R Block © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 4
- 5. Learning Objectives Upon completing this webinar, you will be able to: 1. Leverage technology to establish visibility and control of T&E expenses 2. Understand current and emerging technologies available for T&E management 3. Discover how to build an effective business case for T&E management automation by understanding key components of the ROI 4. Identify how to manage and mitigate T&E expenses at your company © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 5
- 6. About Certify • Online travel and expense management software provider since 2008 • 64 languages,140+ currencies, clients in 18 countries • Over 15 million expense transactions in 2013 • Processing over $5 billion/year in expense reports © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 6
- 7. Expense Management Outlook for 2014 Data compiled from Certify’s 3rd Annual Expense Report Survey with responses from over 800 Finance professionals in the U.S. (56% C-Level or above, 84% mid-sized companies and above). How do organizations currently manage their travel and expense reporting? 44% 5% 29% 18% 4% Cloud/Web-Based Excel/Spreadsheets ERP Home-Grown Pen & Paper © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 7
- 8. Expense Management Outlook for 2014 • Travel and entertainment (T&E)— second only to payroll as the largest business expense, accounts for 10%-12% of total annual budget • 59% of organizations want to improve their expense management process • 62% of organizations want better analytics and insight into T&E spend • Only 30% of organizations utilize mobile expense applications • 80% of all organizations indicate they plan to switch to cloud expense management within the next 18 months T&E Pain Points Most critical areas to improve in 2014 Reference: Certify Annual Travel & Expense Management Survey 2014 © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 8
- 9. Key Strategic Actions to Improve Processes 1. Automate key components of T&E expense management • Ranked #1 as top priority in 2014 by 52% of companies in © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 9 2014 Aberdeen Report 2. Take measures to improve and enforce corporate T&E policies • Ranked #2 by 48% of companies 3. Arm travelers with better technologies to make T&E expense management simpler and faster • Mobile applications • Globally accessibly tools 4. Leverage analytics to improve intelligence and data Reference: Aberdeen Group 2014, The Traveler & Expense Management Guide for 2014
- 10. Automate Key Components of T&E Eliminate manual data entry from system-to-system Must-Have Features From a Cloud-Based System © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 10 Areas for automation surrounding T&E: • Use auto-fill (parsing) technology to extract expense data from receipts – eliminate manual entry • Auto-generated expense reports – expense report automatically created by matching receipt images to expense data • Direct feed to Accounting, HR & corporate credit cards – eliminates manual data entry between systems • Automate approval workflows – managers notified of electronic reports pending approval Reference: Certify Annual Travel & Expense Management Survey 2014 Reference: Certify Annual Travel & Expense Management Survey 2014
- 11. Automate Key Components of T&E © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 11 Expense report automation is the #1 feature CFO and Finance professionals look for when selecting a vendor (64% of CFOs say it is the #1 most important feature) Largest pain point surrounding T&E is employee’s failure to submit expense reports on time (50% of companies say this is the #1 pain point) AutoFill (parsing) functionality to eliminate manual data entry
- 12. Improve & Enforce Corporate Policy #1 way to reduce T&E costs: Improve compliance to T&E polices © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 12 • 49% of companies name top financial pressure to improve compliance to company policies & reduce T&E costs • 19% of expenses submitted are “fraudulent”, with average expense amount of $115 on a manual system • 5% of employees commit 82% of all fraud • Best-in-class organizations using cloud-expense are experiencing up to 91% compliance rates “Setting hard travel policies around formerly ‘gray areas’ such as seat upgrades has trimmed travel spending by 10% to 20%” Linda Parcher, VP and CPO, Diebold, Inc. Wall Street Journal Reference: Certify Annual Travel & Expense Management Survey 2014
- 13. Utilizing Technology to Gain Control Flagged violation, notifying manager amount exceeded © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. policy limit 13 How to increase policy compliance: 1. Create corporate travel and entertainment expense policy 2. Integrate policy into expense system, setting both: • Hard Policies (decline expense exceeding X amount) • Soft Policies (manager’s discretion for approval) 3. Allow technology to enforce policy, notifying employee and manager of policy violations • Missing receipts • Duplicated • Items exceeding spend limits • Etc. Reference: Certify Annual Travel & Expense Management Survey 2014
- 14. Arm Travelers with Technology © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 14 • Online travel booking system • Used by 87% of all Best-in-Class companies • Control the expense before it occurs • Spend captured quicker and in compliance to policies • Mobility: Second most important feature when selecting an expense vendor; 45% of companies named it #1 • Users of mobile expense applications have reduced their expense-processing costs by 65% • Enable travelers with the power of mobile: receipt capture, enter expense data, review & approve expense • End-to-end expense management system: • Robust platform helps streamline and automate processes • Accessible from anywhere, anytime
