Travel Basics and Beyond Karissa Alonzo, Thomas Macutek, & - PDF document

10/17/2019 Travel Basics and Beyond Karissa Alonzo, Thomas Macutek, & Christopher Murphy 1 1 Welcome! 2 Agenda • General Travel Guidelines and Rules • SFS Improvements • Activity • Audit Observations • Reminders and Best Practices • Agency Submitted Questions 3 1

10/17/2019 Determining Travel Status • Must be 35 miles away from both home AND Official Station • Official Station: – Usual work location – Determined by Agency management – In the best interest of the State – Cannot be reimbursed for travel between home and Official Station (i.e., commuting mileage) OSC Travel Manual page 3 4 Travel in Proximity of Home or Official Station • Reimbursement for transportation allowed between: – Home and an alternate work location – Official Station and an alternate work location – Alternate work locations • Lesser of Mileage Rule – Reimbursement using the lesser of the: • Mileage between the employee’s home and the alternate work location, or • Mileage between the employee’s Official Station and the alternate work location OSC Travel Manual page 4 5 Proximity Travel Example 35 Mile Radius 35 Mile Radius Alt 1 15 miles 10 miles Alt 2 13 miles Home Official Station 6 2

10/17/2019 Proximity Travel Example 35 Mile Radius 35 Mile Radius Alt 1 15 25 miles 15 miles Home Official Station *Lesser of mileage rule applies here 7 Proximity Travel Example 35 Mile Radius 35 Mile Radius Alt 2 Alt 1 20 miles 15 miles Alt 3 5 miles 30 miles 10 10 miles Home Official Station *Lesser of mileage rule applies here 8 Travel Example Travel Status 35 Mile Radius Alt 2 35 Mile Radius 15 miles 10 miles Alt 1 Alt 3 5 miles 10 miles Home Official Station 9 3

10/17/2019 Per Diems • General Rules – Rates are based on city or county where lodging is obtained • Lodging rates are based on the month traveled and physical location – Overnight per diems follow the order: • Dinner – Lodging – Breakfast – Extra meals • Breakfast – 1 hour before employee’s normal start time • Dinner – 2 hours after employee’s normal end time – When meals and/or lodging are provided as a part of a conference or event, additional reimbursement is not permitted. • Meals include those specifically identified as breakfast or dinner OSC Travel Manual pages 4‐5, 7 GSA – Per Diem Rates 10 Per Diems • Overnight Travel – Method 1 (Unreceipted Method) – Flat rate for meals, lodging, and incidentals – Receipts required only for Travel Card charges – Extra meals are $5 for breakfast and $12 for dinner (if entitled) • Overnight Travel – Method 2 (Receipted Method) – Reimbursement of actual lodging costs and an allowance for meals based on federal reimbursement rates – Receipts required for lodging and any Travel Card charges – Extra breakfast is 20% of the meal per diem – Extra dinner is 80% of the meal per diem OSC Travel Manual pages 4‐5 GFO Section XIII.4.D 11 Per Diems • Day Trips – Breakfast – 1 hour before employee’s normal start time – Dinner – 2 hours after employee’s normal end time – Without receipts • $5 breakfast • $12 dinner – With receipts • Breakfast is up to 20% of the meal per diem • Dinner is up to 80% of the meal per diem • Per diem is based off of the destination location OSC Travel Manual page 6 12 4

10/17/2019 Miscellaneous Expenses • Only actual, reasonable, and necessary business‐ related expenses will be reimbursed – Reimbursable – business related expenses such as: • Telephone calls • Internet connection fees • Baggage transfer and storage expenses • Supplies and materials – Nonreimbursable – non‐business related expenses such as: • Speeding fines • Parking tickets • Laundry • Entertainment (e.g., theater tickets, in‐room movies) • Other personal charges OSC Travel Manual pages 6‐7 13 Transportation Expenses • Should be the most efficient and cost effective method of transportation available – Factors to consider: • Distance traveled • Travel time • Number of travelers • Number of locations to be visited • Type of transportation available • Employee overtime considerations – Documented Agency Exemptions OSC Travel Manual pages 8‐9 14 Transportation Expenses • Current Mileage Rates – Use of personal vehicle – $0.58 – Use of personal vehicle when a pool State vehicle is available – $0.20 – Use of personal motorcycle – $0.55 • E‐ZPass / Plate Pass – Plate Pass is acceptable in the New York metropolitan area – If the rental vehicle does not have an E‐ZPass and a bill is sent separate, refer to the original Expense Report when reconciling charges • Amtrak – No open‐ended single tickets anymore – If travel plans change, tickets must be altered PRIOR to the departure of the original train (via the mobile app, website, ticket counter, phone, or travel agent) GFO Section XIII.4.C GSA – Mileage Rates OGS Amtrak Rates and Rules 15 5

