Maycur published an article discussing key points for building electronic accounting archives in state-owned enterprises, emphasizing compliance, evidence chain management, four-property testing, and permission logging. It suggests validating systems with real business samples.
Casino operator Bally's CFO Mira Mircheva informed the company on August 30 of her resignation for 'personal reasons', effective Friday, but will stay to help with transition through September 30. Longtime executive George Papanier will serve as interim CFO again. The company had issued a going concern warning due to liquidity issues and is exploring asset sales, equity financing, and other options.
The article analyzes the financial performance of three flight search companies: Skyscanner, Kiwi.com, and Wego. Skyscanner generated approximately $660 million in revenue, up 24%, with a 32% operating margin. Kiwi.com's revenue fell 20% to $264 million, facing debt pressure. Wego doubled revenue to $63.5 million but with near-zero margins. These companies illustrate divergent outcomes in the Google- and AI-exposed travel sector.
Audley Travel, a tailor-made tour operator, achieved record revenue of £482 million in FY2025 but reported a net loss of £23.3 million due to financing costs exceeding operating profit. The company has total borrowings of £610 million, including £434 million in shareholder loan notes with 10-15% annual interest. 3i Group, holding 48% equity, has owned Audley for nearly 11 years, launched a sale in late 2024, but shelved it by April 2025 after rejecting offers.
The restaurant industry's hiring slowdown is shrinking finance teams, but invoice volume and supplier complexity continue to grow. Accounts payable automation becomes essential, reducing manual work and improving accuracy, enabling smaller teams to handle growing workloads. Automation also detects duplicate invoices and discrepancies, allowing finance staff to focus on higher-value tasks.
This SAP Concur blog discusses the growing sophistication of AI-driven invoice fraud and outlines five ways to strengthen AP processes with AI and automation. It cites the Finance Leaders' Fraud Report 2026: 45% of respondents experienced business email compromise, impersonation fraud rose from 35% in 2025 to 40% in 2026, and deepfake audio/video fraud appeared for the first time. 62% reported financial losses in the past three years, yet only 22% felt very well protected.
This SAP Concur blog discusses the growing threat of AI-driven fraud and outlines four ways finance teams can use AI to strengthen fraud prevention. It cites the Finance Leaders' Fraud Report 2026: business email compromise affects 45% of respondents, impersonation fraud rose from 35% in 2025 to 40% in 2026, and deepfake audio/video fraud appeared for the first time. 62% reported financial losses in the past three years, and 59% of organizations still do not use AI in any spend management process.
On August 12, Huatian Hotel announced providing a total of 40 million yuan in joint liability guarantees for five wholly-owned and controlled subsidiaries, each applying for working capital loans from Bank of China Hunan Branch. Huatian Life, Huatian Trade, and Hotel Management Company each received 10 million yuan, while Shaoyang Huatian and Yiyang Huatian each received 5 million yuan. The guarantees are within the 600 million yuan limit approved by shareholders. As of the announcement date, the company's total outstanding guarantees were 407 million yuan, accounting for 30.39% of net assets.
Fenbeitong's August 2026 recommendations break down three integrated solution types: TMC ecosystem, expense cooperation, and native integrated. Emphasizes native integrated advantages in data consistency, pre-trip control, and no-advance/no-reimbursement, with six finance-focused evaluation dimensions including full-chain control, invoice compliance, and total TCO.
A SAP Concur blog post cites survey data showing 97% of CFOs say business travel is important to strategy, and 82% expect budgets to increase in 2026. However, 89% say travel managers need to better justify ROI. AI-driven expense fraud is a rising risk: 92% of CFOs believe employees may use AI to falsify receipts, and 60% report fraud is increasing. Cybersecurity is also a financial risk, with 45% ranking data breach as a top travel concern. The article advises finance leaders to establish ROI frameworks, strengthen AI governance, and enhance cybersecurity controls.
Online travel agency Yatra received a Nasdaq non-compliance notice due to its share price falling below $1, and has 180 days to regain compliance, possibly through a reverse stock split. Q1 revenue fell 14% to $201 million, and adjusted EBITDA dropped 49%.
Expensify, Inc. announced the final results of its modified 'Dutch auction' tender offer, accepting 6,053,023 shares of Class A common stock at $1.20 per share, for a total cost of approximately $7.26 million, representing about 6.8% of outstanding shares. The offer expired on June 10, 2026, and the company will pay with cash on hand.
SAP Concur's article explores AI's dual role in spend management. AI can reduce administrative burden, process large data, and manage complexity, but it can also amplify existing weaknesses like inconsistent data, disconnected systems, and weak governance. The article emphasizes that AI success depends on strong foundations: connected systems, trustworthy data, and clear governance. The future of spend management requires balancing automation with human judgment.
The article discusses common types of expense fraud, such as mischaracterized, falsified, duplicate, and inflated claims, and how AI helps detect anomalies. Data shows nearly 60% of companies reported increased fraud losses, and organizations lose 5% of revenue to fraud annually.
