AI is changing the game for expense fraud, but not just in the way you think

As economic conditions tighten, finance teams are under increased pressure to control expenditure and ensure that functions are running as efficiently as possible. 

Financial vigilance is at an all-time high, and yet issues like expense fraud continue to pose a serious and evolving threat to company finances. Previously limited to trivialities such as lost receipts or inflated taxi claims, fraudulent activity has now entered a far more sophisticated era, powered in part by developments in artificial intelligence.  

While AI can offer huge benefits to businesses in terms of productivity and efficiency, it is also enabling new methods of deception. Deepfake receipts, computer-generated or altered documents, are becoming harder to detect, often slipping through the cracks and passing manual reviews with ease.  

To combat this, organisations are increasingly turning to AI-powered technologies, not only to speed up expense processing but also to safeguard against emerging threats, using the same technology to beat fraudsters at their own game.  

The cost of doing nothing 

Expense fraud is more widespread than a lot of companies realise; reports from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners have revealed that organisations lose approximately 5% of their annual revenue to fraud every year, with incorrect expense reimbursements being one of the most common causes of this.  

This loss doesn’t always stem from malicious intent; in many cases expense fraud can be accidental. Finance teams everywhere know there are instances of duplicate submissions, improperly classified claims, or even misunderstandings about company policy.  

Yet whether deliberate or not, these mistakes can add up quickly, eating into budget margins and exposing businesses to compliance risks. 

Traditional approaches to expense auditing are characterised by human errors and are no longer sufficient. They’re often time-consuming, inconsistently applied, and unable to keep pace with today’s digital workflows. Worse still, they can’t reliably detect fraud when it’s masked by AI-generated documents. 

The rise of deepfake receipts 

With generative AI tools now freely available, creating fraudulent receipts has become surprisingly easy. These deepfakes can mimic the format, tax details and logo of genuine suppliers and can even include accurate metadata to avoid suspicion. 

While previously, finance teams were able to spot purposely blurry scans or inconsistent formatting, they’re now going up against documents that are near-identical to their legitimate counterparts, making it almost impossible to spot without the help of advanced technology.  

For finance teams, this raises the stakes significantly. Relying on visual inspection and manual approval is no longer enough to ensure accurate and reliable expense management. 

Smart systems as the first line of defence 

To respond to these challenges, many organisations are adopting AI-driven systems that analyse expenses in real time. These tools go beyond simple automation, they learn from patterns and detect anomalies that would typically go unnoticed. 

For example, AI-powered audit systems can flag: 

• Expenses submitted more than once, even across different users or time periods 

• Inconsistencies in exchange rates or suspicious edits 

• Receipts that appear to be screenshots, handwritten or digitally altered 

• Claims outside expected spending norms based on role, geography, or category 

Because they process large volumes of data quickly, these systems also reduce the lag between submission and detection, enabling faster reimbursement cycles while still maintaining a high standard of control. 

Keeping up with changing work models 

Remote and hybrid work, global mobility, and decentralised spending have all introduced complexity into the expense management process. Compliance frameworks now need to account for regional tax rules, currency conversions, and diverse employee behaviours — all of which add friction when managed manually. 

Smart auditing systems offer the flexibility to apply policy rules by branch, geography, or role while maintaining a consistent, company-wide standard. By providing real-time insights and alerts, they support a more agile approach to governance — one that evolves with the organisation’s needs rather than constraining them. 

Rethinking the role of finance 

There is a broader shift underway in how financial functions operate. Increasingly, finance teams are expected to deliver not just oversight but strategic insight, providing data-driven recommendations and supporting smarter business decisions. In this context, the move toward intelligent, automated expense controls is both practical and symbolic. 

It signals a departure from reactive processes and manual policing, towards a model where technology handles detection and escalation, and human expertise is applied where it has the greatest impact. Leveraging AI for automating time-consuming, routine tasks and allows finance teams to concentrate on high-value strategic decisions that promote growth and stability. 

The road ahead 

As fraud techniques evolve, so must the systems designed to catch them. The proliferation of AI-generated content, including deepfake receipts, is not a future threat; it’s already happening. Businesses that fail to adapt leave themselves vulnerable not only to financial loss but also to reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny. 

By embracing intelligent, adaptable audit technology, organisations can reduce the administrative burden on employees, strengthen their defence against both honest mistakes and deliberate deception, and ensure they remain competitive in an increasingly efficiency-driven economy. 

In a digital-first world, expense management requires more than rules; it requires resilience. And in many cases, that resilience will come from AI.