10/17/2019 Transportation Expenses Mileage Allowance Rates Include: Operational Costs • Gasoline • Anti‐freeze • Oil • Towing • Accessories • Insurance • Repairs • Other Expenditures • Depreciation OSC Travel Manual pages 8‐9 16 Taxable Travel Occur when: – Meal per diem amounts are paid in excess of the rates allowed by the federal government – Meal allowances are paid for non‐overnight travel or day trips – Mileage reimbursements are in excess of the maximum federal rate GFO Sections XIII.6 and XIII.9 17 Miscellaneous Items • Record Retention – Agencies are required to retain documentation for six years • Online agencies must use the attachment feature in the SFS • Bulkload agencies must retain documentation centrally and make this documentation available to OSC auditors upon request – Agencies should ensure their record retention program is conducive to internal needs, laws, and regulations • Banned Travel – Mississippi and North Carolina GFO Section XIII.3 Executive Order No. 155 and 156 18 6

10/17/2019 SFS Improvements • New Layout – Personalized Homepage – Discussion Feature • Due State Changes – Due State balances can now be satisfied through the Travel and Expense module • Outstanding Due State balances are systemically generated when a negative expense report is processed • Due State balances appear in the traveler’s wallet as a “Due State Offset” • Traveler can apply a Due State balance to future expense reports, which reduces the amount owed to the traveler by the amount of the Due State offset 19 SFS Improvements Due State Example A non‐reimbursable expense was charged on the travel card in the amount of $50. All other Travel Card charges for the travel event were appropriate and the traveler did not have any per diem or mileage claims. Once the expense report has been submitted and approved at all levels, a “Due State Offset” line of $50 will be generated in the wallet. In the next expense report that the traveler is being reimbursed, the traveler must import the “Due State Offset” charge from the wallet into the expense report. 20 SFS Improvements Due State Example Scenario 1: If the amount to be reimbursed on the current expense report is less than the “Due State Offset” amount, the expense report will be processed with no reimbursement (zero dollar expense report) and the remaining balance of the “Due State Offset” will be generated in the wallet. Scenario 2: If the amount to be reimbursed on the current expense report exceeds the amount of the “Due State Offset” amount, the expense report will be processed with a reimbursement to the traveler and the “Due State Offset” will be satisfied with no remaining balance in the wallet. 21 7

10/17/2019 Test Your Knowledge 22 Audit Observations • Unreconciled Travel Card transactions • Duplicate reimbursements • Mileage and fuel charges being claimed for personal vehicle use • Missing or incorrect travel dates • Incorrect mileage claimed or incomplete addresses • Incorrect per diems • Missing or incomplete justifications for exceeding per diems • Incorrect expense types selected • Incorrect or no documentation attached • Per diems not allowed for day trips because travel times don’t coincide 23 Reminders and Best Practices • Know the State’s travel rules and regulations – Ensure the most economical method of travel is used and charges are in the best interest of the State • Obtain and include prior approvals, if required – E.g., justification for exceeding per diems • Periodically review employees’ Official Stations – Understand potential taxable consequences • Submit Expense Reports and reconcile Travel Card charges within 30 days 24 8

10/17/2019 Reminders and Best Practices • Ensure the following: – Mandatory header fields are accurate – Expense line dates are within travel event start and end dates, as applicable – Day/Extra meals correspond with employees’ work schedules • Entering normal working hours is encouraged – Prior approvals are documented and attached – ALL receipts are attached (or the “no receipt” button in SFS is checked and a reason is provided) – Certain Travel Card charges are offset against reimbursements (e.g., fuel charges where employees claim mileage) – Rejected expense reports are corrected before being resubmitted 25 Final Notes • Travel expenses should be: – ACTUAL – REASONABLE – NECESSARY and – BEST INTEREST OF THE STATE • Agency Discretion 26 Questions 27 9