Nearly every CFO in an annual survey says that business travel is important for overall business growth, and an overwhelming majority of business travellers say the trips boost their physical and mental health. Despite that alignment, the state of business travel today faces trust gaps on several fronts.
For instance, half of business travellers in SAP Concur’s Global Business Travel Survey said they bend or break company travel or expense policies (28% rarely, 17% sometimes, 5% often). Executives and younger employees were more likely to stretch the rules than nonexecutives and older workers. And more than half who have broken company travel rules in the past cite perceived flexibility in policies as justification.
The perception that rules can be skirted or flouted raises governance concerns and underscores the need for companies to improve communication about travel policy, according to the eighth annual survey.
SAP Concur, in partnership with Wakefield Research, captured insights from more than 3,000 business travellers, 800 travel managers, and 700 CFOs globally in April.
Another example of trust concerns: 85% of CFOs are worried that employees are using nonapproved artificial intelligence (AI) tools to plan or book business travel. This concern is justified, the survey added, as 72% of business travellers said they have or would use shadow AI tools, with 42% saying they prefer them to the tools their company offers. That figure rises to 53% amongst American travellers.
AI gaps are fuelling governance risks. Globally, employees (30%) are turning to unsecured systems to book and assist with travel because their business does not offer AI tools in the first place, the survey said. They want AI tools integrated into wider workflows (36%), embedded in communication tools (33%), and used for proactive booking reminders (31%).
According to the survey, policy violations reported by respondents included using corporate discounts for personal travel (17%), ignoring cybersecurity protocols (12%), and submitting altered receipts (8%).
Despite some cybersecurity and fraud concerns, investment in business travel is rising year over year. The survey found that 82% of CFOs said their company’s travel budget will increase this year, compared with 76% last year. In contrast, only 5% say budgets will decrease, compared with 10% in 2025.
Additionally, 67% of business travellers are nervous about travelling this year, with safety and practical concerns at the root of this anxiety. The survey also found that 87% of travel managers echo these concerns and believe their business is falling short on traveller safety.
“Traveller anxiety is at a high, but organisational responsibility for safety remains poorly owned at the leadership level,” the survey said. “Until CFOs and travel managers align on who is accountable for what, duty of care will remain more aspiration than practice.”
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.
