![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Sangay-Wangmo.png\")
<\/p>\nEvery manager has experienced it: The dread of approving a stack of expense reports while critical work stands idle. This tedious process has even garnered its own internal descriptor: \u201cApproval fatigue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here at Microsoft, we\u2019re no different.<\/p>\n
Complaints about the time and effort required to approve expense reports have been consistent from managers across our organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continuously heard feedback from our leaders that they were spending too much time approving expense reports,\u201d says Michael He, a senior business program manager in the Greater China Region. \u201cThey\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0know where the potential risk\u00a0actually was, so they had to review everything in\u00a0detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Microsoft Digital, the company\u2019s IT organization, we\u2019ve taken this challenge on by introducing an AI-powered Intelligent Risk Engine.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Intelligent Risk Engine cuts through complexity, pointing approvers straight to the expenses that warrant attention. This clears up the noise that has been driving review fatigue, especially at quarter\u2019s end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sangay Wangmo, Microsoft Digital experience director, Middle East and Africa<\/p>\n
With this new tool, we shifted approvals from uniform, manual\u00a0scrutiny to automated, risk-based decision making. This enables faster reviews, reduced cognitive load, and improved compliance outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Intelligent Risk Engine cuts through complexity, pointing approvers straight to the expenses that\u00a0warrant\u00a0attention,\u201d says Sangay\u00a0Wangmo, a Microsoft Digital experience director for our Middle East and Africa region. \u201cThis clears up the noise that has been driving review fatigue, especially at quarter\u2019s end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead,\u00a0we\u00a0plan to expand the tool to include automated approvals for low-risk cases, creating a more scalable, intelligent, and efficient process.\u00a0This will ease the pain for our managers and allow them to focus on their strategic work.<\/p>\n
Manual approvals in a complex compliance environment<\/p>\n
Across our global enterprise,\u00a0we handle\u00a0nearly a\u00a0million expense reports annually.\u00a0In regions such as Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA),\u00a0our expense approval processes are shaped by diverse regulatory requirements in many different countries.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Kethan-Parbhoo.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cAs organizations scale, managers naturally have more direct reports, which means more approvals to process. At the same time, accountability for all compliance still sits with the manager, which adds pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kethan Parbhoo, general manager, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa<\/p>\n
To take one example, the Middle East\u00a0and\u00a0Africa\u2014featuring multiple subregions, languages, and local policy nuances\u2014presents a complex challenge for expense management. Applying a consistent risk lens to every case is difficult.<\/p>\n
To\u00a0ensure they stay\u00a0compliant, leaders often review expense reports in detail, including verifying\u00a0receipt\u00a0accuracy, matching invoice data, and checking supporting information (like attendee lists).\u00a0This level of review requires substantial time and attention, particularly for managers with large teams who receive a high volume of submissions.\u00a0This becomes even more time-consuming as groups grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs their organizations scale, managers naturally have more direct reports, which means more approvals to process,\u201d says Kethan Parbhoo, a general manager in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. \u201cAt the same time, accountability for all compliance still sits with the manager, which adds\u00a0pressure.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
The current tool, MS Expense, which was useful in a pre-AI environment, doesn\u2019t\u00a0provide\u00a0an optimal\u00a0user experience.\u00a0The process was repetitive and depended heavily on manual validation. Existing tools provide limited support for prioritizing risk or simplifying these tasks, resulting in a similar effort being applied to both low- and high-risk expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a result, leaders experience increased workload, slower approval timelines, and continued exposure to potential compliance gaps, despite careful review.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The four top-level internal pain points of the old approval process can be summarized as:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not knowing where the risk is\u00a0<\/p>\n
Approvals take too much time, especially at quarter\u2019s end\u00a0<\/p>\n
Too much effort is spent on low-risk, routine reviews\u00a0<\/p>\n
Issues are found too late, triggering audits and resubmissions after the fact<\/p>\n
