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.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that 72% of energy and utility companies still rely on manual processes for travel and expense (T&E) management. Industry research shows 45% of sector leaders are prioritizing advanced T&E solutions to address evolving regulatory requirements, while 41% are focusing on supporting sustainability initiatives. Digital T&E management can achieve a 54% reduction in travel booking time, 43% improvement in expense report processing, and 50% acceleration in reimbursement cycles. The article also discusses FERC compliance requirements and change management strategies.
An SAP Concur blog post says utilities and energy companies can embed greener practices in financial and administrative processes beyond grid investment and clean energy, with travel and expense management as one opportunity. It offers three paths: reduce paper waste through digital expense reports and automated data ingestion; provide sustainable guidelines and guardrails, citing an SAP Concur survey of 1,000 business travelers finding 88% are willing to take actions to reduce their environmental impact when traveling for business; and measure success, with travel carbon emissions reporting by employee, department or route.
A SAP Concur blog post discusses how utilities and energy companies can improve employee experience. It cites Gartner's prediction that employee turnover will be 50% to 75% higher than companies have previously experienced; Gallup data showing it costs up to two times an employee's annual salary to replace them; 78% of employees strongly believe their employer is responsible for helping them increase job satisfaction and well-being; and 34% of employees expect a seamless technology experience but feel they don't have one. The article recommends improving satisfaction with enterprise applications, automating expense reporting and approval processes, and automating mileage capture to enhance…
An SAP Concur blog post notes that utility and energy companies must comply with municipal, state, and federal regulations, including those of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), yet many still rely on multiple outdated, on-premises legacy financial systems to maintain and audit employee spend data. This makes it hard to see how money is spent and by whom, review and control spend before it happens, enforce compliance with spend policies and financial regulations, spot data patterns hidden across channels or systems, and actively identify and mitigate spend fraud, waste, and abuse. The post recommends modernizing and automating systems to insert controls at the point of purchas…
SAP Concur published spend management guidance for the energy and utilities sector, noting the pandemic forced rapid digitization and organizations should now assess those rushed fixes. The T&E spend violation rate skyrocketed 292% from 2019 to 2020. Fraud remains a serious problem, with utilities seeing a median fraud loss of $200K. It recommends finance and IT collaboration and digital spend management tools for near real-time spend and cash flow visibility. An IDC report found 90% of decision-makers see room to improve spend control.
SAP Concur article targets aerospace, defense, government contracting, and utilities organizations, emphasizing assessment of pandemic-era digital fixes. Spend management platforms provide real-time visibility, budget control, and improved employee experience. Data shows T&E spend violation rate skyrocketed 292% from 2019 to 2020. 90% of decision-makers say there's room to improve spend control. Adopting integrated platforms can save $777,000 annually on travel and expense reporting, increase compliant reports by 65%, and reduce errors by 52%.