How smarter audit systems help businesses mitigate risk and drive growth
Small, medium, and large businesses monitor major expenses closely; however, smaller claims hidden in employee reimbursements can quietly drain budgets and increase the risk of financial oversight. Many organisations still audit expenses manually or only partially, leaving room for fraudulent or non-compliant spending to slip through. Expense reimbursement fraud accounts for 13 per cent of all asset misappropriation, with a median loss of $50,000 per incident. (1) Finance teams face growing pressure to strengthen oversight while managing costs, making smarter audit systems a necessary tool to improve speed, reduce risk, and maintain accuracy without increasing workloads.
Limited resources or outdated processes mean many finance teams still review only a sample of expense reports. This approach leaves gaps that employees can exploit, either intentionally or by mistake. Companies that audit more reports, and do so consistently, reduce their risk of revenue loss, though manually reviewing every expense report is time-consuming and expensive. For example, a business that audits 10,800 expense reports annually would spend around 1,800 hours on that task, which is equivalent to nearly one full-time employee. (2) Time spent on manual reviews also limits the finance team's ability to contribute to the organisation's broader goals.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can transform this process by reviewing every claim before reimbursement and flagging reports that require human attention. AI can detect behavioural patterns such as duplicate submissions, frequent claims just under approval thresholds, and unusual vendor activity. Data shows that AI captures 10 times more errors and fraud than manual reviews, reduces audit time by up to 90 per cent, and cuts the cost of mistakes in expense reports by 60 per cent. (3) These are measurable gains that protect revenue and improve compliance without increasing headcount.
Companies gain an advantage when they shift their focus to intelligent auditing. AI lets finance teams concentrate on high-risk items such as excessive spending, suspicious vendors, or questionable reporting patterns, rather than checking every receipt. That's how businesses improve both speed and accuracy.
AI is most effective when paired with clear, up-to-date expense policies. Many organisations have introduced expense types for hybrid work, such as home internet or equipment, though they have not updated their rules or workflows to reflect those changes. This leads to mistakes and non-compliance because employees are unaware of the boundaries. Providing accessible policy documents, updating them regularly, and offering training and reminders can significantly improve compliance.
Employees often submit non-compliant expenses because they don't realise those items fall outside the rules. Policies that are well-defined and easy to access improve compliance exponentially. The same goes for clear training and regular reminders, which improve the quality of employee submissions and reduce the time auditors spend on corrections.
Companies that automate the bulk of their audit work and concentrate staff efforts on reviewing exceptions gain control over their risk profile. These businesses can stop fraud before reimbursement, identify risky patterns for future review, and adjust policies based on real data. AI and automation support auditors rather than replacing them, giving them more context and clearer priorities. Finance teams can identify problems early and respond quickly, instead of waiting to address issues after reimbursement.
Organisations that adopt this approach build audit programs that scale with growth. They create space for finance teams to shift from manual checks to higher-value work, and they gain the visibility needed to control spend without slowing operations. They use the right systems to catch issues early, make faster decisions, and turn audit insights into stronger financial outcomes. Companies that build this kind of capability can turn audit efficiency into a lever for growth, not just a safeguard against the risk of financial oversight.
References:
(1) https://legacy.acfe.com/
(2) https://www.concur.com.au/
(3) https://www.concur.com.au/
