Corporate Travel's New Boss: The Finance Department
Finance teams have quietly become power players in corporate travel. The shift began years ago but has sped up post-pandemic. The challenge now? Ensuring that the traveler experience and domain expertise aren't lost in the numbers.
The balance of power in corporate travel decision-making has been shifting for years — but in 2025, the trend has become unmistakable.
Travel programs, once firmly in the hands of procurement or travel departments, are now increasingly led or co-owned by finance teams. According to travel managers interviewed by Skift, finance is no longer just reviewing expense reports — it's shaping policy, selecting platforms, and tightening oversight.
'We provide input, but HR, finance, and procurement all weigh in,' said Sushant Saini, a corporate travel and expense manager. 'Post-Covid, finance has taken a much more active role. They're focused on every detail.'
One travel manager, who requested anonymity, said the shift began before the pandemic but accelerated significantly during it.
Do Finance Departments See the Whole Picture?
Companies are embracing a more cross-functional approach to travel management, but the finance-first mindset is clearly gaining ground. In many organizations, finance departments now hold primary or shared ownership over travel policy, signaling a deeper strategic integration.
While the increased structure and data rigor are welcomed, the transition hasn't been frictionless.
'Travel management goes beyond numbers and data,' Saini said. 'While finance brings structure, travel requires soft skills and negotiation to deliver real value. Being proactive and using smarter tools helps build trust across teams.'
The anonymous travel manager echoed the sentiment. 'Finance often overlooks the human side of travel programs. Sometimes you need to be more than logical to get better deals or compliance,' she said.
Still, both agreed that finance's growing role — when paired with the operational expertise of travel managers — has the potential to create smarter, more agile programs.
Travel Managers Adapt to Finance's Growing Influence
Travel Management Companies (TMCs) are rolling out new tools to support finance's deeper role in travel oversight.
'Eighty-one percent of CFOs now see themselves as primary growth drivers,' said Chris Juneau, SVP of Product Marketing at SAP Concur, citing findings from the company's CFO Insights report.
Concur's new tools, including Concur Verify and the AI copilot Joule, aim to improve accuracy, streamline expense audits, and deliver real-time analytics.
At Navan, Chief Financial Officer Amy Butte emphasized the need for visibility and control.
'In the past, finance only saw travel spend after the fact,' Butte said. 'Now, with our Advanced Analytics, they can spot trends, policy violations, and savings opportunities in real time.'
Emburse: General Motors Finance Had Improved Control
Emburse CEO Marne Martin said its Travel and Expense Analytics platform was built to solve finance leaders' pain points, including fragmented systems, unclear data, and poor visibility.
Martin cited General Mills as a case study. With over 34,000 employees, General Mills adopted Emburse Go to centralize travel and expense management via a mobile app. This helped improve compliance and gave finance and employees better control and visibility.
AI-driven features, Martin said, are increasingly helping finance teams enforce policies dynamically, adjusting per diems by city, identifying fraud, and analyzing spending behavior with little manual intervention.
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