Lindt & Sprüngli Australia

The Challenge

Lindt & Sprüngli Australia relied on manual, paper-based processes for expense reporting and invoice management. Employees completed paper forms, sought approval, and submitted them to accounts payable. The finance team had limited visibility into spending, no effective audit trail for expenses or invoices, and fringe benefits tax (FBT) processing was time-consuming. Travel bookings were slow and complicated, with no integration to streamline the process.

The Solution

• Implemented Concur Expense with corporate credit card integration, enabling mobile receipt capture and automated expense categorisation
• Deployed Concur Invoice to provide real-time visibility into the invoice lifecycle and support accrual management
• Rolled out Concur Travel with pre-approved vendor bookings and automated receipt logging
• Configured the attendee feature in Concur Expense to enable the actual method for FBT calculation on meal entertainment, replacing the 50:50 method — reducing FBT liability in 2023
• Integrated SAP Concur with Lindt's existing SAP ERP system

The Outcome

Lindt reduced its FBT liability by switching to actual-method calculation through Concur Expense's attendee tracking. The accounts payable team shifted from manual processing to higher-value activities, and the finance team gained real-time spend visibility with comprehensive audit trails. Concur Invoice improved interdepartmental communication and accrual management by providing visibility into received invoices before approval.

Lindt successfully expanded SAP Concur to its New Zealand operations in September 2024, replicating the Australian setup with adjustments for local currency and GST requirements.

Why This Matters

Lindt's FBT story is particularly relevant for ANZ organisations still using the 50:50 method for meal entertainment. The switch to actual-method calculation through Concur's attendee feature is a configuration decision — not a technology change — but it requires the right governance framework to ensure attendee data is captured correctly at the point of expense submission.

If your organisation is unsure whether its FBT configuration is optimal, or whether policy and system settings are aligned, a Governance Risk Snapshot can surface these opportunities.