AVISTA CORPORATION TRAVEL & EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT GUIDELINES

Transcription

1 AVISTA CORPORATION TRAVEL & EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT GUIDELINES AVISTA CORPORATION TRAVEL & EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT GUIDELINES Updated: December of 7

2 This document is to be considered a guideline for Avista Corporation/Avista Utilities (Company). Each department may have a more stringent or tailored policy related to approved business expenditures. You should follow the policy set by your department, if available. INTRODUCTION It is Avista s practice to reimburse employees for actual costs of reasonable expenses incurred by employees in the normal conduct of Company business. You should consider expenditures made for Company purposes in the same manner you would consider expenditures you would make personally. Use common sense and spend as frugally as you would spend if it were your own hard earned money. The term employee refers to all employees (union and non-union). The Company s Code of Conduct & Ethics Code should be followed when incurring costs and requesting reimbursement of those costs. Failure to follow the Company s Code of Conduct & Ethics Code as well as these Travel and Expense Reimbursement Guidelines may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Expense reports are subject to audits. Employees should include enough explanation/justification to substantiate the expense and clearly show the expense is a valid business expense. An iexpense report should contain enough information/documentation to be able to stand on its own. When submitting an expense reimbursement request, it is important that the appropriate Project and Task accounts are utilized, including the correct FERC account, service and jurisdiction codes. If you are uncertain as to the correct accounts to use, please refer to the Regulatory Accounting Guidelines and Policies Manual on AVANet under Code of Conduct, Ethics and Compliance Issues. The Company is committed to making business travel and expense reimbursement easy and efficient. Adherence to the Travel & Expense Reimbursement Guidelines will ensure that any employee personally incurring appropriate company-related expenses will receive the expected reimbursement. TRAVEL APPROVAL Managers are responsible for approving travel and controlling expenses within their area of responsibility. All expenses incurred are NOT automatically reimbursed. Employees should discuss travel arrangements and/or expenses with their manager prior to incurring costs. Employees should consult with their manager regarding any questions on cost guidelines or reimbursement practices. AIR TRAVEL Employees are expected to select the most economical and efficient airline schedule when booking travel. Air travel reservations will be made via the company s travel partner with the exception of select airlines as outlined on the AVANet Travel website. Ticketing Employees are encouraged to purchase airline tickets in advance whenever possible to take advantage of less expensive fares. The choice between refundable and non-refundable tickets should be made based on the timing and certainty of the travel. Coach class is the standard class of service when booking air travel. Upgrades are not reimbursed by the Company unless pre-approved by management. Baggage fees are reimbursable expenses. Frequent Flyer Programs Mileage points or discounts accumulated from frequent flyer programs during company travel will remain the property of the employee. Updated: December of 7

3 Travel Insurance The Company does not carry travel insurance on employees. The purchase of travel insurance is not reimbursable. The Company maintains Basic Life Insurance for eligible employees. Employees may purchase additional Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage and/or Optional Life Insurance through the benefits programs. Contact Keith Rust at extension 4751 in Human Resources for more information. Trip Cancellations, Interruptions and Unused Tickets It is the employee s responsibility to facilitate a ticket change or notify the travel agent in the event of a cancellation or routing change. Unused tickets or their value may be transferred or reissued depending on airline policies. Employees will make every effort to apply unused or partially used tickets against future ticket requests to minimize incremental travel costs. Depending on the airline, the Company may be able to reassign the ticket to another traveler to ensure the ticket is used within the expiration window. Employees will report unused tickets to their manager or department travel planner to facilitate reassignment where possible. Travelers should not volunteer to be bumped in an airline oversell or similar situation in order to collect compensation from the airlines if it adversely impacts company business. GROUND TRANSPORTATION Employees are expected to select the most economical and efficient ground transportation method (i.e., rental car, airport limousine, shuttle service, taxi or other) depending on the location, duration and nature of the business trip. Rental Car Standard Class vehicles are the default rental option for Avista employees unless conditions or number of people warrant something different. Luxury or sports vehicles will NOT be reimbursed. Travelers are responsible for any parking tickets or other driving violations. Gas, parking and toll charges related to business use are reimbursed by the Company and must be identified separately on expense reports. Employees are encouraged to use the Company s preferred provider to take advantage of Avista s negotiated rates whenever possible. Avista s rates are inclusive of collision and liability insurance. Refer to the AVANet Travel website for access to Avista s preferred car rental partner. Car Rental Collision and Liability Insurance The Company provides coverage for collision and liability only with Enterprise-Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental, which is handled as part of our corporate agreement if the reservation is booked using the corporate account. Consequently, employees should decline the coverage when arranging for a rental with Enterprise or National. For other car rental companies, Avista will reimburse Collision/Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) and Liability insurance expenses and recommends the purchase of Collision/LDW for protection against out-of-pocket expenses before any claims are settled. The Company does not reimburse for Personal Effects insurance. When using personal credit cards, employees should check to see if insurance is included as many credit card companies include both Collision/LDW and Personal Effects insurance. Many personal car insurance companies may not cover LDW, so do not rely on your personal car insurance for protection without checking Updated: December of 7

