Work & Money 

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Can you fiddle your expenses?

If you're looking for clues to life's curious work-related conundrums, you may find the answers in Steve Coomber and Marc Woods' new book Where do all the paperclips go?

Extract taken from Where do all the paperclips go?...and 127 other business and career conundrums by Steve Coomber and Marc Woods. Published by Capstone Publishing Ltd.

If there is a system, then it is open to abuse. Business expenses are no exception. Claiming for things which aren't related to your job could tarnish your image within the company or even get you fired. Yet, despite the risks, many employees admit to submitting inaccurate business expenses at least once in their working lifetime.

A survey conducted by Onepoll.com for the hotel group Travel Lodge suggested that employees cost British companies £1 billion each year by fiddling their expenses. Of those who took part in the survey, 46 per cent believed it was a justifiable way to boost their income, and 8 per cent said that they were more likely to do it if their boss was annoying them at the time; only 4 per cent said that they had been caught. The average worker pockets an extra £14.60 every time they claim.

You might expect to find the occasional dubious claim for personal travel or entertainment, but there are those who like to push the boundaries of the legitimate business expense. Some of the more unlikely claims uncovered by the research were:

• Hamster for son's birthday present
• Pregnancy kit for a one night stand
• Masonic door knocker
• Collectable stamps for personal collection
• Dancing lessons
• Gucci watch
• New furniture for the house
• Condoms
• Neutering a cat

Women came out of the survey better than men, with 27 per cent of men claiming more than they are legitimately entitled to, compared to just 18 per cent of women.

Extract taken from Where do all the paperclips go?...and 127 other business and career conundrums by Steve Coomber and Marc Woods. Published by Capstone Publishing Ltd.

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