CLICK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE CAUBO EXPENSE CLAIM FORM AND DETAILED GUIDELINES
Additional information can be found under the separate tab ‘Guidelines’ in the expense claim form below;
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to establish consistent, reasonable, and accountable standards to record and control the cost of business travel.
Scope
Unless specified otherwise, this policy covers CAUBO staff, Board members, participating members as well as any individuals under contract with CAUBO who incur, authorize, or reimburse CAUBO travel expenses. For the purposes of this policy, all of the above are referred to as “members”.
General
The following policies have been authorized by the Board of Directors for travel for and at the expense of the Association. CAUBO recognizes and fully appreciates that persons travelling on CAUBO business are donating their valuable time.
Eligibility
Board members, working groups, advisory groups and task force members are entitled to reimbursement of their expenses to attend official CAUBO meetings or other meetings as official representative of CAUBO. Other members or collaborators traveling at the request or on behalf of CAUBO may also be entitled to reimbursement of expenses, subject to prior approval by the Executive Director.
The present Policy also applies to staff members, including contract employees.
Board members are entitled to reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses for two meetings per year. Working groups, advisory groups and task force members are entitled to the reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses for in-person meetings in which they have been asked to participate. Attendance at a meeting held in conjunction with the annual conference is not covered.
Officers of the Association are covered by the present Policy for any additional travel that may be required on behalf of the Association.
Expenses for spouses are not covered.
Other considerations
Members may claim directly to CAUBO. In that case, they must submit original receipts. Members may also elect to receive reimbursement from their institution. In that case, an invoice from the institution, along with photocopies of supporting receipts, will be reimbursed to the institution. Amounts to be reimbursed cannot exceed those that would have otherwise been reimbursed directly according to the present Policy.
When making a direct claim, credit card slips alone, and travel agency invoices, are not sufficient support for hotel, air or train expenses.
Amount Reimbursed
Eligible members are entitled to reimbursement of expenses for travel to and from the city where a meeting is held. Normally, expenses may be claimed for the day(s) of a meeting plus one day before and one day after, with the understanding that every effort is made to keep the claim reasonable.
Specific Items:
- The standard for accommodation is a single room. Members are strongly encouraged to use the preferential hotel rates negotiated by CAUBO and published on its site;
- Members are expected to book at the lowest logical airfare, including seat sales, including Saturday night stayover, and “overlapping” tickets, where applicable. Members are not obligated to select “basic” fares, which do not allow for flight changes/cancellations even for a fee. If there is no airport at the point of departure, transportation to the nearest airport can be added;
- Reasonable taxi, bus and public transportation costs, and business class train fare;
- Per diems for meals based on Treasury Board directives, where not provided by hosts, at a conference, or during train and air travel. Rates are updated twice per year & published on CAUBO’s website. Rates published are in Canadian dollars but adjusted based on the spot exchange rate + 2.5% credit card FX fees for international travel. The rate shall be the average of the rates applicable on the initial date into the country and the final date out of the country;
- Per Diem rates include an amount for incidental expenses which may be claimed for each 24-hour period out of town. This amount is to cover out-of-pocket expenses (e.g. porter, laundry) other than travel, hotel and meals; When claiming per diems, be sure to strike out minibar, meal, movie and related expenses from the hotel invoice;
- Current rates in effect from 1 April 2024 until further notice, are: breakfast, $24.90; lunch, $25.20; supper, $61.85; and incidentals, $17.30;
- Alcoholic beverages are not reimbursable;
- From 1 April 2024 until further notice, the kilometre rate is 59.0 cents/km;
- The costs incurred to convert reasonable sums to foreign currencies and/or reconvert any unused balance to Canadian currency shall be reimbursed, based upon receipts, from all transactions and sources. When these costs are not supported by receipts, the average Bank of Canada currency exchange rate shall apply. The rate shall be the average of the rates applicable on the initial date into the country and the final date out of the country.
- Expenses associated with the selected mode of transportation shall be reimbursed based on receipts, indicating the expense currency. Where a receipt is not available, a declaration will suffice. Such expenses include:
- seat selection fees;
- miscellaneous charge order, for excess baggage/excess weight (written explanation required);
- Ticket “change fee”(written explanation required); and
- legitimate, mandatory transportation service charges and fees, incurred while in travel status, not otherwise paid (e.g. docking fees, road/bridge tolls, ferries and other transportation service charges/fees).
Specific to International Travel
- Business /executive class air travel shall not be reimbursed on overseas flights;
- When travelling overseas, sufficient time to recover from jet lag in order to effectively participate in the event should be factored in travel plans; this normally means up to 3 days of accommodations and per diems prior to the engagement;
- Exceptions will be reviewed by the Executive Director and Secretary-Treasurer.
Travel Policy Revised – 9 June 2019