Submitted by Helen Bailey on Mon, 20/01/2020 - 16:21
January has seen the University move a step closer to transforming how employees process their expense claims as it has been agreed that expense system solution provider SAP Concur will take this work forward.
The Expense Management project is a key component of the Finance Transformation Programme, an ambitious, large scale drive for the University which aims to shape and enhance Finance’s processes and tools of the future.
As part of the Expense Management project, a review of the University’s current systems has been undertaken. This involved extensive consultation of employees through workshops, 1-2-1 interviews, a survey and a dedicated User Group, which all together are helping to shape a new system to fully meet the University's varying needs.
Now it has been confirmed that SAP Concur has been given the green light, all of the project’s findings and the results of the survey will be fed into the development of the new system which will then be piloted by four key departments in early summer 2020.
More detailed information about the Expense Management project can be found on the FTP web pages.
A snapshot of the survey results
The survey attracted over 100 respondents, originating from the User Group and members of their respective departments. It highlighted that just over half generate up to four expense claims each year and that the length of time it takes to receive reimbursement was identified as one of the current system’s biggest problems.
Additionally, when questioned about how the expense claim system could be improved, just over half of respondents felt strongly that a reduction in the use of paper and an online solution would be highly desirable. It also revealed that the majority of expense claims have to go through a complex approval route. As a result of these findings the new system will simplify this process and all claims will be passed via Workflow, to an approver.