- 15. Leveraging Technology for Visibility Web-Based Expense System Manual Expense Process © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 15 • 55% of all organizations name main priority for 2014 to enhance visibility into overall T&E spending • Visibility into T&E spend: 30% visibility with manual process; 61%+ visibility with web-based system • 74% companies using cloud expense systems regularly audit expense reports vs. 44% of companies on manual system Types of visibility gained with cloud technology • Documented path of approvals • Expense by employee • Expense spend by category 61% 57% 74% 57% 30% 40% 44% 29% Visibility into T&E Spend Regular Reporting Regular Audits of Expenses Automated Data Analytics
- 16. Leveraging Technology for Visibility © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 16 Benefits of automated reporting: • Identify intelligence over key areas of business travel that need consolidation (airfare, lodging, etc.) • Identify major suppliers to negotiate savings (volume discounts with supplies such as hotels) • Identify spend by employee, identify repeat policy violators • Identify areas of excessive spending and use spending trends to create T&E policies
- 17. H&R Block © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 17 • World’s largest tax services provider • 12,000 retail tax offices in U.S., another 1,700 abroad • Upward of 100,000 employees world wide at peak tax season • Over 58,000 people creating and submitting expense reports in North America
- 18. Prior Expense Report Process • Mix of manual and electronic processes • PeopleSoft module for T&E • Create expense online • Print & attach paper receipts • Forward report and receipt to manager for approval • Field users would mail expense reports into corporate office • Electronic reporting and approvals • Reconciliation done manually, comparing paper receipt to electronic version © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 18
- 19. The Switch to New Technologies Biggest Challenges • Digitally matching receipts to credit card transactions • Time to manually prepare expense reports, reconcile data and audit expense reports Identify Vendor Requirements • H&R Block is focused on digitization • Application must be simple to use, low learning curve • Mobile was a key requirement for real time capturing of receipts • Paperless state was a requirement • International support for our global organization • Leverage OCR & autofill capabilities © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 19
- 20. The Vendor Selection Process Conference Room Pilot • IT & Management vetted vendors’ ability to meet functionality, implementation and support requirements • Allowed end users to select the vendor • Higher adoption rate if users choose solution • More user interaction = maximize ROI on system • Ten end-users piloted three competing expense vendors and cast their vote • Management, IT, HR not included in voting • 9 out of 10 users selected Certify © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 20 “Software for the people, by the people”
- 21. Implementation Select Vendor Go Live: Select Certify October 1, 2014 © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 21 Implementation Details • 58,000+ users in North America (U.S. & Canada) • Integrate with: • Corporate credit card transactions from bank • HRS Feed for employees, departments, projects and approval hierarchies • Single Sign On capabilities (Web & Mobile) • Feeds for Accounts Payable The Forecasted Implementation Timeline Go Live with Certify May October Launch Implementation 58k U.S. & Canada users go live, 6 weeks ahead of schedule August
- 22. The Benefits • Average Process Lifecycle – Reduced from 54 days in PeopleSoft to 15 Days in Certify. • Faster Auditing Process – 100 expense reports reviewed in 1 hour, compared to 4+ hours previously. • Mobile Capabilities – Users reduce time spent on creating expense reports. • Digital Initiative – Eliminated 4,000 pieces of paper in the first month of use. Will increase as Tax Pros come on board for tax season. • Reconciliation - Eliminated manual reconciliation of expenses and receipts. • Enforce Policy – Insights into automobile mileage via mapping and route functionality. • Standardization – Created single, global platform with Single Sign On capabilities for web and mobile users. © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 22
- 23. Key Elements for Success • Define requirements from Accounting, End User & IT teams to narrow vendors quickly, prior to going to RFP • Align IT, Accounting, HR departments prior to implement, building plan of attack for rolling out – “all hands on deck” approach • Allow the end users to drive vendor selection to maximize adoption rates and aid in gaining an ROI (Conference Room Piloting) • Organize internal efforts to facilitate transition for employees (documentation, training, support, etc.) © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 23
- 24. Questions & Answers Use the Q & A Panel to send your questions to our panelists. Bob Neveu President, Cofounder Certify, Inc. © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. Steve Shannon Director Partnership Marketing IMA 24 Tim Harrison Director of Corporate Systems H&R Block
- 25. Thank You to Our Presenters! Bob Neveu President, Cofounder Certify, Inc. © 2014 Institute of Management Accountants. Inside Talk Webinar Series. All rights reserved. 25 Tim Harrison Director of Corporate Systems H&R Block
- 26. Thank You to Our Sponsor! www.certify.com
Editor's Notes
- Margaret: Good afternoon and welcome to IMA’s Inside Talk Webinar Series. The title of today’s presentation is, ”New Technologies and Best Practices in Expense Management: Insights to Drive Growth,” sponsored by Certify. I’m Margaret Loughery and I’ll be your host for today’s Inside Talk Webinar.
