If your CFO, or another leader, asked this question, can you provide the answer? Do you know how many internal and external meeting planning professionals were involved in planning meetings and events? Do you know how many executive assistants, marketing or human resource associates planned meetings? Do you know how many small and large meetings were held globally across all business units? Can you answer any of these questions within a matter of an hour?
On September 17, five insurance companies will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Domestic Policy Subcommittee to explain their business model, expenses and insurance coverage. Representative Henry Waxman sent a letter last month to 52 health insurance companies and asked the chief executives for detailed data on all "conferences, retreats or other events" held since 2007, in addition to compensation and revenue information for the years 2003 through 2008.
According to Mary Ann McNulty, content director at ProMedia.travel LLC, the committee asked for "a table listing all conferences, retreats or other events held outside company facilities from Jan. 1, 2007, to the present that were paid for, reimbursed or subsidized in whole or in part by your company, as well as the purpose of such events and documents sufficient to show the location, number of participants and all expenses incurred, including transportation, lodging, food, entertainment or gifts."
Government rights and protocol aside, all organizations, companies, governments, and non-profits should be able to produce an accounting of spend for their owners, stockholders, constituents or donors. Meetings and events are necessities to build relationships, improve skills, incentivize behaviors, and sell products and services. Yet, few organizations oversee the spend, resources and risks of meetings and events.
As I told Mary Ann last week, companies that have a comprehensive strategic meetings management program (SMMP)* in place may be able to meet the data requirements of the committee. Meeting management technology is the enabler of the SMMP components and has the ability to capture all of the meeting data requirements. In addition, a mandated policy is required across all business units for small and large meetings.
My advice: Do not wait for a government inquiry, an internal audit, or the CFO to come knocking at your door. Instead, conduct a meeting and event spend analysis of all accounts payable, Procurement-card and travel and expense corporate cards NOW.
1. Find the meeting, event and group travel spend;
2. Update the T&E and Meeting/Event Policy; and
3. Create and implement a strategy, process and technology to capture all meeting and event spend
A global meeting spend analysis can be completed within days. Be prepared to answer the questions above at any time, for any leader. Contact me for help with your spend analysis, the meeting strategy, process or technology requirements.
http://www.management.travel/news.php?cid=meetings-health-insurance-probe.Sep-09.10
http://domesticpolicy.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2581
*SMMP Components include a meeting and event strategy, policy, registration/tracking of the meeting/event, approvals, procurement/sourcing, planning/execution, payment/expense reconciliation, data analysis/reporting and a meeting management technology as defined by the National Business Travel Association.
Debi Scholar, GLP, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT
Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation, T&E policy, plus more...
Debi has the following designations:
· Wharton Aresty Executive Education/National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Global Leadership Professional (GLP)
· Meeting Professionals International Certificate in Meetings Management (CMM)
· Convention Industry Council Certified Meeting Professional (CMP)
· NBTA Corporate Travel Expert (CTE)
· Six Sigma Green Belt
· Chauncey Certified Technical Trainer (CTT)
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