Chief financial officers are being urged to modernise controls around business travel after a global survey found that AI tools are already embedded in the ways employees plan and expense trips — often without employer approval. The rapid spread of so‑called "shadow AI" threatens expense integrity, data security and corporate governance, according to travel industry executives and CFOs polled.
Survey shows AI use is widespread — and often unapproved
A study commissioned by SAP Concur and carried out by Wakefield Research in April canvassed more than 4,800 professionals across 21 markets, including 3,300 business travellers, 800 travel managers and 700 CFOs. It found that around three‑quarters of business travellers use AI tools to help co‑ordinate their trips, and 72% said they would use, or have already used, an AI application that was not sanctioned by their employer to plan or book travel.
| Respondent group | Number surveyed |
|---|---|
| Business travellers | 3,300 |
| Travel managers | 800 |
| CFOs | 700 |
The finance community is alarmed. 85% of CFOs said they were worried about employees using unapproved AI to manage travel, and 92% judged it at least somewhat likely that AI could be used to falsify expenses or receipts.
“AI is running faster than enterprises that are keeping up with it,” Paul Dear, VP of travel for EMEA at SAP Concur, told CFO Brew.
Practical risks for payroll, expenses and confidentiality
The findings underline a practical tension for companies: employees gain convenience and speed by turning to public AI tools, while finance teams face new avenues for error and abuse. The survey highlights three immediate concerns for CFOs and accounts payable teams:
- Expense integrity — automated generation or alteration of receipts and itineraries could make fraud harder to spot.
- Data leakage — sensitive itinerary or corporate information fed into public AI services may become searchable or exposed.
- Governance gap — internal policies and controls are struggling to keep pace with employees’ use of consumer AI tools.
Industry executives argue the most effective mitigation is not outright bans, which employees routinely circumvent, but the provision of secure, enterprise‑grade AI within corporate ecosystems. That approach aims to capture the productivity benefits of AI while retaining oversight and auditability.
What CFOs can do next
For finance leaders the survey suggests a short menu of priorities that can be implemented without waiting for legislation or long procurement cycles:
- Deploy sanctioned AI travel assistants and booking tools that integrate with expense systems to preserve trails and approvals.
- Update travel and expense policies to explicitly address permitted AI use and the handling of AI‑generated documentation.
- Train staff on data‑handling risks when using public AI platforms and require reporting of any third‑party tool that accesses corporate information.
Paul Dear said companies gain stronger governance by making secure AI tools available inside their systems. Allowing employees to use familiar AI — but in a controlled environment — reduces the incentive to rely on unsanctioned apps and helps finance teams retain visibility of travel costs and receipts.
The trend also carries broader implications for wages and prices. If firms can safely harness AI to streamline travel booking and expense processing, administrative costs may fall and business travel could become marginally cheaper. But unless CFOs act to curb misuse, those efficiency gains may be eroded by increased fraud losses and the expense of remediation when data leaks occur.
As AI adoption accelerates in everyday workflows, the message for finance chiefs is clear: modernising controls and providing approved tools is not optional if they want to protect the company’s finances and confidential information.