- Margaret: It’s a pleasure to have Steve Shannon as part of our program and he will be serving as moderator for today’s event. Steve’s Bio: Steve is responsible for identifying, establishing, and growing business and strategic partnerships that are beneficial to the IMA organization and its membership. He also manages the existing partner group which includes Certify, Avalara, IBM, Host Analytics, Prophix Software, Dell, Marsh, Intacct and others who provide valuable business information and professional services to IMA and its members. Hi Steve. Welcome to our program. Steve: Thank you Margaret! I’m pleased to be a part of the IMA webinar series and on behalf of IMA, I want to welcome everyone to today’s session.
- Steve: At this time I would like to introduce our featured presenters for today’s program. With us today we have Bob Neveu. Bob’s Bio: In 2008, Bob Neveu launched Certify as his second software startup in Portland, Oregon. Certify’s venture backed team have accelerated the growth of the business to where they are considered the second largest provider in North America of expense reporting software with multi-national customers including Pitney Bowes, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Subway Sandwiches, and Virgin Galactic. Certify has gained the attention of many major news publications for its innovative technology, including its recent release of auto-generated expense reporting with Certify ReportExecutive, featured in the Wall Street Journal (September, 2013), New York Times (October, 2013) and CNNMoney (December, 2013). Please join me in welcoming Bob Neveu. Bob: Thank you. It’s great to be here and I’m pleased to be able to discuss this important topic with you and our members today.
- Steve: Next, I would like to introduce our second featured presenter for today’s program, Tim Harrison. Tim’s Bio: As the Director of Corporate Systems for H&R Block, Tim Harrison is responsible for technology, product development, strategic planning & direction, and resource management, as well as project management for HR, financial, legal and sourcing corporate systems. He provides support for internal business partners across the global organization, and manages vendor relationships. In addition, Tim is responsible for the oversight of Corporate Systems Project Management Office (PMO) and support for SOX compliance. Prior to H&R Block, Tim served as COO/CIO for software vendor, Marathon Digital Services, as well as Executive Vice President at Fidelity National Information Solutions. Please join me in welcoming Tim Harrison. Tim: Thank you. It’s great to be a part of today’s program.
- Steve to review.
- Steve: Thank you Bob and Tim. I would like to begin addressing some of the questions from our audience members. Let me first remind participants to send us your questions and comments by typing them into the Q & A panel on the left side of your screen. Seeded Questions: Robert, in regards to your graph on how companies are managing the T&E Reporting, we see a big gap between enterprise and SMBs in terms of the % leveraging Cloud/Web-based solutions. Has this gap been decreasing over the past few years; do you see it a s “closing” going forward? Robert, can you offer us some “color” around how technology allows companies to enforce policies before an expense occurs? Robert, can you share with us a few of the most common internal gaps that companies seem to have in terms of both defining and enforcing their T&E policies? Robert, what’s next in terms of the functionality relative to cloud-based T&E expense management applications? Ok, we have time for one more question… (At approximately 2:27 p.m.) Steve: I’m going to turn your attention back to our host, Margaret.
- Margaret: I’d like thank our presenters, Bob Neveu and Tim Harrison, for sharing their knowledge and expertise with us. We’re very appreciative that they have made time for IMA and our audience today. Also, thank you Steve Shannon, for moderating today’s event.
- Margaret: I want to again thank Certify for presenting today’s webinar, and thank all of you for your participation in today’s event, your commitment to IMA and your professional development through IMA’s Inside Talk Webinar Series. I look forward to spending time with you again soon when we’ll enjoy some more Inside Talk.