Corporate card year-end audit: A checklist for growth companies

A corporate card audit focuses on reviewing compliance controls such as your spend policies, cardholder limits and process for managing exceptions. This critical review helps ensure your card program is keeping pace with your business growth and operational changes.

Typically, I recommend that clients conduct a corporate card compliance audit near year-end. It’s an ideal time to fill gaps and strengthen controls to help reduce costs and risk in the year ahead. The following checklist highlights key elements to include in your card program review.

Review and update spend policies

Many companies establish a commercial card program early on when teams are small and controls may be fairly loose. But it’s not a set-and-forget thing. As the business grows and cash management gets more complex, it’s essential to ensure your spend policies align with evolving business needs.

A year-end corporate card audit helps you better position for the future. For example:

Identify gaps in expense policy compliance

Does your card program audit reveal patterns of out-of-policy expenses? Employees may be unaware of which expenses are allowed (or not) on the company card.

A quick way to reduce this risk is to ensure teams have clear spending guidelines aligned with corporate card best practices. Then level-up with a spend management platform that enables you to issue policy-controlled cards, and automate alerts that restrict employees if they attempt an out-of-policy purchase.

Spot missed opportunities

Year-end card program audits help your finance team assess whether expense policies align with your procurement strategies, business travel guidelines, and employee benefits like stipends. These reviews can uncover specific areas where you may need new policies or updated card controls. It’s not about creating rigid constraints but helping your organization embrace consistent practices that support your growth.

Audit cardholder controls

Once you’ve reviewed policies that govern your company spending, it’s time to look at how you’re managing cardholders. To better manage growth, you may need to gain real-time visibility into every card transaction. Assessing your current controls helps you identify opportunities to improve cash flow and reduce unnecessary spend.

I advise clients to review a few key factors:

• Card eligibility. What’s your criteria for eligibility? What updates are needed to reflect how your organization is growing?
• Utilization. Do all the right people have cards and are they actively using them? As teams grow, spending responsibilities tend to shift, and it may be time to revoke inactive cards. On the flip side, low utilization could signal that employees are still using their personal card for business expenses. That’s more costly and unpredictable for your finance team, so engage those cardholders to improve your control and visibility.
• Card limits. To improve cash flow, you may need to tighten how cards can be used, such as revising budget limits, spend categories, timeframe and more. If many employees still have plastic cards, consider switching to secure virtual cards. You can issue them instantly with customized controls for each user and use case and make changes on the fly.

Revisit your exceptions management

Understandably, there may be unusual circumstances and one-offs in spending that you track as exceptions (purchases that fall outside standard policies). In early-stage companies, it’s not uncommon for these situations to bypass formal controls. But as your organization matures, it’s critical to have a clear audit trail for transparency and compliance. Reviewing your exceptions management also helps identify patterns that may signal the need for new policies.

In your year-end corporate card audit, be sure you have:

• A formalized process for managing exceptions. It should include pre-approval workflows for out-of-policy purchases, clear escalation paths for emergency spending, and documentation requirements.
• Complete documentation for all approved exceptions, including the reason and justification, authorization details, receipts, etc. 

A strategic year-end card program audit can help you improve cash flow optimization for the year ahead. 

Looking for more robust spend controls? Learn how SVB commercial cards keep your company on track for growth.

Frequently asked questions

How often should companies review corporate card spending policies?

At least once a year, companies should review corporate card spend policies, usually as part of year-end planning. This audit should assess whether current policies align with organizational growth. And it helps identify gaps where new policies may be needed to support changing market conditions as the business evolves.

What are the best practices for setting corporate card limits?

Implement role-based spending limits tied to job functions, budget, expense categories, and timeframe. Issue virtual cards for maximum flexibility. They enable you to set custom limits per card, maintain real-time oversight, and modify or revoke cards instantly based on cash forecasting, seasonal spending, and urgent needs.

How do you manage corporate card spending exceptions and stay compliant?

Managing card spending exceptions should include a formal documented process so your business has a clear audit trail for transparent reporting. The process should include pre-approval workflows, documentation requirements and more. Your finance team should track all exceptions in your spend management system and ERP and provide relevant reporting to leadership as needed. 

How can companies prevent unauthorized corporate card spending?

Maintain in-policy spending by consolidating purchases on a single corporate card program. Then through your expense management platform, issue virtual cards with custom controls and policy alerts that restrict cardholders as needed. It gives your finance team real-time visibility over every transaction, automates policy compliance, and reduces the need for out-of-pocket reimbursements.