Stop employee corporate credit card fraud in its tracks

In this segment of our “Did You Know?” series, we explore how AppZen’s Expense Audit enforces corporate credit card compliance and stops employee fraud in its tracks. This ongoing series highlights the capabilities and benefits of AppZen Expense Audit, bringing you deeper into what makes it tick and how you can take advantage.

For over 4 years, a highly-trusted supervisor responsible for approving American Express employee credit card expenses had a quiet side business that would eventually steal $6M dollars by using company credit cards to buy and resell Apple products. Using her organization’s credit card, she bought cars, houses, and even an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas. In another company, an SEO specialist and budding musician bought a brand new music studio and set up his music career to the tune of $4.1M, financed by fraudulent charges on a company corporate credit card. 

While these examples may sound outrageous, credit card fraud is one of the most common abuses committed by employees. American corporations lose approximately $50B and 1.8% in revenue annually because of employee theft. For many companies, employee credit card misuse usually begins with small charges, goes unnoticed for years, and adds up over time. When employers discover the fraud, it is often too late – the money has evaporated and is unrecoverable.

While issuing corporate credit cards is convenient for organizations as they allow employees to spend on travel, meals, entertainment, and other business-related expenses, the practice is rife with employee misuse. It is not uncommon for employees to overspend, charge personal items, and use corporate cards at merchants not in line with company policies. As business grows and more employees are hired, it is easy to lose track of receipts. Worse, tracking erroneous expense reports that result in credit card misuse or untimely submissions can be a time-consuming and daunting task. Even companies who have taken all the necessary steps to mitigate credit card misuse can find themselves in a losing battle. How can companies balance the convenience of employee credit cards while enforcing compliance and eliminating abuse?

AppZen Expense Audit, an AI-powered finance solution, is a true partner in helping companies combat credit card fraud and enforce compliance. It automatically reads and understands every receipt to eliminate fraudulent and unnecessary spend. With Expense Audit, corporations can set corporate credit card limits and create policies unique to their organizations that prevent employees from purchasing certain items, or disallow the use of company credit cards at specific merchants, such as at a gentlemen’s club. It can even flag inappropriate items purchased at approved merchants, like alcohol bought at Walmart, when company policy dictates that employees cannot purchase alcohol with a company credit card. 

It digs deep to find employee credit card misuse. For example, it identifies when a merchant accepts your credit card but the employee chooses to pay with a personal charge card or cash instead. Monitoring this behavior allows you to easily track employees who consistently violate company policy, so you can take immediate action and lessen the impact to your organization’s bottom line. 

With Expense Audit, you get robust capabilities to enforce corporate card compliance throughout the organization. It not only tracks unsubmitted corporate card charges, but also detects out-of-policy spend on unsubmitted expenses. Armed with this information, organizations can update their T&E workflows to ensure that employees submit corporate card expenses in a timely manner.

Expense Audit offers powerful insights to improve cash flow management and reimbursements, like tracking 100% of out-of-policy spend on unsubmitted credit card charges and getting early visibility on corporate charges for items that have been charged, but not submitted. You get predictable expense cash planning and ensure timely payment for the correct account periods. You can also enforce company regulations that maximize preferred terms with corporate card providers by creating custom policies that divert employees from paying for business expenses with their personal credit cards. 

Combating corporate credit card misuse and enforcing compliance is a 24x7 job and requires sophisticated, automated tools. Expense Audit, with its powerful Mastermind AI technology, can help you eliminate corporate credit card fraud and create effective company enforcement policies throughout your organization.

Wondering what else AppZen Expense Audit can do? Check out the rest of our “Did You Know?” series, check out AppZen Expense Audit on the web, or reach out!