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With corporate travel and face-to-face interactions seeing a slight increase, businesses are using AI to ensure that their workers aren’t pushing the boundaries on business expenses.
As the reinforced shift back to face-to-face interactions grows throughout the Australian workplace, organisations are investing in corporate travel and expenses to renew that in-person engagement – boosting the need for better expense compliance measures.
According to SAP Concur, it’s crucial that organisations maintain tight controls through automated compliance to prevent a return to pre-pandemic cost inefficiencies – opening the door for AI-integrated tools.
Data from SAP Concur shows a 14 per cent increase in total expense transactions across ANZ between 2023 and 2024. The growth occurred through client-facing and mobility-related categories, including meals (19 per cent), mileage (21 per cent), and ground transport (13 per cent).
“Businesses have expanded their activities in a measured way, without reverting to unchecked travel,” said Jonathan Beeby, managing director at SAP Concur Australia and New Zealand.
“The data reveals thoughtful investment into client interaction, travel, and mobility, with a much higher level of financial oversight. Companies are using this data to inform their decisions, and it shows how stable the cost profile has remained.”
In terms of the exact cost increases, lodging expenses moved up slightly from $208 to $212, while air travel rose from $388 to $405. Other categories had minimal movement or slight declines, with meals dipping from $47 to $46, office supplies from $133 to $132, and parking from $40 to $39.
Beeby touched on the importance of compliance and how it continues to be a top organisational priority. The data estimates that 15 to 20 per cent of expense reports include non-compliant spend, often stemming from errors such as unitemised receipts or duplicate claims.
Beeby claims that this is where AI-powered auditing platforms are being introduced to identify these non-compliant expenses and behaviours from employees to not only ensure compliance but also to limit the administrative burden these become.
“Company leaders are supporting employees who travel more frequently or work from various locations; however, every transaction must align with policy and remain fully traceable. That’s only possible through an automated system that works at scale, without adding friction to the employee experience,” said Beeby.
With AI overwatching these transactions, these systems conducted over 80 million automated compliance checks each month back in 2024.
“This data isn’t just about spend patterns. It reflects how organisations are reshaping their business models around travel, employee mobility, and operational transparency. Decisions are being made with more confidence because the data helps leaders anticipate outcomes, not react to them,” said Beeby.
“As 2025 progresses, the focus for many companies has shifted from recovery to long-term optimisation. Expense data remains a vital source of visibility into how workforces operate, where costs accumulate, and which investments support growth. The organisations best equipped for what comes next are those that have already embedded control, visibility, and flexibility into their expense management systems.”
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
