Lump Sum Entitlements versus Actual Expense Reimbursement in An Age of Scrutiny on Government Requirements and Technological Advancements

mLINQS, LLC presents the view that the Federal Government should continue to emphasize the use of reimbursement of “actual” expenses to its employees rather than lump sums.

This opinion is based on experience in government travel over the past fifteen years. During this time, we have seen a revolution of change in temporary duty travel (TDY) and the moderate
change in relocation travel. In many respects, the current state of relocation automation is similar to the state of TDY in the late-1990’s. Like former opinions of TDY, some believe that
relocation may be ‘too complex’ to automate and ‘too cumbersome’ to administer, hence the main stream view that lump sums will provide a solution.

This is incorrect, and, just as TDY was reinvented using technology to promote better accountability at a lower cost, relocation travel can undergo the same reinvention with equally impressive results.