Workers face scrutiny as employers look to reduce costs

Growing numbers of organisations are scrutinising the behaviour and productivity of their employees, poring over employee timesheets, purchasing decisions and expense claims, as a result of the economic situation. This is according to research published by IRIS Accounting & Business Solutions.

Over two thirds of organisations (69%) have looked to put in place a more stringent enforcement of their staff expenses policy in response to current economic challenges.  This follows estimates that almost a quarter of expenses paid by companies to their employees during the recession were for fraudulent or ‘out-of-policy’ claims.[1]

Over half or organisations (53%) are also scrutinising timesheets in more detail to achieve greater insight in to how individual members of staff are spending their time, whilst almost nine out of ten businesses (87%) are implementing much tighter controls over purchasing procedures.

Paul Sparkes, Product Director, IRIS Accounting & Business Solutions, said: “Most organisations have already been through a sustained period of operational cost cutting but many are still under immense pressure to look for further savings in order to cope with economic challenges. By getting an accurate picture of purchasing and exactly where staff are spending their time, managers can better understand their business and make more informed, strategic decisions.”

The survey of over 150 financial professionals from UK businesses also found that most do not feel that the Coalition Government is doing enough to stimulate entrepreneurship and small business growth in order to create jobs. Over half (55%) believe that the Government needs to do more in this area. However, on a more positive note, 57% of respondents do feel that if the Government provides the right conditions for growth, then the private sector can provide the additional jobs needed to make up for widescale redundancies in the public sector.

[1] ‘Global Employee Expenses Benchmark Report 2010’, Aspire Management Services, April 2010