e-Reimbursement

Traveler Accountability, Responsibility, and Compliance

Description

The e-Reimbursement System is intended to provide timely reimbursement for business related expenses for employees and non-employees as allowed by Wisconsin Statutes. All expenses must comply with extramural funding agency restrictions and the guidelines found at http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/acct/TEWeb/index.html.

It is the responsibility of the traveler to be knowledgeable of the travel rules and regulations and documentation requirements. The traveler has sole responsibility for insuring the travel expenses are actual, reasonable, and personally incurred in performance of their official duties. The traveler must also verify that no portion of this claim was provided free of charge, covered by a registration fee, previously reimbursed from any other source, or will be paid from any other source in the future.

Acknowledgement and Statement of Accountability

Example of Acknowledgement and Statement of Accountability screen from e‑Reimbursement:

Acknowledgement and Statement of Accountability

Policy

Travelers are responsible for knowing travel policy and procedures prior to making travel arrangements and commencing any trip.

Travelers are responsible for knowing departmental procedures and obtaining necessary prior authorization if required.

To assure timely reimbursement of expenses, e-Reimbursement requests need to be submitted and approved in a timely manner. The e-Reimbursement system has built-in edits and warning/error messages to assist in identifying areas warranting review of the documentation to make sure it is complete and policies are being followed.  Missing documentation and/or policy issues need to be addressed to obtain timely reimbursement.  After an expense report has been prepared and electronically submitted, required receipts must be received and acted on by the approver.

Periodic post payment audits will be conducted by the Dean’s Office and/or Accounting Services e-Reimbursement staff.  If documentation is lacking or a policy issue is discovered, the approver will be contacted for the receipts and the employee may be needed to correct/address the situation.  If the traveler does not respond, action will be taken by the Dean's Office which may involve contacting Accounting Services for further review and action.  This escalation process for abuses and serious offenses can involve discipline up to and including termination or legal action in extreme cases.

The following topics are described in greater detail to highlight the expectations. If the traveler has any questions, he/she should talk to his/her Approver or their Dean’s/Director’s Office.

  1. Adequate supporting documentation
  2. Timely filing of expense reports
  3. Timely accounting for cash advances
  4. Employee claims submitted  by someone other than the employee traveler
  5. Identification and resolution of questionable claims for reimbursement
  6. Repeated submission of requests for non-travel expenditure reimbursement
  7. Post payment audit findings

1. Adequate Supporting Documentation
The timely submission of adequate supporting documentation including receipts for expenses over $25.00 is essential for timely reimbursement.   Inadequate supporting documentation causes denial of the submission, or, if discovered in a post audit, may require reimbursement to the University. (back)

2. Timely Filing of Expense Reports
Expense reports that do not involve a cash advance should be submitted within 60 days of the completion of the trip. Extenuating circumstances that preclude submitting a reimbursement requested include large group travel, complex foreign travel, and multiple, closely timed trips. All extenuating circumstances must be explained on the Expense Report by the traveler. (back)

3. Timely Accounting for Cash Advances
Cash Advances must be accounted for within 30 days of completion of the related trip. Only Auditors may waive the 30 day repay requirement under extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances include large group travel, complex foreign travel, multiple, and closely timed trips. All extenuating circumstances must be explained on the Expense Report by the traveler. (back)

4. Employee claim submitted by someone other than the employee traveler
Although the e-Reimbursement system is designed to be self-service, the employee traveler is responsible for submitting his/her claim even when prepared by an alternate. When an alternate prepares the claim on the employee's behalf, the employee traveler MUST logon to e-Reimbursement and submit their claim for processing. The employee traveler is responsible for submitting a truthful and accurate claim. Any employee traveler giving his/her NETID and password to an alternate who submits an expense reimbursement claim is in violation of University policy and will be referred for appropriate disciplinary and/or legal action. (back)

5. Identification and resolution of questionable claims for reimbursement
Approvers and auditors are expected to identify circumstances that need further documentation and explanation by the traveler. These circumstances include: expenses that may not be reimbursable; allocation of expenses between personal and business use; variations from approved itinerary and business purpose of the trip; and patterns that indicate abuse. In most circumstances, these are resolved by the traveler providing additional explanation and/or documentation. If however, the explanations and/or documentation are insufficient to the approver or auditor, they must notify the Dean or Director's office and discuss the facts and determine if there are any policy or trip approval misunderstandings. (back)

Action will be taken whenever it is suspected an individual is falsifying records or filing a fraudulent claim.  If, after the actions above do not resolve the issues, the University procedures for reporting a potential misappropriation of assets, found at http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/howto/admin/allegation of misappropriation.html will be initiated by the Dean or Director’s office. The Dean or Director’s office should not commence an investigation of the allegations. 

Any unauthorized reimbursement is considered to be recoverable as debt to the University. Intentionally falsifying documentation or filing a fraudulent claim is illegal and may be punishable by discipline and/or legal action. (back)

6. Repeated submission of requests for non-travel expenditure reimbursement
The Materials Distribution Services (MDS) and the Purchasing Card are intended to be used to purchase low-dollar non-travel supplies. These methods are intended to provide supplies at the lowest cost; avoid sales tax, and not place employees in vulnerable situations. If a Traveler repeatedly uses the e-Reimbursement system for non-travel expenditure reimbursement, the approver and auditor will notify the individual of the preferred methods of obtaining supplies. If the practice continues, the Dean’s Office and Accounting Services will be notified for problem escalation. (back)

7. Post payment audit findings
Reimbursements made in error must be promptly reimbursed to the UW or may be withheld from the employees next available expense reimbursement or payroll check. (back)


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