A Study of Knowledge and Understanding of Travel Expense Regulations and Problems in Preparation of Travel Expense Documents for Staff at Maejo University, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

              This research aimed to investigate (1) the level of knowledge and understanding of travel expense regulations among personnel, and (2) the characteristics and problems related to preparing travel expense reimbursement documents for official duties at Maejo University, Chiang Mai. This survey research employed a questionnaire to collect data from 66 purposively selected participants who were directly responsible for travel reimbursement processes across 22 university units. The statistical methods used for data analysis included mean, standard deviation, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

              The findings revealed that: (1) personnel demonstrated a high level of knowledge and understanding of travel expense regulations (mean score = 59.09); (2) overall issues related to document preparation persisted at a moderate level across all aspects (mean score = 3.14); (3) the top three major problems were: (a) incomplete receipts or supporting documents, (b) the absence of a clear procedural manual, and (c) incomplete documentation required for reporting; (4) personnel also encountered difficulties such as insufficient understanding of travel regulations, unawareness of the requirement for prior approval, and errors in calculating expense rates. The study suggests that the university should enhance clarity in the application of reimbursement regulations, provide continuous training for staff responsible for document verification, adopt information systems such as FINANCIAL to support the travel approval process, and develop a comprehensive travel manual with clear examples to prevent and reduce reimbursement-related issues effectively.