Reducing Electrovision's Travel and Entertainment Costs
REDUCING ELECTROVISION 'S TRAVEL
AND ENTERTAINMENT COSTS
Prepared for
Dennis McWilliams,
Vice President of Operations
Electrovision, Inc.
Prepared by
Linda Moreno, Manager
Cost Accounting Services
Electrovision, Inc.
May 15, 2013
MEMORANDUM
TO: Dennis McWilliams, Vice President of Operations
FROM: Linda Moreno, Manager of Cost Accounting Services
DATE: February 15, 2000
SUBJECT: Reducing Electrovision 's Travel and Entertainment Costs
Here is the report you requested January 30 on Electrovision 's travel and entertainment costs.
Your suspicion was right. We are spending far too much on business travel. Our unwritten policy has been "anything goes," leaving us with no real control over T&E expenses. Although this hands-off approach may have been understandable when Electrovision 's profits were high, we can no longer afford the luxury of going first class.
The solutions to the problem seem rather clear. We need to have someone with centralized responsibility for travel and entertainment costs, a clear statement of policy, an effective control system, and a business-oriented travel service that can optimize our travel arrangements. We should also investigate alternatives to travel, such as videoconferencing. Perhaps more important, we need to change our attitude. Instead of viewing travel funds as a bottomless supply of money, all traveling employees need to act as though they were paying the bills themselves.
Getting people to economize is not going to be easy. In the course of researching this issue, I 've found that our employees are exceedingly attached to their first-class travel privileges. I think they would almost prefer a cut in pay to a loss in travel moderation. One thing is clear: People will be very bitter if we create a two-class system in which top executives get special privileges while the rest of the employees make the sacrifices.
I 'm grateful to Mary Lehman and Connie McIlvain for their help in collecting and
AND ENTERTAINMENT COSTS
Prepared for
Dennis McWilliams,
Vice President of Operations
Electrovision, Inc.
Prepared by
Linda Moreno, Manager
Cost Accounting Services
Electrovision, Inc.
May 15, 2013
MEMORANDUM
TO: Dennis McWilliams, Vice President of Operations
FROM: Linda Moreno, Manager of Cost Accounting Services
DATE: February 15, 2000
SUBJECT: Reducing Electrovision 's Travel and Entertainment Costs
Here is the report you requested January 30 on Electrovision 's travel and entertainment costs.
Your suspicion was right. We are spending far too much on business travel. Our unwritten policy has been "anything goes," leaving us with no real control over T&E expenses. Although this hands-off approach may have been understandable when Electrovision 's profits were high, we can no longer afford the luxury of going first class.
The solutions to the problem seem rather clear. We need to have someone with centralized responsibility for travel and entertainment costs, a clear statement of policy, an effective control system, and a business-oriented travel service that can optimize our travel arrangements. We should also investigate alternatives to travel, such as videoconferencing. Perhaps more important, we need to change our attitude. Instead of viewing travel funds as a bottomless supply of money, all traveling employees need to act as though they were paying the bills themselves.
Getting people to economize is not going to be easy. In the course of researching this issue, I 've found that our employees are exceedingly attached to their first-class travel privileges. I think they would almost prefer a cut in pay to a loss in travel moderation. One thing is clear: People will be very bitter if we create a two-class system in which top executives get special privileges while the rest of the employees make the sacrifices.
I 'm grateful to Mary Lehman and Connie McIlvain for their help in collecting and
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