Pre-travel authorisation is the next big audit focus in Australian business travel
For years, corporate travel governance in Australia has followed a familiar and largely unchallenged sequence: employees book trips, incur costs, and submit expense claims, then finance teams check compliance afterwards. That post-trip model worked until now. As travel volumes regain momentum, finance and audit leaders face new pressure to avoid non-compliant spend. The answer is pre-travel authorisation, according to SAP Concur.
Jonathan Beeby, managing director enterprise, SAP Concur, said, "SAP Concur data shows that flight bookings in Australia increased almost 10 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024. In the same period, March 2025 recorded the highest velocity, with corporate bookings surging more than 44 per cent compared to March 2024, reflecting a sharp rebound in corporate travel demand.
"But this rebound comes with new pressures. Finance, procurement, and audit leaders are now asking a more fundamental question: is retrospective compliance enough, or should organisations embed stronger controls earlier in the travel lifecycle? For many, the answer is shifting decisively toward pre-travel authorisation."
Australia's corporate governance environment is placing greater emphasis on demonstrable preventative controls, not just well-written policies. Boards, internal auditors, and regulators are increasingly uncomfortable with after-the-fact explanations of why non-compliant spend occurred. The focus is shifting to how that spend could have been avoided altogether.
This scrutiny is particularly relevant for travel and expense (T&E), which remains one of the largest categories of discretionary spend for many organisations. Travel decisions are decentralised, prices fluctuate quickly, and policy breaches are often unintentional. However, once bookings are confirmed, opportunities to intervene are limited.
Jonathan Beeby said, "From an audit perspective, reviewing expense claims after travel has taken place offers little ability for correction. Non-compliance may be identified, but the financial commitment has already been made. In an environment of rising governance expectations, that retrospective model is increasingly difficult to defend.
"Pre-travel authorisation shifts the control point forward in the travel lifecycle. Instead of validating spend after it occurs, organisations assess intent, business justification, and estimated cost before travel is booked. This approach aligns with internal control principles familiar to Australian finance leaders, including approval accountability, segregation of duties, and preventative risk management. It also drives more consistent application of travel policy, particularly for higher-risk scenarios such as international travel, premium air classes, or non-standard accommodation.
"In practice, this usually involves a structured travel request submitted in advance, outlining the purpose of the trip, anticipated costs and any policy exceptions. Increasingly, approval workflows are linked directly to booking and expense processes, so that decisions made upfront carry through the full travel lifecycle."
Solutions such as the Concur Request capability are commonly used to formalise this process, linking approval workflows with downstream booking and expense activity. The result is a clearer audit trail of intent. Instead of relying on post-trip explanations, organisations can demonstrate who approved the travel, when the decision was made, and on what basis. That visibility is becoming increasingly important for boards and auditors.
Beyond compliance, pre-travel authorisation addresses a long-standing challenge for Australian organisations: lack of forward financial visibility. Travel demand is often tied to projects, client activity, and seasonal factors. Yet in many organisations, travel costs only become visible once expense claims are submitted, sometimes weeks after the trip has taken place. By then, opportunities to influence spend have passed.
Jonathan Beeby said, "Capturing estimated travel costs upfront shifts this dynamic. Finance teams gain insight into upcoming plans and can manage budgets proactively. This matters in Australia's geographically dispersed market, where domestic airfares and accommodation costs can vary significantly depending on timing and destination.
"Early visibility lets managers assess necessity, timing, and value before costs escalate, rather than explaining variances after the fact. Over time, comparing estimated and actual spend also improves forecasting accuracy, and highlights behavioural patterns that would otherwise remain hidden.
"A common concern is that pre-travel approval adds friction for employees. In practice, many organisations are finding the opposite. Late expense rejections, audit queries, and post-trip disputes are frequent sources of frustration for corporate travellers and finance teams alike. Addressing compliance questions upfront reduces rework and avoids uncomfortable conversations after the trip has ended."
In Australia's competitive labour market, this balance matters. Clear, transparent approval processes help employees understand policy boundaries while reducing the risk of surprises when expenses are submitted. Many organisations apply pre-travel authorisation selectively, focusing scrutiny on higher-cost or higher-risk travel while keeping routine trips streamlined.
Moving controls earlier in the process also signals a broader cultural shift. Travel policy becomes a decision-support framework, not a rulebook enforced after the fact. This represents a move from policy enforcement to policy confidence for finance and audit leaders. It offers confidence that the expense aligns with business priorities and is reviewed with context, visibility and intent.
Jonathan Beeby said, "This does not remove the need for post-travel audit; rather, it strengthens that need. When pre-approved estimates can be compared with actual expenses, organisations gain deeper insight into forecasting accuracy, policy effectiveness, and travel behaviour. While digital workflows make pre-travel authorisation easier to implement, the shift is not about technology alone. It's about where organisations choose to exercise control."
As Australian businesses navigate cost pressures, heightened regulatory scrutiny, and evolving workforce expectations, embedding governance earlier in the travel lifecycle is increasingly a smart choice. As corporate travel continues to rebound, the question for finance leaders is no longer whether travel spend should be controlled, but how. For a growing number of organisations, the answer is clear: before the journey begins.