IEEE Expense Reporting and Reimbursement
Excerpt from IEEE Finance Operations Manual
V2
FOM.6 – BUSINESS EXPENSE REPORTING
Travel Policy and Funds. It is IEEE policy to provide for, or reimburse, reasonable, authorized travel expenses incurred in connection with the conduct of IEEE business. All persons traveling on IEEEbusiness for whom IEEE pays or reimburses transportation expenses shall travel economically by booking economy class flights well in advance and shopping for low-cost business class train fares and low-cost rental car rates. Guidelines and procedures for reimbursement, required receipts and related limitations, beyond those described in this policy, shall be specified in the IEEE Finance Operations Manual.
Airfare.
All persons traveling on IEEE business who are seeking reimbursement for airfare or for which airfare is provided for them by IEEE, shall book only the most economical airfare, i.e., non-refundable, economy-class, coach-fare tickets;
Business class fares shall be permitted only
(i) when the flying time is over eight consecutive hours for a single segment or over eight hours flying time where a layover is required,
(ii) when it is budgeted by the organizational unit,
(iii) with permission of the major organizational unit Vice President (for AES, this is the VP, TAB)
Permission to travel business class for medical reasons may be granted by the IEEE President. (IEEE Policies, Section 11.6)
Receipts
Receipts must be submitted for any single expenditure in excess of US$25.00. Original, photocopied or electronic receipts are acceptable.
Foreign Currency
1. Expense reports should be submitted in only one currency. If varying currencies are used, a report must be submitted per currency.
2. The "Currency Conversion Rate" value should indicate the currency exchange rate to the US dollar (ex. 101.2 Yen = $1.00). This would then calculate the total expenses shown in Yen to the equivalent amount in US dollars. For expense reports completed in US dollars, 1.00 should be entered in this field.
Official Guest
IRS guidelines define official guests as "related to the business being conducted".
Approval Process
Travel-related business expense reports, with accompanying receipts, should be submitted to authorized individuals.
For AES, all expense reports with receipts are to be submitted to
Bob Rassa, AES Treasurer
2260 Engle Rd
Fallston, MD 21047
310-985-4962
Clarifications and additional explanations
1.Please Book flights well in advance, using round-trip economy non-refundable fares
2.Business class travel is never allowed for AES as we never budget for such
3.Reimbursement for meeting attendance lodging is for night prior to meeting, and night of last day of meeting if meeting ends too late for reasonable return flight on that day
4.IEEE does not reimburse for conference attendance, even if traveler is an official rep to the conference. Being a conference rep means a rep to the conferences board and reimbursement will be made to attend the conference board meeting but not the conference itself.
5.If private vehicle is used for travel in lieu of plane or train, mileage cost may not exceed the cost of lowest-cost airfare, although airport parking and mileage to/from airport may be used in the calculation of cost justification.
6.All travel must be approved in advance by the appropriate officer, such as Society President, or for example, the Vice-President, Education for such things as distinguished lecture travel.
7.Please be sure to include the address to which check is to be sent in the upper left portion of the expense report, OR the bank info if you are non-US and requesting reimbursement via bank transfer. Numerous people handle expense reimbursements and putting this information in an email tends to cause it to get lost.
Disruptive Weather
In the event that disruptive weather is forecast for your area or the area to which you expect to travel it is best to cancel your trip if you might be stranded. Airlines will provide a credit for the trip and charge a rebooking fee, and IEEE-AES will rather pay the rebooking fee for a future trip than substantial additional cost for you to stay additional days at your destination because of canceled flights.