The Intelligent Risk Engine is helping us address all of these in a unified, cohesive way.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Eric-Carnrite.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system leverages a combination of AI-based risk checks and policy-driven risk checks. This produces a quantifiable baseline score that allows for easier comparison and risk assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric Carnrite, principal product manager, Travel and Expense<\/p>\n
AI-assisted risk scoring embedded in\u00a0MS\u00a0Approvals\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Intelligent Risk Engine that our team developed integrates with the existing\u00a0MS Approvals system, shifting from\u00a0volume-based checks to risk-based decisioning. We embed\u00a0this analysis\u00a0directly into the workflow.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0risk\u00a0engine evaluates each expense report against multiple criteria, including\u00a0receipt\u00a0matching (which leverages AI and optical character recognition), spending patterns, and policy alignment. It assigns a\u00a0risk score (1-100) and a\u00a0risk\u00a0level\u20141\u00a0at the low end and 5 at the high end\u2014and then highlights specific areas that might require attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system leverages a combination of AI-based risk checks and policy-driven risk checks,\u201d says Eric Carnrite, a principal product manager for the Travel and Expense team. \u201cThis produces a quantifiable baseline score that allows for easier comparison and risk assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expense risk score table<\/p>\n
No material anomalies detected<\/p>\n
Expense aligns with policy and normal spending patterns<\/p>\n
Designed for fast processing<\/p>\n
Many negligible risk reports may eventually be auto-approved<\/p>\n
Approve<\/p>\n
No additional review unless something is obviously incorrect<\/p>\n
Minor issues or weak signals detected<\/p>\n
Expense is generally compliant<\/p>\n
Risk indicators are informational<\/p>\n
No deep investigation is expected<\/p>\n
Quick reasonableness check<\/p>\n
Review flagged items only if something appears unusual<\/p>\n
Approve if expense makes sense<\/p>\n
One or more policy violations or anomalies detected<\/p>\n
Expense may still be valid but needs attention<\/p>\n
Most common \u2018review required\u2019 category<\/p>\n
Indicators show where to look, not what decision to make<\/p>\n
Review flagged line items<\/p>\n
Request clarification if needed<\/p>\n
Approve only when justified and reasonable<\/p>\n
Significant anomaly detected<\/p>\n
Higher likelihood of non-compliance if not validated<\/p>\n
High risk does not automatically mean rejection<\/p>\n
More likely reviewed by audit<\/p>\n
Perform thorough review<\/p>\n
Validate receipts and details<\/p>\n
Return for correction if needed<\/p>\n
Reject if not compliant<\/p>\n
Strong indicators of serious non-compliance or potential legal\/fraud risk<\/p>\n
Requires immediate and careful handling<\/p>\n
Typically prioritized for audit or compliance review<\/p>\n
Do not approve<\/p>\n
Perform full review<\/p>\n
Escalate to Finance Compliance<\/p>\n
Reject unless concerns resolved<\/p>\n
The tool also explains why something has been flagged.\u00a0This allows approvers to quickly understand where to focus their review and to catch issues early, rather than after the fact.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is effectively doing the\u00a0initial\u00a0assessment that a human would otherwise have to do,\u201d Parbhoo says. \u201cIt gives you a strong signal, so you can decide quickly where deeper review is needed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With our new model, low-risk expenses can be reviewed and approved with minimal effort, while higher-risk items receive closer examination. It just makes sense to prioritize our work this way.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreviously, a $10 coffee receipt required the same level of scrutiny as a $300 invoice, which\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0make sense at scale,\u201d Wangmo says. \u201cLeaders are forced to treat everything the same, even when the risk level is clearly\u00a0different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early returns\u00a0indicate\u00a0significant improvements. These include:<\/p>\n
Immediate productivity gains, as approvers stop reviewing all expenses manually<\/p>\n
Reduced rework and\u00a0late\u2011stage\u00a0audit findings\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stronger governance at scale, without adding headcount or introducing new manual processes<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Michael-He.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt pulls the three parts together: Employees, approvers, and auditing and compliance. It will ultimately make it more proactive for all parties involved, rather than reactive\u2014making sure the whole flow of the expense process is more meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael He, senior business program manager, Greater China Region<\/p>\n
Future direction: Expanded automation and standardization\u00a0<\/p>\n
