A SAP Concur article explores the benefits and risks of AI in corporate travel management. AI can reduce booking and expense time by 53%, but fraud risks increase, with 32% of travelers thinking colleagues might use AI to falsify expenses. The article emphasizes balancing benefits and risks through training and ethical guidelines.
The article highlights that state and local governments face tight budgets and audit demands, and fragmented spend management undermines efficiency and governance. Adopting a connected spend platform provides real-time visibility, embedded controls, and audit readiness, enhancing trust and decision-making.
The article discusses financial complexity in healthcare, including fragmented spend processes and compliance pressures. By automating financial workflows and connecting spend data, healthcare organizations can improve transparency, reduce fraud risk, and ensure resources are directed to patient care.
The article highlights that county governments face complex funding environments and scrutiny, with fragmented spend management creating governance risks. Adopting integrated spend management platforms provides real-time budget visibility, embedded controls, stronger grant oversight, and enhances public trust.
Ardent Partners report highlights key AP trends for 2026, including agentic AI moving from pilot to core operations, global invoicing compliance becoming a real-time responsibility, AP data driving cash intelligence, tariff instability, data cleansing, and the death of paper checks. The AP role is shifting from basic invoice management to a strategic hub.
Utility operating expenses (OpEx) face new regulatory risks, with regulators demanding greater cost transparency and documentation. Travel and expense (T&E) becomes a visible signal of financial discipline, and spend management platforms like SAP Concur help utilities embed controls, automate policy enforcement, and provide real-time transparency.
SAP Concur's blog highlights the benefits of integrating with cloud ERP, including unified data, real-time visibility, improved compliance, and greater efficiency. Through automated workflows and real-time data synchronization, organizations can eliminate data silos and achieve a single source of truth for spend management.
SAP Concur says AI-generated receipts are evading traditional human audits because they are visually realistic and can have metadata stripped or faked. Its AI-powered auditing solution Verify has helped customers identify thousands of AI-generated receipts, with a detection rate roughly 18 times higher than earlier checks focused only on known online receipt generators. Chris Juneau, senior vice president and head of Product Marketing at SAP Concur, said about 1% of reviewed receipts have been flagged as potentially AI-generated, created by tools including ChatGPT, Gemini and Stable Diffusion, and that AI is not increasing the frequency of expense fraud but changing how it occurs. With near…
SAP Concur and Workday have different priorities in T&E management. Concur is purpose-built for global travel, expense, and compliance, offering end-to-end visibility and proactive compliance. User reviews show higher satisfaction for Concur in bank/credit card integration and currency conversion. Concur users save an average of $777K annually and see 32% higher compliance.
SAP Concur has released a 2026 leadership guide for CFOs, citing its trends research that forecasting agility is a top priority for finance leaders, while many teams still struggle with slow visibility and manual processes. The research shows 57% of finance leaders say they play an active role in shaping organizational strategy, but only 19% of CFOs have full confidence in their finance data. The article recommends a connected platform unifying travel, expense, and invoice data to improve compliance and decision-making.
SAP Concur published a blog highlighting how its travel and expense management solutions use AI innovation, automated compliance, and spend visibility to help customers like Mastercard and ACV Auctions improve efficiency and save costs.
MediaKind's Corporate Travel and Expense Manager Amber Lee shared her journey from Concur skeptic to champion on the SAP Concur Conversations podcast. She emphasized leading with empathy and context to drive adoption, empowering users by helping them understand the reasons behind policies to improve compliance, and community as a critical but underrated tool. She has over 15 years of experience driving user adoption.
On the SAP Concur Conversations podcast, Chloe Carver, Head of Corporate Travel Consulting at Acquis Consulting Group, shared how to build a traveler-centric travel program. She recommends policies that guide behavior rather than control it, treating implementation as a key transformation opportunity, and prioritizing traveler experience as the foundation of compliance. Host Jeanne Dion emphasized that organizations should not undermine their values through over-regulation.
