September 06, 2010
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News: New Zealand's TV Station In The News
New Zealand's TV station has taken notice of the many organizations that have recently discovered that its employees or members have been abusing the organization's credit cards. No one industry has been affected by the spread of credit card abuse. It has ranged between private agencies to government agencies. Also included has been the U.S. Which has not been isolated in this regard; other countries have also had difficulty. In a proactive move against card abuse, the New Zealand TVNZ staff recently dealt with the issue as to whether the company's credit card policy is sufficient. In an effort to clean up their image, the broadcaster pulled back nearly 370 out of 470 cards issued by the station.
The station had been highly criticized because of the number of credit cards that had been issued to employees. According to the Chief Executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association, Alasdair Thompson over half of the 900 TVNZ employees were issued a credit card. The odds of no card abuse showing up would be almost impossible. Mr. Thompson went on to say that if there were no cases of abuse, it would set a world record. The temptation for employees to casually place personal expenses on the company cards would be too easy to fall to. He maintained that employees should be forced to pay for expenses and then submit documentation for reimbursement.
On the other side, business New Zealand Chief Executive Phil O'Reilly was opposed to Mr. Thompson suggestion that credit cards were a problem for a company. His opinion is that whether an employee uses credit or request reimbursement for expenses, that the majority of companies wouldn't care. Since receiving the negative publicity over the number of cards it issued to employees, TVNZ voluntarily reduced the number in circulation. However, it will be more difficult for the company to keep track of spending because cards help to provide a trail.