Employee expense fraud on the rise as teams overwhelmed with end-of-year tasks

Employee expense fraud has increased as finance teams are overwhelmed with end-of-year tasks, according to Seb Vanhecke, chief product officer of European fintech Rydoo.

Vanhecke said the combination of higher workloads and the availability of AI-generated deepfake receipts is making it easier for fraudulent claims to go unnoticed.

He explained that traditional batch processing methods are no longer effective against increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts and argued that businesses need to adopt AI-powered solutions that allow for real-time expense monitoring and the detection of deepfakes.

Vanhecke said: “Finance teams are already stretched thin as it is towards the end of the fiscal year, busy closing out company accounts, preparing for external audits and finalising budgets for the next year. 

“With so much to manage, routine tasks such as expense reviews often fall down the priority list, making it easy for small errors and fraudulent claims to slip through unnoticed, especially when they’re disguised well and in small amounts.

“And with generative AI now capable of generating deepfake receipts, it can be even more challenging to spot fraudulent claims, adding yet another layer of complexity to an already stressful time of year.

“By leveraging AI, companies can automatically check for expense fraud including AI-generated fake receipts, shifting from traditional batch processing to real-time monitoring and in turn reducing the risk of mistakes.

“Using AI-powered systems means finance teams can ensure they have employee expenses under control, even during the busiest times of the year.”