For those continuing their medical education, going out of the classroom, office or hospital because of training or seminar seemed common. However, as the representative of the company, you cannot simply spend the allocated budget in any way you want. On the other hand, the organization must also provide policies so that this program will not be abused. In some cases, they allow reimbursements for all of the expenses incurred by the person sent to the program. The question is what items should be reimbursed? Are all of the expenses can be considered legit and was used for the sole purpose of the program? This infographic provides key ideas on how you can manage travel related expenses.
1. Everyone must be guided in spending the funds by establishing a sensible expense policy. This policy should be properly documented and communicated to all members of the organization so that they will be aware that such limitations exist for this program. It should list down the items that are included in the reimbursements, the amount that can be reimbursed, and approved usage of the fund. Perhaps, the expenditure of a third party chaperone must not be included in the reimbursement.
2. Because of technology, there are now many ways that you can cut costs whenever you are travelling. Accommodations can be very expensive if you are just a walk in visitor in a hotel nearby the venue of the event. But, if you use tools such as Triplink, you might be able to find a nice place to stay but at an affordable rate. Sometimes, booking sites have promotional offers that will allow you to save a lot.
3. How will the representative know that you still have the budget for CME programs? Send out budget balances showing the amounts that have been used by the department. Knowing how the budget can easily be depleted, the person being sent for the program will be conscious of his or her expenses. Hence, reimbursements will be at a minimal level.
4. An important aspect of effective budgeting is evaluation through an audit. Prior to setting up the budget, you must have an Audit Plan and this must be communicated to everyone involved in this program. An audit plan ensures that budget allocations are being followed. It can also provide crucial information on whether the budget is cost efficient or be too low that nobody would want to go for such a program. Also, it will allow you to create improvement plans so that you can cut the budget without sacrificing comfort in a travel.
5. You must also maintain your visibility even when the bookings were made outside of your own CME travel System especially that most of the time, the attendees tend to book in the event’s hotel website.
6. The report should be easy to fill up because training providers are also busy people. Expense reports and receipts must be done immediately to avoid the lag time when processing the paperwork.
7. Don’t depend too much on online conferences because there are more advantages when you attend an actual conference.
source: https://cme4life.com/uncategorized/cme-travel-and-expense-management-tips-infographic/
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