A SAP Concur blog post based on a survey of travel and expense leaders outlines three common expense approval scenarios: alcohol, suspicious reports and workshop meals. 54% would not approve a bottle of wine replacing two glasses; 38% would talk to the manager about suspicious reports and 36% would run additional reports; nearly two-thirds would not approve a lunch reimbursement when meals were provided. The post recommends clear policy language, specific examples and enforceability.
A SAP Concur blog post uses four personas to show how its platform integrates travel, expense and invoice management. It cites data that nearly four in ten CFOs list manual processes as a top challenge; teams using SAP Concur process about 35% more invoices monthly and 1.5 times more expense reports, and are five times more efficient than users of other solutions; users spend nearly 20% less time booking trips and 12% less time filing expenses.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that consulting firms still rely on fragmented processes for travel and expense (T&E), leading to reduced productivity, increased compliance risks and lack of visibility. IDC notes that manual T&E oversight can cost consultants up to 30% of their time in non-billable admin tasks. Inconsistent expense data or incomplete audit trails can raise client doubts about accuracy, transparency and control. More consultancies are adopting AI-enabled T&E solutions to improve efficiency, compliance and client trust.
SAP Concur is introducing Joule agents within Concur Travel & Expense, including the Booking Agent, Receipt Analysis Agent, Meeting Planning Agent, and Expense Report Validation Agent. The Receipt Analysis Agent and Booking Agent are available now, while the Meeting Planning Agent and Expense Report Validation Agent are planned for early 2026. The base Joule AI copilot is available at no cost to all customers.
SAP Concur and Uber for Business have integrated to automatically flow business rides into SAP Concur expense reports with trip details, eliminating lost receipts and confusion between business and personal rides. Companies can track spending in real time, identify trends, and ensure policy compliance via the Uber for Business dashboard. Employees can enjoy an exclusive Uber One discount.
SAP Concur released T&E benchmarking analysis based on its processed data. From 2022 to 2023, airfare spending rose over 18% with bookings up 20%; first class dropped 84%, economy rose 36%, and business class rose 22%. Hotel spend jumped 24% while corporate tool bookings grew only 4.2%. Total meal spend rose 20%, with average meal cost rising slightly from $21.69 to $22.89. Missing receipts climbed 17%, associated spend rose 29%, and expense reports with exceptions increased nearly 10%.
SAP Concur published an article on the benefits of integrating travel and expense management solutions. Bringing Concur Travel and Concur Expense onto a single platform delivers 2x faster expense report processing, 55% reporting significant cost reductions in travel booking and expense reporting (average 21% decrease), and 80% improved compliance. The article lists six reasons, including scalability, broad travel content (11x more policy-compliant hotel options, 30+ low-cost global air carriers and NDC content, rail access through Trainline), transparency, and end-to-end integration. SAP ranked #1 for 2023 market share in the T&E market with 49.6%.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that energy and utilities companies must comply with safety mandates such as NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection standards and sustainability guidelines including CDP, SASB and GRI. A survey found 34% say their current T&E solution will not meet evolving requirements over the next two years, 33% use a solution without sustainability tracking, and 44% treat sustainability data capture as a requirement of their T&E solution. The post argues automation and AI can cut manual errors, strengthen audit and cybersecurity, citing SAP Concur data that AP automation saves 12 hours per week per finance employee.
A SAP Concur blog post states financial crime accounts for up to 5% of global GDP, with an estimated $800 billion to $2 trillion laundered annually. In the U.S., financial institutions face penalties of up to $500,000 per violation. It says organizations handling international travel, cross-border payments or complex expense categories must comply with AML rules, and describes how real-time transaction monitoring, enhanced due diligence, intelligent risk assessment and simplified reporting can reduce compliance risk.
SAP Concur released a Travel and Expense Performance Benchmark Report based on data from the top 25% of customers, segmented by company size. It provides benchmarks for cash spend compliance, non-compliant expense reduction, and audit efficiency, helping businesses identify performance gaps and optimize T&E management.
