Beyond manager rubber stamping: How DIY Smart Workflows transform expense audits

Lisa, an audit manager at a global services firm, often stared at her screen each morning and sighed at a familiar sight: dozens of flagged expense reports. “My job title should have been ‘Professional Email Chaser,’” she jokes. “Forty percent of our expense reports were missing basic documentation. My team spent most of their days following up on missing receipts or attendee names or hunting down approvals. We were playing email tag all day long.”

Approval chain gridlock

Full disclosure: ‘Lisa’ isn’t a real person. She's a fictional character we’ve created to illustrate the common challenges many of our customers faced before finding our solution. Her experience reflects the growing challenge in corporate finance that, as organizations scale, traditional expense auditing becomes increasingly unsustainable. Managers often “rubber stamp” expense approvals because they feel there isn’t enough time for a careful review. That leaves audit teams spending thousands of work hours annually on administrative tasks that lead to delays, rather than value-generating financial oversight.

The never-ending expense audit challenge

Legacy automation systems leave audit teams caught in a constant cycle of information gathering, documentation requests, and approval tracking that drains productivity and delays reimbursements. Traditional approaches to expense management create a web of email chains, manual follow-ups, and frustrated stakeholders across the organization.

Here’s what our customers are seeing:

• Missing documentation: Over 40% of expense reports lack receipts or require documentation
• Information gaps: Gathering basic details leads to constant, back-and-forth communication threads
• Approval bottlenecks: Multiple approvers are needed for different thresholds and types of expenses
• Manual follow-ups: Auditors spend hours sending reminders and tracking responses

Thankfully, Lisa’s challenges are about to become obsolete. To solve the problems real expense auditors face every day, we’ve married powerful AI built specifically for finance with an intuitive, self-service platform. The result is DIY Smart Workflows for Expense Audit.

How low-code DIY Smart Workflows simplify expense auditing

DIY, or “do-it-yourself,” workflows let teams set up automations themselves. They’re considered “low-code” automations because you don’t need to know how to code to create them–the basic building blocks are already in place. With just a few clicks, you can build automations that handle a wide range of situations without IT help or an AppZen Customer Success Manager.

The AI automations that make up DIY Smart Workflows are helping to modernize expense audit processing. The key to their success lies in their ability to create intelligent approval chains that reflect real-world business processes. AppZen’s Smart Workflows eliminate manual bottlenecks by automating the entire approval process with AI, from information collection to multi-level approvals, all while maintaining compliance and control. 

DIY Smart Workflows offer many benefits. The system intelligently filters expenses, automatically surfacing only the high-risk items that require manager review, while expediting routine expenses. Everything is managed within AppZen, preserving rich audit context directly within the workflow. Managers no longer need to switch between multiple expense systems, ensuring they have complete context for decision-making without losing time logging into separate platforms.

• Automated task assignment: Instantly route requests for missing or additional information
• Intelligent approval chains: Configure multi-level approvals based on amount, category, and risk
• Real-time tracking: Monitor the status of all requests and approvals in one place
• Proactive notifications: Automatic reminders ensure timely responses and approvals

A leading manufacturer started using Smart Workflows to handle their complex expense approval process. Now, when a receipt is missing or additional justification is needed, the system automatically assigns tasks to the right people, tracks responses, and escalates when necessary. According to one finance director, “Since implementing Smart Workflows, follow-up time has decreased by 75%. What used to take days now happens in minutes.”

Powerful features that drive results

While every organization’s expense audit needs are unique, AppZen’s Smart Workflows provide the flexibility and power to handle even the most complex processes. Our platform combines enterprise-grade capabilities with an easy-to-use interface that finance teams can easily configure.

As part of the AppZen Platform, the AI Agent Workbench for AppZen Inbox incorporates all platform core features, including its automation framework, workflow capabilities, and generative AI. Some of these capabilities include:

• The low-code workflow builder lets finance teams create approval chains
• Smart routing automatically assigns tasks based on expense type, amount, and policy requirements
• Built-in escalation paths ensure nothing falls through the cracks
• A comprehensive audit trail captures all interactions and approvals

With AppZen’s Smart Workflows, finance teams can transform their expense management process into a streamlined, efficient operation. Employees get clear tasks, approvers understand what needs review, and finance teams maintain complete visibility and control.

“Now when I look at my screen on Tuesday mornings,” Lisa reflects, “instead of seeing dozens of follow-up tasks, I see meaningful insights about our expense patterns.” That’s what our real clients experience. And we believe that’s the kind of work a real auditor should do.


If you’re interested in eliminating endless email chains and manual follow-ups, contact us today to see how Smart Workflows can transform your expense management process.