Over a Fifth of Public Sector Employees Admit to Submitting False Expenses

LONDON, June 28, 2011 -

- As Cuts Start to
Bite, Expenses Represent a Significant Savings
Opportunity

A survey of 1,010 UK employees who submit href="www.concur.com/en-uk/small-business">expenses has
revealed that over a fifth (22.1 per cent) of employees in the
public sector have submitted a false expense claim at least once.
This figure was higher than employees in the private sector (19.3
per cent), revealing that during this period of public sector cuts,
taking steps to better regulate the expense claims process could
unearth potential cost savings.

It appears false claims are not a ‘one off’ for many public
sector employees. In fact, one in five (19.6 per cent) of public
sector employees admitted to either submitting fraudulent expenses
‘occasionally’ (11.9 per cent) or ‘all of the time’ (7.7 per cent).
Only 58.2 per cent of public sector employees would never consider
submitting a false claim, with 12.2 per cent saying they’d never
done it because they knew they wouldn’t get away with it.

 ”With the UK government making cuts across the public
sector, this study reveals an area of expenditure than can be
better regulated to drive significant cost savings,” comments
Isabel Montesdeoca, VP at Concur. “For managers working in the
public sector, ensuring that the proper systems and processes are
in place can prevent vital funds draining away and provide
visibility and control over expense reporting.”

Avoiding false claims is just one part of the issue, having an
efficient expenses process in place also has a significant benefit
for public sector employees submitting honest claims. Concur’s
research revealed that only 30.9 per cent of public sector
employees claim back everything owed to them on expenses, and when
asked why, 45.9 per cent said it was because it was ‘too much
hassle’.  

Montesdeoca continues, “With pay freezes and increasing cost of
living, public sector employees need a quick and efficient way to
get their expenses processed. Effective expense management keeps
fraud in check while also making life easier for the huge majority
of hard working people.”

Technology can provide organisations with complete visibility
and control over the expense claims process. href="www.concur.com/en-uk/">Concur makes it easy for
organisations to submit and track href="www.concur.com/en-uk/small-business">expenses
online or from their mobile and convert paper receipts into digital
records. Users can even href="www.concur.com/en-uk/features/mobile">take photos of
receipts with a smartphone, automatically attach the receipt
image to an expense claim, and get them signed off much faster than
filing expenses by hand. In addition to Concur’s integrated travel
and expense management solution for large organisations, the
company introduced href="www.concur.com/en-us/media-resources/press-releases/04-18-11-1">
Concur® Breeze, an expense claim offering for small UK
organisations, in April 2011.

About Concur

Concur is a leading provider of integrated travel and expense
management solutions for companies of all sizes. Concur’s
easy-to-use Web-based on mobile solutions help companies and their
employees control costs and save time. Learn more at href="www.concur.com/en-uk">www.concur.com/en-uk.

Note to Editor:

The research for Concur was carried out by Opinionmatters.co.uk
between: 13/12/2010 and 22/12/2010 with a sample of 1010+ UK people
with expense accounts. The public sector/private sector split was
337/673.

Have you ever submitted a false claim for something you
shouldn‘t have?

                                              Public Sector    Private Sector

    No I wouldn't consider it                 52.8%            66.4%
    No, I don't think I'd get away with it    12.2%            11.6%
    Yes, I have occasionally                  11.9%             8.3%
    Yes, I have done it before                 8.3%             6.5%
    Yes, I do it all of the time               7.7%             4.5%
    No, other                                  0.6%             1.6%
    No, but I will in the future               1.2%             0.6%
    Yes, other                                 0                0.4%

Do you ever spend your own money on
behalf of your company, but not bother expensing it back? And if
yes, how much per month on average?

                                              Public Sector    Private Sector
    No, I expense everything owed to me       30.9%            38.8%
    GBP1 - GBP5                               17.8%            17.8%
    GBP6 - GBP10                              19.0%            13.4%
    GBP11 - GBP15                              8.3%             8.5%
    GBP16 - GBP20                             10.1%             9.1%
    GBP21 - GBP30                              5.3%             5.6%
    GBP31 - GBP40                              3.0%             1.9%
    GBP41 - GBP50                              1.8%             2.4%
    GBP51 - GBP100                             3.9%             2.4%
    More than GBP100, please specify           -                0.1%

If yes, why did you not expense it
back?

                                              Public Sector    Private Sector

    It's not worth the hassle                 45.9%            51.0%
    I was embarrassed about expensing
    back such a small amount                  23.2%            22.8%
    I forgot                                  19.7%            16.3%
    I felt guilty about expensing it back      7.7%             4.1%
    Other, please specify                      3.4%             5.8%

Press Contacts: Stacey Jones or Holly Barnes, Weber Shandwick for Concur, Tel: +44-20-7067-0500, Email: ConcurUKPR at webershandwick.com