Travel and Expense Reimbursement Policy and Guidelines

Revised May 2015

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May 2015

Travel and Expense Reimbursement Policy and Guidelines

Purpose

Autism Speakswill reimburse employees for out of pocket expenses incurred while traveling on company businessor when purchasing goods and services directly related to the performance of their duties and responsibilities when it is not feasible for the vendor to invoice Autism Speaks directly.

As with all purchases made and expenses incurred on behalf of Autism Speaks (AS), employees should:

  • Be able to justify the purchase to any donor, whether the donor contributed $10 or $1 million.
  • View the expenseas if he/she contributed the funds used to make the purchase. In other words, if you made a donation to a charity, would you be pleased if that charity spent your funds in the same manner as you are spending Autism Speaks’ funds.

Please refer to the Expense Reimbursement Form andthe Corporate Credit Card Policy posted on AS Central for additional instructions and guidelines.

Guidelines for Employees Who Travel

Autism Speaks uses Concur Solutions as its exclusive source for booking travel arrangements. All air, hotel and car reservations must be booked through Concur. Please see ASCentral for further instructions on using Concur.

Given Autism Speaks national reach and differences in hotel and restaurant pricing throughout the U.S., Autism Speaks has not established specific per diem allowances. However, travelers should adhere to the following guidelines.

If an employee combines a personal trip with a business trip, personal expenses incurred in connection with the business trip are not reimbursable. Additionally, travel expenses incurred by family members or companions, accompanying AS staff, are not covered by Autism Speaks unless approved in advance by the President or EVP, Finance & Administration.

Lodging

On trips that require an overnight stay, mid-class hotels should be used. Rates should be comparable to Courtyard Marriott, Doubletree Hotel, Hampton Inn,Hilton Garden InnorHoliday Inn. Travelers must usediscretion when selecting room rates. Advance purchase rates, while less expensive, typically require a non-refundable deposit or carry cancelation fees. When there is any uncertainty about travel plans, a standard, cancelable rate is best.

Autism Speaks will cover the base cost of a hotel stay. Room service is permitted in lieu of an evening meal. Autism Speaks will not cover movies, health club fees, gift shop purchases,mini bar items or dry cleaning.

Air Travel

When traveling on AS business, all employees are expected to purchase economy fares. Airline reservations should be made sufficiently in advance to take advantage of reduced fares. Airline preferences (i.e., frequent flier programs) should be disregarded in favor of the lowest fare.

Local/Ground Transportation

You are encouraged to use your own car to drive to and from airports and to select an economical parking option such as off-site parking or an economy lot. Use of a car service requires pre-approval of the EVP, Finance & Administration and must be at reasonable rates.

Mileage Reimbursement

Each mile traveled for company business other than to an AS office is reimbursable at the current rate established by the IRS. If you are home based, you will be reimbursed at the IRS rate for miles traveled beyond fifty (50) miles each way to a local AS office.

Commuting miles to the office you normally work out of should be subtracted from mileage claimed for reimbursement in the event you do not report to the office for that day. In effect, you will only be reimbursed for business miles travelled in excess of your normal commute.

Parking

Parking costs incurred while working at your assigned AS office are not reimbursable. Parking costs incurred while visiting an AS office other than your assigned office, are reimbursable only if you travel more than (50) miles one way to visit that office.

Rental Cars

Autism Speaks has selected Enterprise-Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental to be its corporate providers for rental vehicles. Unless these options are not available in your location, one of these providers should be selected. When renting a vehicle for business purposes, the leaseagreement must be in the name of Autism Speaks, Inc. and you must use the corporate Visa card in order for the vehicle to be covered under Autism Speaks’ automobile insurance. If you do not have a corporate Visa card you must elect to take insurance coverage offered by the car rental company. See Rental Car Guidelines posted on AS Central under Finance / Procedures for enrollment instructions and additional information.

Tips

Tips for taxis, porters, bell hops, waiters, etc. are reimbursable. Maximum acceptable tips are as follows:

  • Taxis and waiters: 15-20% of the bill
  • Porter/bellhop: $1/bag
  • Housekeepers, room services: up to $3/day.

Meals

When traveling overnight, Autism Speaks will pay for breakfast, lunch and dinner during your time away. Lunch charges should be in line with your normallunch expenditure when you are at your home office. Dinner should be at a mid-level restaurant depending on the area (the price in Los Angeles will be different than in Johnstown, PA)and one alcoholic drink per meal is permitted. If breakfast is included in your hotel charge, you are strongly encouraged to have breakfast at the hotel. If you are provided with a meal at the siteyou are visiting or event you are attending, you should have that meal and not dine elsewhere.

Meals (breakfast, lunch or dinner) are not reimbursable,unless you are traveling overnight on company business.

Meals which you cannot have at home because you are working late or traveling early are reimbursable provided you have obtained prior management approval.