SAP Concur published a guide for small and midsize businesses on managing business expenses, noting that SMBs can be overwhelmed by expense data without a systematic approach. The guide defines business expenses and categorizes them, including operating expenses, payroll, office supplies, professional services, insurance, software subscriptions and travel expenses, while distinguishing capital expenses. It highlights the inefficiency and risks of spreadsheet-based management, such as manual entry errors, outdated data, delayed reimbursement, and elevated policy-violation and fraud risk, and recommends separating business and personal finances, standardizing expense categories, adopting mobi…
SAP Concur argues that amid hybrid work, rising compliance risks and tighter margins, expense policies are shifting from paperwork to a strategic asset. It lists three signs of an outdated policy: teams still emailing spreadsheets to claim mileage, frequent employee questions about whether a claim is allowed, and finance discovering out-of-policy spend after the money is gone. Outdated policies lead to inconsistent tax and audit compliance, employee confusion over reimbursables, manual processes that delay reporting and skew forecasting, and hidden overspend in decentralized or remote teams. The article recommends clear guidelines, automated workflows, real-time spend visibility and flexibl…
SAP Concur published five steps for strategic spend management in growing businesses: understand the business impact of spend management, build flexibility into processes, give everyone real-time insight into spending, simplify and automate compliant spending, and align spend strategy with broader business goals. The article cites Ben Wright of Oxford Economics saying a spend-management strategy is critical not only to control costs but to potentially drive growth and profitability. It recommends mapping spending rules to goals such as cashflow resilience and sustainable travel, including eco-friendly travel options in booking tools, enabling mobile receipt capture, and integrating expense,…
SAP Concur published a guide to help accounts payable teams craft a vendor invoice policy. It notes that without a written policy, AP staff burn hours hunting for approvals, correcting coding errors and untangling exceptions. A clear company-wide standard speeds approvals, reduces the risk of lost, late or duplicate invoices, and strengthens vendor relationships through on-time payments and fewer disputes. The article offers seven tips: invite participation from finance, IT and business units; prepare for objections; streamline vendor workflows by encouraging emailed PDFs and ACH payments; post the policy on the intranet and require annual e-sign-off; run a broad review for clarity; optimiz…
SAP Concur explains how mobile spend management apps improve business expense control. It notes that relying on paper receipts and manual tracking leads to lost documentation, delayed reimbursement, errors and non-compliant claims. Mobile spend management software enables instant capture and categorization of expenses, real-time syncing with cloud financial systems, faster travel booking, approvals and reimbursement cycles, and better visibility into spending trends. ExpenseIt uses OCR, machine learning and generative AI to read receipts and categorize expenses, while Concur Detect automatically checks expenses against company policies. SAP Concur cites data showing a 47% reduction in missi…
SAP Concur highlights the importance of spend visibility in business management. It says companies with deep insight into how, where and why money is spent have a major advantage in controlling costs, and that spend visibility is the foundation of good financial management, helping identify cost-reduction opportunities, optimize budgets and make strategic decisions. Without visibility, organizations may struggle with low-return or redundant spending and, in increasingly complex regulatory environments, face policy violations, audit red flags, financial penalties and reputational damage. The article also notes challenges from fragmented data, inconsistent cross-department categorization, lag…
A SAP Concur blog post discusses the unique expense management challenges nonprofits face, including donor transparency requirements, compliance complexity, multiple funding source restrictions, and limited resources. It recommends adopting automated expense management solutions, such as SAP Concur's cloud platform, to improve transparency, reduce administrative burden, and ensure compliance.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses challenges U.S. state and local governments face in expense management, including outdated systems, manual processes, and compliance risks. Citing Wakefield Research data, it notes 29% of industry leaders use outdated T&E solutions and 30% use outdated accounts payable solutions. It recommends automated systems to improve transparency, security, and efficiency.