Enterprise expense management encompasses policies and processes that control, track, and optimize employee and operational spending, including travel, reimbursements, credit card transactions, discretionary purchases, and incidental costs. Large organizations face complexities such as multiple regions, currencies, decentralized spending, high transaction volumes, and stricter audit and regulatory requirements that necessitate real-time oversight. Travel and entertainment are a significant indirect expense, second only to payroll for many companies. Modernizing expense management through automation, clear policies, centralized visibility, and specialized tools converts expense management from a reactive task into a proactive lever for cost control, compliance, and improved financial performance.
For finance teams at large companies, managing expenses involves more than approving reimbursements. Expense management includes controlling costs, ensuring compliance, and maintaining financial visibility at scale across teams and spending categories. Travel and entertainment alone represent the second-largest indirect expense for most companies after payroll, according to Mastercard, making expense management a critical business function. Enterprises face challenges that make traditional expense processes inadequate.
Growing expense volumes, decentralized spending driven by distributed teams, and increasing scrutiny over costs require updated approaches. As a result, modernizing expense management automation should be a strategic priority rather than an operational afterthought. Brex covers the importance of enterprise expense management, common challenges, proven best practices, essential tools, and emerging trends. Read on to learn how to improve your expense management processes, implement expense policies, and use technology to transform expense management from a reactive task into a proactive tool for better financial performance.
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