Carnegie Mellon University

Employee Reimbursement Audit Approach

Expense Incurrer/Preparer

Responsible for adhering to the BTE policy.

Approver

Responsible for approving expense reports for payment and ensuring that the BTE policy is followed. 

ER Audit Approach

After the close of each month, the Expense Reimbursement Audit function (ER Audit) obtains a data file of all employee expense reports paid during the prior month for all sets of books. ER Audit performs data analysis to apply the designated risk-based auditing approach to identify the sample of expense reports to be audited for the month.

Audit findings examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Inadequate business purposes/justifications
  • Inadequate or missing receipt documentation/support
  • Incorrect per diem calculations
  • Missing Designated Departmental Finance Representative (DDFR) approvals for upgrades
  • Expenses that appear to be personal in nature

Employee Expenses Submitted After 90 days

ER Audit obtains a monthly Oracle report to identify and evaluate expenses submitted for reimbursement after 90 days. ER Audit performs a date comparison between the expense report date and the last submission date for each expense report. Based on this comparison, all expenses that are deemed over the 90 day date comparison will be identified as taxable compensation to the employee. Notifications will be sent to individuals whose reimbursement will be considered taxable compensation, with copies going to the ER preparer, ER approver, and respective ALG member. The employee's next paycheck will show earnings (labeled LATE ER TXBL) in the amount of the reimbursement and any required taxes will be withheld.