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Survey: biz travelers sense expense abuse crackdown.

Article Excerpt
Following years of heightened cost-consciousness among corporate travel and expense managers business travelers feel T&E policies tightening, according to a survey released last month by American Express.

Of more than 500 business traveler respondents, divided equally among the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, nearly half said their companies have adopted stricter corporate travel policies, specifically those related to expense reporting. Of those polled, 45 percent said policies for expense reimbursement have become "somewhat" or "a lot" more stringent within the past three years.

About one-quarter of respondents said that, compared with the relatively freewheeling days of the past, they have in varying degrees grown more conscious of T&E policy adherence.

According to the survey, 37 percent of travelers claimed employers have become more careful in reviewing expense reports, showing that the enforcement of stricter policies has affected travelers' perceptions.

Mark Webb, senior vice president of American Express' global client group, which oversees the agency's top customers, cited both Sarbanes-Oxley and the continued proliferation of more advanced expense reporting tools as reasons for...