Checking spending against policy
Defra Finance checks every expenses claim against policy by hand. We are testing whether AI can do the first pass.
This is an experiment. We are testing whether AI can help.
The problem
Every expenses claim and every Government Procurement Card transaction has to follow policy. Someone has to check that it does.
For the Environment Agency, the check happens before the money is paid. Two people spend most of their time on those daily checks.
The work arrives in waves and peaks at the start of the month. It is routine, and it has to be done fast.
Because the team is small, checks for the rest of Defra were cut back. Other organisations in the Defra group want the same checks. There is no one free to do them.
What we are building
This is a proof of concept. That means a small test to see whether the idea works, before anyone builds it.
It reads claims, receipts and card payments, and checks them against policy. Then it reports the ones that look wrong.
A person reviews everything it flags. The decision stays with them.
What it does not cover
Whether a claim is allowed stays with the finance team.
The tool cannot hold up a payment or release one. The policies themselves stay as they are.
Where it has got to
This work is at an early stage. We are walking through the checks with the team and working out which systems the engineers would need.
Three things need answers before we build:
- whether the policy documents are current enough to check against
- what it would take to reach the finance systems that hold the data
- what the rules are for handling commercially sensitive information
How we will know it works
We are measuring three things:
- how many flagged transactions turn out to be genuine problems
- how much time the team gets back for work only they can do
- whether the same approach would work for other organisations in the Defra group
What comes later
If the test works:
- the same checks offered to other organisations in the Defra group
- reports that show budget holders the spending in their own area
- possible help with the monthly transparency publication, which needs commercially sensitive detail removed before it goes out
We will not start that work until we know it is safe and allowed.
Follow this project
Get in touch if your team checks spending against policy by hand.