A new research from telecom expense management specialist, Aurora Kendrick James, reveals that about £400 million are spent annually by UK workers talking to friends and family using company mobile phones. This represents about £1 million per day or 20 to 25 per cent of all calls made on company mobile phones!

I bet this is a universal phenomenon given the lack of appropriate metrics and the tedious process of identifying personal from official business calls. I don't think it is possible, at this time, to put an end on this trend.

According to Jeremy Green, Principle Analyst at Ovum, the UK's 3 million plus corporate mobile phones attract an annual bill of some £1.7 billion - and that puts the cost of personal calls at between £340 million and £425 million.

"Education and visibility of costs to users are pivotal in successful mobile expense management. By having a company policy in place and introducing employees to it, staff can be made accountable for their costs against sensible guidelines," Matt Atkinson explains. "Implementing a mobile expense management policy will control and reduce personal usage but will also help with VAT compliance, validating invoices, tariff negotiation, management and inventory reporting; all of which will mean a more cost effective and controlled mobile estate."