Before you put the kibosh on those business lunches and industry conferences, read this.

It turns out meeting outside the company’s four walls can be good for business.

And we’re not just talking about for your company’s salesforce.

Your CFO may have secured some bottom-line boosting benefits this way, too.

That’s the word out of a recent survey by Robert Half Management Resources.

When asked, “Other than in the office, what was the location of your most successful business meeting ever?,” here’s what 1,400 finance execs replied:

• restaurant (36%)
• trade show or conference (25%)
• sporting event (4%)
• golf course (3%)
• in a car (1%)
• on a trip/plane (1%)
• nowhere else (24%), and
• other/don’t know/refused (4%).

So while it may be tempting to cut back on some of these expenses to save money, you might first want to check with your finance chief to see if he or she has had a similar experience.