SAP Concur report reveals a gap between SMB CEOs' expectations and finance performance. Cost management and operational efficiency are top challenges. AI adoption drives revenue growth and better decisions, but measuring ROI is difficult.
SAP Concur blog discusses that after finance teams deploy automated expense tools, early results are positive, but inconsistencies emerge later, such as out-of-policy expenses being approved and teams interpreting policies differently. This stems from a lack of governance. With global business travel spend projected at $1.69 trillion, small inconsistencies can multiply. The article recommends aligning policy design, approval logic, and governance to ensure automation delivers consistency and confidence.
Booking Holdings is positioning its AI efforts as a moat against general AI models, with early testing showing lifts in conversion and reduced customer service interactions. CEO Glenn Fogel shared progress on AI initiatives across Priceline's Penny, Booking.com's search and self-service, and Agoda's efficiency. The company reported strong Q1 results, though Middle East conflict impacted growth.
The Finance Leaders' Fraud Report 2026, published by IFOL and sponsored by SAP Concur, reveals only 22% of finance leaders feel well protected, down from 32% last year. Fraud is harder to detect, AI adoption is insufficient, and training is lacking. 62% of organizations experienced fraud losses in the past three years.
CMF Capital, an investor in Booking Holdings, sent a letter to the board criticizing its aggressive share buyback program for increasing financial risk. CMF noted that the company's equity ratio declined from about 39% in 2019 to 11% by end of 2022 and has since turned negative. The investor urges suspending buybacks and using cash flow to reduce debt and rebuild equity. Booking Holdings has not responded.
Expedia Group CFO Scott Schenkel said at Morgan Stanley conference that the company is undergoing a 'radical' transformation, improving efficiency through new performance metrics, AI adoption, and cost cuts. Self-service rate has exceeded 50%, and savings will be reinvested in emerging technologies like AI.
In 2025, Airbnb, Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, and Trip.com Group invested a combined $20 billion in sales and marketing, up year-over-year. Booking and Expedia accounted for over three-quarters. Marketing spend as a percentage of revenue ranged from 21% to 50%, showing continued reliance on paid channels.
Trip.com Group's international OTA platform bookings increased 60% YoY in Q4 2025, serving about 20 million inbound travelers. Full-year net revenue was nearly $9B, up 17%. Inbound travel is a key growth driver, currently 0.5% of China's GDP, with huge potential. AI investments and TripGenie usage surged.
Amex GBT announced the successful refinancing and upsizing of its senior secured term loan facility, reducing the borrowing rate by 50 basis points to SOFR plus 2.00%, and increasing the facility by $100 million to $1.486 billion, maturing in July 2031. This enhances financial flexibility to invest in growth, including AI.
SAP Concur blog post discusses how to measure and maximize ROI from AI investments. It cites the 2024 CFO Insights survey showing 51% of CFOs have embraced AI, up from 15% in August 2023. However, 58% admit limited understanding. Gartner forecasts that by 2025, costs could overshadow returns for 90% of AI projects. The article suggests starting with small wins and considering non-financial impacts.
SAP Concur released a guide for finance leaders on AI return-on-investment, covering AI terminology, AI-powered spend management features and steps to accelerate ROI. The article states companies using its solutions report a 92% audit automation rate and expense report approval times under two days. SAP Concur offers AI-powered solutions including Concur Travel, Concur Expense, ExpenseIt and Concur Invoice, citing data showing AI reduces travel booking time by 19.2% and improves policy compliance by 78%.
SAP Concur published an article discussing balancing accuracy and efficiency in accounts payable. Citing the 2024 SAP Concur CFO Insights Report, 63% of finance leaders plan to invest in automation and cutting-edge tech within the year to overcome AP challenges. The article notes fragmented systems and manual processes are major obstacles, and automation can reduce errors, accelerate approvals, and lower fraud risk. It also states companies using an integrated travel and expense platform see policy compliance increase by 26%, processing efficiency double, and annual cost savings of 21%.
SAP Concur published an article on e-receipts in expense management. Citing a GBTA study, nearly half of all paper receipts get lost or discarded before being recorded. E-receipts streamline reporting, improve accuracy, and reduce administrative burden through digital processes. The article states businesses using Concur Expense report a 32% reduction in approval times and save an average of $54,000 annually on administrative costs. ACFE data shows businesses lose up to 5% of revenue to fraud annually, while T&E spending can account for 10-12% of annual budget.
The SAP Concur Conversations podcast explores how AI is transforming financial functions and elevating the work of financial professionals. Guest Nathanael L'Heureux (Chief Solutions Ambassador at Oversight) notes that AI and machine learning can automate mundane tasks, enhance fraud detection, and work in tandem with human expertise. The podcast discusses how financial professionals can become 'AI champions' in their organizations and what skills will be crucial. The conversation emphasizes that AI is a tool requiring human guidance and suggests finance professionals learn AI tools, choose appropriate technologies, and become thought leaders.
