Bosses are keeping a closer eye on their employees' travel and entertainment expenses.

Automated reporting tools are being used to feed businesses accurate records and patterns of their workers' expenditure.

A study by American Express found almost 50 per cent of workers felt they were facing tighter rules governing their spending on travel and entertainment.

Many employees reported taking more care than in the past to follow their companies' expenses policies to the letter.

James Crotty, senior vice-president of American Express Corporate Services, said: "Increasingly, corporations are stepping up efforts to track and halt out-of-policy spending and tighten their grip on travel and entertainment.

"Many of our corporate clients are mandating use of the Corporate Card as a way to track travel expenses because companies want a more complete picture of employee spending."

As companies step up their cost-control efforts, many business travellers are noticing a higher level of scrutiny of their expense reports. More than a third of respondents said their companies were more careful in reviewing travellers' expense reports compared with two or three years ago.

Mr Crotty said: "Companies want more visibility into travel and entertainment expenditures and practices and they want more powerful reporting tools to help target out-of-policy purchases."

But the survey also suggested bending the rules was still widespread with more than a third of respondents feeling it was common for business travellers to submit an expense report with "one or more completely false or bogus charges".

Dinners are often the right time to close a deal and international business travellers agreed that this window of opportunity to cement ties with clients was where the most abuse occurred.

The restaurant category was cited as the most abused travel and entertainment expense by 70 per cent of French, 59 per cent of German, 53 per cent of American and 48 per cent of British respondents.