Travel & Entertainment Expenses

Analyze Your T&E using these Analytics Tests

Click to read through the tests details

• Duplicates

  Merchant Receipt Sequence
  To ensure all transactions are accurate and have been accounted for only once. Identify T&E transactions where the increments between receipt numbers for the same merchant occur consecutively within a specified range [gap range] and have a transaction date within the investigation period. 
  
  Suspect Reimbursement Claims
  To ensure all transactions are accurate and have been accounted for only once. Identify T&E transactions from the same employee who has claimed for both meals or group meals and per diem expense (or for both gas and mileage expense). 
  
  Duplicate TNE Cards - Name Match
  To identify all active employees with multiple cards. Identify all T&E cards with transactions where the cardholder has more than one T&E card in the card master file based on exact or similar name matching. 
  
  Duplicate TNE Cards - Address Match
  To identify all active employees with multiple cards. Identify all T&E cards with transactions where the cardholder has more than one T&E card in the card master file based on exact or similar address matching. Duplicates
  
  Duplicate Reimbursement Claims
  To ensure all transactions are accurate and have been accounted for only once. Identify all T&E transactions with duplicate transaction amounts to the same expense type from the same employee for different trips. [same employee, same expense, same amount, different trip] 
  
  
  Duplicate Reimbursement Claims
  To ensure all transactions are accurate and have been accounted for only once. Identify all T&E transactions with duplicate transactions based on to the same expense type, with a similar transaction amount within a percentage variance and incurred on the same day by the same employee. [same employee, same trip, same expense, similar amount] 
  
  Duplicate Transactions - Card Expense & Reimbursement Claim (Same Employee)
  To ensure all transactions are accurate and have been accounted for only once. During the investigation period, identify all T&E transactions with duplicate transaction amounts to the same expense type from the same employee, charged as both a T&E card expense and a reimbursement claim in the expense. 
  
  Duplicate Attendee Claim: To ensure all transactions are accurate and have been accounted for only once. During the investigation period, identify all T&E transactions with duplicate transaction amounts to the same merchant ID, charged on the same date claimed by two different employees, with one matching the attendee name. 

• Authorizations

  Unauthorized TNE Cards
  To ensure authorized personnel issue all T&E cards. Identify all T&E transactions where the employee who created the T&E card is not listed in the authorized employee list. 
  
  Validate Card Limit Changes
  To ensure all additions and modifications to the T&E card master file are authorized and valid. Identify all T&E daily card transactions where the monthly card limit for the employee has changed by at least the specified credit limit tolerance. 
  
  Unauthorized Merchants
  To ensure all merchants are authorized and valid. Identify all T&E transactions where the MCC is included in the restricted merchant MCC list. 
  
  Creator vs Approver - SOD
  To ensure all additions and modifications to the card master file are authorized and valid. Identify all T&E card transactions where the cardholder was created and approved by the same individual in the card master file. 
  
  Invalid Transactions - Restricted Items
  To ensure all transactions are for authorized purposes. Identify all T&E transactions using words from the restricted word list anywhere in the transaction description and business purpose field that indicates a potentially unauthorized purchase. 
  
  Submitter vs Approver - SOD
  To ensure transaction authorization and validity by identifying expense report transactions without appropriate segregation of duties controls in place. Identify all T&E transactions where the employee who created the expense claim is the same employee who approved the expense claim. 

• Data Quality

  Expense Critical Data Fields
  To ensure validity of T&E card transactions where critical data elements deviate from expected values and formats. For each T&E transaction, test that critical transactional data is present. For example: check for blanks, specified formats, or excluded values. 

• Compliance

  Debarred Merchants - Name Match
  To ensure all merchants are authorized and valid. Identify all T&E transaction where the same or similar merchant name is in the GSA list of debarred merchants. Matches do not include words in the excluded word list and only matches with a percentage greater than the specified percentage match parameter will be reported. 
  
  Debarred Merchants - Address Match
  To ensure all merchants are authorized and valid. Identify all T&E transactions where the same or similar merchant address has been included in the GSA list of debarred merchants. 
  
  Prohibited Merchants
  To ensure all merchants are authorized and valid. Identify transactions made to merchants listed in the OFAC watch list. 
  
  Excessive Claims - No Receipts
  To ensure all transactions are for valid and authorized purposes. Identify expense report transactions where no receipt has been submitted that fall over the receipt threshold amount or the receipt count threshold. 
  
  **Possibility of large number of false positives.
  Suspect Expense Dates
  To ensure all transactions are for valid and authorized purposes. Identify T&E transactions where the transaction date occurred on a weekend or holiday as defined by the variable holiday, unauthorized weekday, and fixed holiday parameters.

• Timeliness

  Stale Claims Age transaction date and expense report. 
  Identify all T&E transactions where the difference between the date the expense was incurred and the date the expense claim was submitted is greater than the aging period. 
  
  Aging Expense Report
  To ensure all transactions are accurate and have been submitted on a timely basis. Identify all T&E transactions where the difference between the expense report date and the posting date is greater than the x [aging period] number of days based on the company policy for submission of expense reports.

• Limits

  Single Transaction Limit
  To ensure transactions are authorized and in compliance with transaction limits. Identify all T&E transactions where the transaction amount was above or below a percentage threshold of the single transaction 
  
  Split Transactions
  To ensure transactions are authorized and in compliance with transaction limits. Identify instances where a card is used at the same merchant two or more times, and the total of those transactions exceed or is within the specified percentage threshold parameter of the single purchase limit. 
  
  Claim Transaction Limits - Monthly
  To ensure transactions are authorized and in compliance with transaction limits. Identify all T&E transactions where the accumulated monthly transactions amount was greater than the authorized monthly limit parameter. 
  
  Transaction Validity - Declined Transactions
  To ensure all transactions are for authorized purposes. During the investigation period, identify all purchase cards with transactions that have been declined. Total the count and amount of transactions per card. Report on cards that exceed the declined threshold count or the declined threshold amount. 
  
  Transaction Validity - Disputed Transactions
  To ensure all transactions are for authorized purposes. During the investigation period, identify all purchase cards with transactions that have been disputed. Total the count and amount of transactions per card. Report on cards that exceed the disputed threshold count or disputed threshold amount.
  
  Excessive Claims - Expense Type
  To ensure all transactions are for authorized purposes. Identify employees who have a number of expense claims per day greater than the acceptable maximum number of claims by expense type by amount or count. Total the count and amount of transactions per employee per day and report on cards that exceed the maximum expense count or the maximum expense amount. 

• Conflict of Interest

  Merchant Employee Name Match
  To ensure all T&E expenses are valid. Identify transactions where the employee last name is included in the merchant name.