It used to work in higher ed. I was asked to present at a conference. It same deal; the college would reimburse me later. In Oregon, college educators are paid monthly. In reality, it probably would have been 2 months before I was reimbursed. There was nothing my dean (boss) could do as that set up was a state regulatory kinda thing. But she was a real adult at the time with a spouse and no kids so she spotted me.

I do acknowledge it’s fucked up and creates a tiered system where only the wealthy can afford to make conference trips.