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses challenges healthcare organizations face in spend management, including strict regulations, manual processes, and compliance risks. Citing Wakefield Research data, it notes 29% of healthcare leaders say their T&E solution relies on manual data entry, and 22% know their T&E solution does not meet regulatory requirements. It recommends automated systems to improve compliance, reduce errors, and enhance employee satisfaction.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses strict compliance requirements aerospace, defense, and government contracting organizations face in spend management. Citing Wakefield Research data, it notes 37% of government contractors say their T&E solution lacks real-time visibility, and 40% say the same for their AP solution. It recommends automated systems to improve compliance, reduce risk, and enhance financial reporting.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses practical applications of AI in spend management, including auto-categorizing transactions, identifying duplicate submissions and potential fraud, matching receipts to credit card charges, and recommending policy-compliant alternatives. Citing McKinsey, it notes AI could create up to $4.4 trillion in annual global economic value, 92% of companies are increasing AI investment, but only 1% consider themselves mature in their AI approach.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses the risks of corporate non-compliance, including legal and financial consequences, reputational damage, operational disruptions, and fraud and financial loss. Citing ACFE data, it notes about 5% of revenue is lost to occupational fraud annually, with a median loss of $145,500. It recommends clear policies, formal approval workflows, automated compliance tools, and employee training.
SAP Concur launched Concur Cloud for Public Sector, a commercial-grade, government-ready platform for delivering Concur Travel and Expense solutions to public sector and other highly regulated organizations. The platform is FedRAMP Moderate Authorized, NIST 800-53 compliant, and hosted on AWS GovCloud (U.S.). SAP Concur noted that in 2024 the federal government reported over $162 billion in improper payments, many linked to outdated systems and fragmented T&E management. Finance teams using integrated platforms report 8% higher satisfaction with expense visibility and 6% higher satisfaction with control capabilities. 71% of organizations cite enhanced data protection as a top benefit of mod…
SAP Concur published an article detailing the security and compliance features of Concur Cloud for Public Sector. The platform is a FedRAMP Authorized software-as-a-service (SaaS) hosting various commercial SAP Concur solutions, such as Concur Travel and Expense, meeting or exceeding the security needed to protect data. Built specifically for public sector and other highly regulated organizations, it provides encryption, detailed access controls, and strong audit features. Security features include: FedRAMP Moderate authorization, hosted on AWS GovCloud, NIST 800-53 compliance, real-time monitoring, MFA, audit-ready logs, role-based access, SSO, SAML 2.0, centralized logging, and ITAR rules…
SAP Concur's blog provides six best practices for managing Continuing Medical Education (CME) spend in healthcare: create a fair expense policy, use tools to ease compliance, send regular budget balances, create an audit plan, maintain visibility even when bookings are outside the system, and simplify expense report filing. It notes that 45% of CME hotel bookings are made outside managed tools, emphasizing tools like Concur TripLink to capture direct bookings for compliance and spend tracking.
The U.S. Department of State updated its Cuba travel advisory on May 7, 2025, keeping it at Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution due to crime and unreliable electrical power. It notes rising petty and violent crime, and stresses that U.S. law prohibits travel to, from or within Cuba for tourist activities, with OFAC regulating such travel; traveling without an appropriate license is illegal and violations may lead to penalties and criminal prosecution. Since October 2024 Cuba has seen several prolonged nationwide power outages, with daily scheduled and unscheduled cuts of up to 12 hours in Havana and longer outside the capital.
SAP Concur published a case-study article describing how Stephen, CFO of a mid-sized U.S. company, uses SAP Concur solutions for AI-driven spend management. It says he gains real-time visibility into spending across departments, regions and categories via the dashboard, uses Intelligence for real-time analytics, and relies on Concur Detect by Oversight and Concur Tax Assurance by Blue dot to improve compliance. The article cites figures: AI technology captured 10x the number of errors and fraud, automated audits reduced the cost of mistakes in expense reports by 60%, and using AI for initial investigation of expense reports reduced audit time by as much as 90%.