UK businesses losing £3.5 billion a year through fraudulent expense claims

Research reveals that over a quarter of UK employees claim personal spend from their employers

Research by foreign currency expert FairFX has revealed that over a quarter (26%) of employees admit to claiming back personal spend on their company expenses, costing UK businesses an estimated £3.5 billion a year*.

On average, employees claim back £462 per annum of personal spend on their business expenses, telling their employers that they have spent the money on travel (24%) and accommodation (19%), when in truth many have been splurging on entertainment, food and alcohol (39%).

The promotions industry was the worst offender, with a shocking 67 per cent of respondents admitting that they had claimed personal spend back from their employers. They were closely followed by graduates and trainees, 43 per cent of whom had made fraudulent expense claims.

Financial services were the biggest culprits when it came to numbers, with the accountancy industry falsely claiming an average of £1,070 per year – more than double the overall average. They were closely followed by the banking, insurance and finance industries, who admitted claiming back £850 per year.

Stephen Heath, Chief Executive of FairFX commented:

“Times are changing and the age of overspending and overindulgence in the business sector is over.

Businesses need to find a new approach to managing employee expenses that makes the system easier and less time-consuming for the employee, and leaves a smaller margin for error. A prepaid corporate card for example could erase fraudulent claims, cut employee administration time and ensure the expenses process is easy and cost efficient, both in the UK and abroad”.

*Number of People in UK working = 28,926,000 (ONS), average amount claimed 462.45

Thursday 27 May 2010, 10:35am

Tags: business expenses, fairfx.net, research, stephen heath, study