This kind of AI-powered technology will eventually allow us to pull everything together in one unified system, meeting the needs of all the major players in the expense management process.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt pulls the three parts together: employees, approvers, and auditing and compliance,\u201d He says. \u201cThis will ultimately make it more proactive for all parties involved, rather than reactive\u2014making sure the whole flow of the expense process is more meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
And we\u2019re not done innovating. The current risk engine implementation\u00a0establishes\u00a0a foundation for further automation, and that\u2019s where we\u2019re headed.<\/p>\n
One planned enhancement is the automatic approval of low-risk expenses, subject to compliance approval. This could produce significant savings and greater efficiency across our organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith auto-approvals, we\u2019re not talking about a nominal amount,\u201d Carnrite says. \u201cAt this point, we\u2019re targeting up to 75 percent of expense reports being automatically reviewed and approved. This could save us around 150,000 to 200,000 person-hours a year\u2014and that\u2019s at the manager and director level.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve also added advanced optical character recognition (OCR) technology into our expense tools. This now allows for automatic categorization of expenses, so employees don\u2019t have to enter the category manually for each item.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Salvador-Segura.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe end goal is an AI agent that can proactively create an expense report for you and ask you to review it. You would just validate it and move it forward, instead of building it from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salvador Segura, director of business programs, Field Capability Services<\/p>\n
Additional\u00a0future improvements could include expanded use of AI for data validation,\u00a0receipt\u00a0processing, and identification of inconsistencies across submissions. Over time, the goal is to support a standardized approval framework that adapts to regional differences while\u00a0maintaining\u00a0consistent risk evaluation and reducing manual workload.<\/p>\n
At the next level, we\u2019re hoping to use AI to eventually fully automate the creation of expense reports as well. This would be essentially the Holy Grail for this function.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe end goal is an AI agent that can proactively create an expense report for you and ask you to review it,\u201d says Salvador Segura, a director of business programs in\u00a0Field Capability Services.\u00a0\u201cYou would just\u00a0validate\u00a0it and move it forward, instead of building it from scratch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s this kind of AI-powered work environment that we\u2019re pushing for at Microsoft Digital as we play a leading role in our company\u2019s ongoing Frontier Firm journey.<\/p>\n
Key takeaways<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re still struggling with manual expense approvals at your organization, here are some things to consider about our Intelligent Risk Engine solution:<\/p>\n
AI-powered risk scoring eliminates approval fatigue. By directing managers to the small subset of expenses that actually require scrutiny, the Intelligent Risk Engine removes the need for exhaustive manual review.<\/p>\n
Risk-based decisioning replaces one-size-fits-all approvals. Automated scoring and clear risk levels allow approvers to prioritize high-risk items and quickly resolve lower-risk charges.<\/p>\n
Embedded intelligence accelerates workflows and improves accuracy. Integrating AI directly into MS Approvals highlights issues, explains flags, and enables faster decisions earlier in the process.<\/p>\n
Managers gain time back while strengthening compliance. Reduced manual effort, fewer late-stage audit findings, and better risk visibility improve governance without adding headcount.<\/p>\n
Global complexity is made simpler with the help of AI. The solution accounts for diverse regulations across regions, reducing cognitive load for approvers.<\/p>\n
Automation is helping us target significant efficiency gains. Our product roadmap includes plans to auto-approve low-risk items, potentially saving up to 200,000 manager hours annually.<\/p>\n
Future innovation points to fully AI-driven expense management. The ultimate goal is for AI-generated expense reports, which will shift users from building reports to simply validating them.<\/p>\n
Try it out<\/p>\n
Related links<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every manager has experienced it: The dread of approving a stack of expense reports while critical work stands…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[24,8167,420,7829,10372,545,8169,8170,8171,320,419,8172,7828,314,8393],"class_list":["post-102559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-microsoft","tag-ai","tag-ai-deployment-and-adoption","tag-azure","tag-azure-ai","tag-data-and-ai","tag-digital-transformation","tag-employee-experience","tag-end-user-services-and-support","tag-it-and-business-operations","tag-microsoft","tag-microsoft-365","tag-microsoft-365-copilot","tag-microsoft-ai","tag-security","tag-security-and-risk-management"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}