The reasonable cost of dinner with volunteers and/or perspective donors is reimbursable if the purpose is business related.

Lunch attended by employees to discuss Autism Speaks issues is reimbursable only if the lunch is also attended by a volunteer, donor or AS vendor.

Guidelines for Non-Staff Travel

Non-stafftravelers who service or benefit Autism Speaks, Inc. mayqualify for payment of reasonable and necessary travel expenses incurred in connection with their duties. Autism Speaks maintains a Business Travel Account(BTAcredit card) for this purpose.

Billing to the BTA card spares the traveler of submitting for reimbursement of transportation and lodging expenses. From an accounting perspective, use of the BTA is the preferred method of payment for non-staff travel. In order to bill expenses to the BTA card however, the following conditions must be met:

The traveler must be a non-employee (i.e., guest, speaker, honoree or employment candidate).

The travel must be pre-authorized and budgeted by an Autism Speaks host department.

The host department must submit a Non-Staff Travel Authorization Form on behalf of the traveler/sto the office of the EVP, Finance & Administration, at least 3 weeks prior to the travel date.

The travel arrangements must follow the same guiding principles as the Autism Speaks Employee Travel Policy.

Non-staff travel expenses that fail to meet these requirements cannot be billed to the BTA card, must be paid for by the traveler, and will need to be submitted for reimbursement using the Non-Staff Reimbursement Form.

Non-Travel Expenses

Generally, all non-travel relatedpurchases should be invoiced and paid through Accounts Payable. However, given timing and other circumstances, generally in Field Operations, obtaining payment through Accounts Payable is not always feasible. As with all purchases, employees requesting reimbursement for non-travel related items should obtain two price quotes, must obtain a receipt and must account for the item.

Communication charges and equipment

Cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDA’s) are provided so that employees can effectively manage their work demands and be responsive to co-workers and volunteers when out of the office for AS business.

You will not be reimbursed for usage on your personal cell phone or PDA if you have been approved for an AS communications device.

The phone numbers for AS cell phones and PDA’s are AS numbers. You can not transfer your personal device phone number to an AS issued device. AS-issued devices are not issued to replace your personal devices. Your personal device should be kept for personal use.

Long distance calls on your personal home phone will be reimbursed only if you do not have an Autism Speaks issued cell phone. Personal home phone services and fees are not reimbursable, even if you are home-based.

There is no reimbursement for home cable, DSL, or internet connections, even if you are home-based.

Non-Reimbursable Expenses

The following additional expenses are notreimbursable (list is not all- inclusive):

  • Personal items of any kind.
  • Commuting costs and mileage to the AS office you normally work out of.
  • Gasoline for personal vehicles. (Only gasoline for rental cars can be charged on the corporate credit card).
  • Personal vehicle maintenance of any kind.
  • Fees for fines and tickets for any personal violation even when traveling for AS business
  • Any automatic, recurring, monthly or replenishment charges, such as toll authorities, utilities, phone services, internet services, etc.
  • Travel in first class or business class.
  • Gifts, flowers or acknowledgements of any kind to employees, such as gifts for holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, babies, Administrative Assistant’s Day, illness, etc.
  • Additional expenses incurred by family or companions accompanying AS staff on business travel.

Waivers/Exemptions

There may be certain events or occasions where portions of these guidelines may be waived for valid business reasons. In such events, prior approval by the President or EVP, Finance & Administration is necessary for any significant expenditure.

Expense Reporting

All expenses, including out-of-pocket and charges incurred by corporate credit cardholders must be reported through our Concur Expense system. See ASCentral for additional information on Concur Expense.

Original receipts must be submitted showing complete itemization of purchases. A "signature only" receipt is not acceptable. The IRS has established very specific regulations as to the nature and amount of documentation necessary to substantiate business expenses. Failure on the company’s part to comply with these regulations could result in the disallowance of substantial income tax deductions. Accordingly, AS has adopted the same substantial requirements as those mandated by the IRS. Examples include vendor invoices, store receipts, detailed meal receipts, detailed lodging bills, etc.

  • For meals attended by others, it is mandatory to include and itemize the individuals involved and the business function (IRS Regulations). “Client Lunch” is not an acceptable description.
  • Hotel bills should be itemized, breaking out lodging charges, telephone, meals, etc.

All expense reports must be approved by your manager through the Concur Expense system. The Manager approving the report must:

-verify the accuracy of the Report;

-check that all expenditures are in accordance with AS policy; and

-check that all receipts are attached documenting all charges.

Expense reports must be submitted within 15 days of incurring the expense. Expense reports submitted greater than 120 days after the expense is incurred will not be processed for reimbursement.

Failure to comply with the organization’s documentation policies may result in the disallowance of your expense.

Questions

Should you have any questions, please contact:

  • Marie Cavallo, Controller, 609-228-7352 or