4 first with your own insurance agent. See the Lost and Stolen Articles subsection below for personal items stolen from rental vehicles. Accidents, Damage or Stolen Vehicles Employees must notify the car rental company and local police if involved in an accident or the vehicle is damaged, vandalized or stolen. Failure to notify both may result in termination of the insurance agreement. Employees must also immediately notify the Avista Claims Department (business hours) at (509) or (after hours) through Distribution Dispatch at (509) Gas Replenishment Whenever practical, travelers should refuel the car prior to returning it to the rental agency. Please be aware of gas refueling prices and service charges to guide your decision. Personal Automobiles In order to be reimbursed for mileage, the following items should be included in IExpense the employee name, date, miles, and trip purpose. If this information is maintained in a separate document and only a summary is included in IExpense, the supporting documentation should be attached to the IExpense form. A Mileage Data Sheet may be used to provide detailed mileage information and attached to your IExpense report that has the summarized information. The Mileage Data Sheet can be found on the AVAnet under Employee Resources/Forms/Finance Forms. Personal cars may be used for business and will be reimbursed at the current rate set by the Finance Department which is based on the IRS Standard Mileage Rate. Parking and toll charges are also reimbursable expenses, including reasonable costs for airport parking during travel for business purposes. Gasoline purchased and insurance on a personal vehicle is the employee s responsibility and its cost is assumed in the mileage reimbursement rate. Employees may drive personal cars to business meetings in another city in lieu of flying, taking into account time/schedule availability and overall cost. Commuting to/from Work Employees will not be reimbursed for mileage for their normal commute to and from work or for distances that are less than their normal commute when traveling to alternate locations. The guideline for reimbursing mileage is as follows: If the employee reports to work first and then travels elsewhere on company business, the additional mileage is reimbursable. When commuting to an event or place that is farther than the employee s normal commute, the total miles less the normal commute mileage will be reimbursed. LODGING Hotel and motel accommodations are authorized for employees traveling on Company business when an overnight stay is required for business reasons. The Company will also reimburse employees for reasonable weekend accommodations when business reasons require the arrival or departure on the weekend. Employees must make every effort to cancel hotel reservations in accordance with the hotel s cancellation policy to ensure that no show charges are not incurred. Updated: December of 7