SAP Concur's CFO Insights Series article 'Solving the ROI Puzzle' combines research and finance-leader input on how businesses can measure and maximize AI returns. It says 51% of finance leaders are investing in AI, and measuring ROI requires understanding the challenges of defining returns, using nontraditional performance indicators, and recognizing long-term human benefits. It cites McKinsey's estimate that about 75% of generative AI's total value comes from customer operations, software engineering, R&D, and marketing and sales.
An accounts payable automation trends study sponsored by SAP Concur and conducted by IFOL found 52% of AP professionals now spend fewer than ten hours per week processing invoices, down from 62% a year earlier; manual invoice entry into ERP or accounting systems fell to 60% from 85% in 2023. 64% of respondents cited stress from outdated processes as their biggest hurdle, and 40% pointed to strained vendor relationships. Only 7% currently use AI for spend management, but 40% are considering adoption within the next year.
This SAP Concur blog post introduces four risk management strategies: risk acceptance, risk transference, risk avoidance, and risk reduction. It applies these to business travel and expense management, highlighting the role of technology like AI, data analytics, and mobile apps in risk monitoring and compliance.
SAP Concur released ROI data reported by Concur Expense customers. Customers report a 43% reduction in misplaced receipts, 32% reduction in expense approval time, 50% less time to reimburse expenses, 65% more compliant expense reports and 26% reduction in budget overspending after automating. Customers also say it took only 7 months to pay back the initial investment, with a three-year ROI of 628%. The data comes from an AMI 2022 global study.
SAP Concur released ROI data reported by Concur Invoice customers. Customers report a 60% reduction in missing invoices, 29% reduction in time spent by AP/finance teams capturing invoices, 26% reduction in budget overspending and 11% cost savings through supplier-negotiated rates after automating. Customers also say it took only 7 months to pay back the initial investment, saving an estimated $43,000 annually. The data comes from an AMI 2022 global study.
A SAP Concur blog post cites a 2022 Analysys Mason study finding that nearly half of finance leaders worldwide say fraud and risk management are their biggest challenges, and 44% cannot make informed decisions due to lack of timely financial information. The article highlights that manual expense management is costly, while automated solutions can mitigate fraud and noncompliance risks and improve productivity and profitability. The study estimates a T&E solution saves 13 hours weekly per finance or accounting team member. One customer reports spending 65% less time processing expense reports. 72% of businesses believe digital transformation is key to growth.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that automating accounts payable reduces paper and manual entry, fewer lost invoices and late fees, more early pay discounts, increased efficiency, and a more accurate cash flow view. It cites data: invoice processing time decreased by 82% to 3.1 days per invoice, cost per invoice decreased by 80% to $2.78, and invoice exceptions decreased by 59% to 9%. Another study shows companies with automated AP process 64% more vendor invoices monthly, over 66% of teams reported cost decreases, with average savings of 20%. The article suggests building the case with efficiency and savings data plus a 'what's in it for you' strategy.
The SAP Concur blog addresses accounts payable (AP) professionals, recommending continuous learning, peer networks, and industry events to sharpen skills and influence. It cites a survey of 500 finance and IT leaders at small and midsized firms, with nearly half (47%) saying the pandemic exposed inefficient business processes. It also introduces tools like Spend Impact Analyzer and promotes AP Recognition Week each October.
The SAP Concur blog notes that many corporate travel and expense policies are too vague or outdated, leading to duplicate claims, questionable spending, and occasional fraud, while burdening finance teams. It recommends policies be concise, easy to find, and cover specific scenarios such as reimbursement requirements, who pays when multiple employees are present, and preferred suppliers and booking methods. It also promotes its expense policy template and builder tool.
A SAP Concur blog post, citing Vanson Bourne research, reports that businesses leave 54% of eligible value added tax (VAT/GST/HST) unclaimed, amounting to millions or billions of dollars. It lists five reasons: businesses do not realize VAT can be recovered, regulations keep shifting, expenses are hard to track and validate, organizations lack time and expertise, and technology and processes are outdated. The pandemic added compliance challenges as governments rapidly changed VAT rules and deferred deadlines, then shifted focus toward audits to recover lost revenue. The article recommends modernizing VAT programs with intelligent technology, optimized data, and automated recovery processes…
A SAP Concur blog post describes a global survey of 1,500 finance executives by Oxford Economics and SAP examining what separates leading finance leaders from followers, compiled into the report Effective Spending Management Boosts Performance. The report lists six traits of top finance leaders, including strong influence beyond finance, driving strategic growth, improving efficiency with automation, effectiveness at core finance processes, collaboration with business units and handling regulatory change. The post says 95% of CFOs consider cloud-based applications critically or very important to financial performance.
A SAP Concur blog post cites a 2019 IDC survey of 800+ global executives. The survey found that for most companies, 40% to 45% of revenue goes toward spend; 90% of respondents reported room to improve spend control; 95% said they were likely to invest in intelligent spend management platforms in the next two years; and 60% were already talking with a technology vendor.