Businesses exceeding their financial targets are almost 4x as likely to be “very confident” in their ability to control travel spend compared to those behind target, and almost 4x as likely to describe employee compliance with T&E as “very good”

Emburse, whose innovative travel and expense (T&E) solutions power forward-thinking organizations, today launched survey findings revealing an even stronger than expected connection between a business’s financial performance and its T&E processes.

Emburse, in partnership with YouGov, surveyed over 500 American travel, finance, HR, and operations professionals about their actions, thoughts and plans regarding business travel and employee spend. The results revealed a close link between their ability to control employee spend and positive financial outcomes.

The Future-Proof Your T&E Strategy report details the survey findings, outlining the forces shaping modern T&E management, and providing a framework for future-proofing against these factors.

The study revealed that businesses see real threats to spend control. Almost half (49%) of all survey respondents list inflation and rising prices in the top three factors negatively impacting their ability to control employee spend over the next year, followed by the increased volume and cost of business travel (32%) and growing employee autonomy in purchase decisions (25%).

However, respondents reporting higher financial performance for the year – specifically those growing their revenue or exceeding financial targets – are more confident in their ability to meet T&E challenges:

  • 63% of those at companies whose financial performance is ahead of target for the year are “very confident” in their ability to control travel spend, compared to only 16% who are behind target.
  • 54% of those ahead of their financial target are “very confident” in their ability to control other spend (such as subscriptions and SaaS) vs. 21% who are behind.
  • 58% of those ahead of target characterize employee compliance with T&E policies as “very good,” compared to only 15% of companies that report financial performance as behind target.
  • Those ahead of their financial target are much more likely to have high regard (“excellent” ratings) for their company’s ability to analyze T&E spend than those that are behind target (67% vs. 18%).

“Travel and expense management has become a business imperative in its own right,” said Marne Martin, CEO of Emburse. “More than most functions, it is central to the needs and demands of the modern workforce in growing and more established companies. Travel and finance leaders need to maintain control in the face of rising costs, but they have to balance that with meeting evolving employee expectations for mobile-first convenience and increased autonomy. Organizations that think strategically and implement best-in-class T&E solutions are seeing growth in their bottom line. It’s time to move beyond archaic systems and recognize that frictionless T&E can be a strategic asset and competitive advantage to any organization. Emburse’s mission is to help make the lives of professionals easier and deliver the greatest value to our customers,” she concluded.

When asked where they expect their workplace to invest in the next 3 - 5 years regarding its T&E processes, the top answers from respondents were:

  1. Artificial intelligence (33%)
  2. Integrating T&E processes and systems such as updating expense platforms (29%)
  3. Analytics, reporting, and forecasting capabilities (29%)
  4. Price optimization technologies (28%)

Overall, those at high-performing businesses are up to two times more likely to expect to invest in T&E technologies (87% vs. 56%). They are also more likely to be working with a T&E software vendor who they feel is "ahead of the curve” for helping them manage emerging demands and challenges (54% vs. 13%). And they are more optimistic about how technology will change their role; 60% anticipate technology will help improve their role and provide them with new strategic opportunities, while only 19% of those at companies behind target feel the same way. That may explain why those behind target (44%) are more than three times as likely as those ahead of target (13%) to say they do not expect to invest in any T&E technology over the next three to five years.

To learn more about the survey and gain deeper insights from industry leaders and analysts, download the Future-Proof Your T&E Strategy report here.

About Emburse

Emburse delivers innovative end-to-end travel and expense management solutions that solve for what’s next for forward-thinking organizations. Our suite of award-winning products are trusted by more than 12 million finance and travel leaders, and business professionals around the world. More than 20,000 organizations in 120 countries, from Global 2000 corporations and small-medium businesses to public sector agencies and nonprofits, count on us to manage business travel and employee expenses with ease.

Our highly automated, mobile-first solutions streamline business travel planning, booking and management, and eliminate manual, time-consuming expense submissions, approval and reconciliation. We deliver efficiency and time savings, increase financial visibility, enhance spend control and compliance, and improve the entire business travel experience. This empowers our customers and their teams to deliver meaningful value for their organizations.

For more information visit emburse.com, or follow our social channels at @emburse.

Methodology

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 500 adults in the US, employed in HR, finance, travel, or operations. Fieldwork was undertaken between the 27th of June and the 3rd of July 2024. The survey was carried out online.

Maura Lafferty Firebrand Communications for Emburse 415.848.9175 emburse@firebrand.marketing