5 Telephone Usage in Hotels Appropriate telephone calls made while traveling will be reimbursed. Copies of applicable telephone charges (i.e. credit card statements and/or telephone card statements) must be submitted with an expense report. Employees using their own personal cell phone will be reimbursed for charges in excess of their monthly plan. Employees may use the no receipt process within iexpense, in the event a receipt or statement is not available. If the call was made through the hotel telephone system, the hotel bill itemizes charges and the phone charges on the itemized bill will act as the receipt for reimbursement. Employees with extensive out of town travel who have a need for a company cell phone may access cell phone policies on the AVAnet under Employee Resources/Telephones/Cell Phones. MEALS AND ENTERTAINMENT Reasonable meal costs will be reimbursed based on actual receipts. All meal expenses must be identified separately on expense reports. The paid receipt must be included showing the total and tip. In addition, a listing of the names of each individual participating in the meal as well as the business purpose is required. For questions about appropriate expenses, employees should consult with their manager. Entertainment expenses are reimbursable only if they are ordinary and necessary in the course of the business. Employees must report the date, person, company name, place, business purpose of the meeting and the cost on the expense report. When a group expense is incurred, the highest-level manager present pays for the group and then submits for reimbursement. Tips and Gratuities Reasonable tips for restaurant staff, bellhops, taxi driver, skycaps, hotel housekeeping, etc. are reimbursable. Lost or Stolen Articles Employees are personally responsible for all cash, baggage and personal effects during corporate business trips. Should loss or theft occur, employees are expected to seek recourse against their personal insurance company, the carrier, hotel, restaurant or other involved parties. The Company is not responsible for reimbursement of lost or stolen articles. EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT Expense Reports are to be submitted to Accounts Payable using Oracle iexpense. All appropriate documentation and approvals must be forwarded to Accounts Payable. Effective January 2, 2013 all expense reports will be paid electronically by Direct Deposit (ACH). This will allow a faster turnaround for reimbursement of your expenses. The employee s manager must approve all iexpense reports. It is the manager s responsibility to thoroughly review employee expense reports before approval. Original receipts should be taped to paper and stapled to the back of the iexpense Confirmation sheet. The iexpense Confirmation, with attached receipts, should be sent to the Accounts Payable Department (MSC-30) for processing. Employees are reminded to keep a copy for themselves. Contact Lucia Stewart at extension 4382 for more information on iexpense. Refer to the following guidelines when submitting expense reports for approval: The justification portion should be detailed describing the purpose of the expense. Detailed information will aid both the manager in approval of the expense report and the auditors in subsequent expense report audits. Updated: December of 7

6 All miscellaneous items should be explained. Hotel bills must be itemized separately by type of expenditure on the expense report (room, meals, telephone, etc.) to meet IRS reporting requirements. All expense reports should be completed in U.S. dollars. International travelers should translate each receipt from foreign currency to U.S. dollars and indicate the exchange rates used on the receipt. A copy of the documentation verifying the exchange rate used must be attached to the expense report. For any other transactions, appropriate exchange rates from the Wall Street Journal shall be used or the credit card statement with the appropriate rate charged by the credit card company. It is important that expense reports are submitted in a timely manner (on at least a monthly basis). All current year expenses should be submitted prior to the year-end processing deadline to correctly reflect the period in which the expenses were incurred. If expenses involve two calendar months (e.g. 6/29-7/4) a separate expense form should be completed for each month. All airfare and /or airline ticket receipts must be attached to the expense form. In the case of an e-ticket, the e- ticket receipt should be attached to the expense report. Receipts Original receipts are required for all expenditures. In the event of a missing receipt: note that the receipt is missing in the justification section along with the description of the expense. If a receipt is lost, include other supporting documentation (i.e. credit card statement). For an Electronic Ticket, an or notice from the issuing agency/airline will suffice as the receipt. Personal credit card statements are to be used as a last resort for receipts but may be accepted. Failure to provide a receipt could result in the non-reimbursement of the expense. When submitting an expense reimbursement request, it is important that the appropriate Project and Task accounts are utilized, including the correct FERC account, service and jurisdiction codes. If you are uncertain as to the correct accounts to use, please refer to the Regulatory Accounting Guidelines and Policies Manual on AVANet under Code of Conduct, Ethics and Compliance Issues. All expense reports are subject to audits so it is important that an adequate/detailed explanation of the charges is included in the request to substantiate the expense during future audits. Non-Reimbursable Expenses The following list provides examples of some of the expenses that are NOT considered business expenses and will NOT be reimbursed by the Company unless prior manager or VP approval is received. This is not a complete list. Employees are expected to use common sense in determining whether or not to submit an expense for reimbursement. Airline club membership fees Airline upgrades Car washes, oil changes, and other maintenance/repair services for personal or rental vehicles Clothing Credit card fees Gym fees Haircuts Updated: December of 7

7 Laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services Meal costs when meals are provided by a conference or another company/individual Rental car expense when transportation is provided by the Company Newspapers, magazines and other personal reading material Personal entertainment (movies, theater, in-room movies, etc) Personal toiletries or services Personal travel accident insurance Traffic and parking violations COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS The Avista Travel & Expense Reimbursement Guidelines do not supersede any collective bargaining agreements. However, if the item is not covered in the contract, these serve as guidelines. Updated: December of 7