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// REGIONAL ROUND-UP // AFRICA | APAC | EUROPE | MIDDLE EAST | NORTH AMERICA
MIDDLE EAST
ALMOST HALF OF FINANCE AND BUSINESS LEADERS EXPECT MORE FREQUENT AUDIT AND PUNITIVE PENALTIES IN A POST-COVID WORLD
Middle East companies have adjusted their operations to a digital-first world due to the COVID-19 pandemic . As a result , many companies have sped up their adoption of digital tools to enable employees to work remotely and to file in expenses and invoices digitally . Despite this , companies continue to struggle with compliance challenges as employees submit expenses and invoices that may not adhere to corporate policies . According to the ACFE ’ s 2020 Report to the Nations , the median loss to a company from expense report fraud is US $ 33,000 per year , and a lack of internal controls contribute to nearly one in three frauds .
With many Middle East businesses operating on tighter budgets , there ’ s more pressure to increase spend compliance and reduce errors , fraud and waste than ever . Timing is also of the essence as businesses expect the situation to become even more complex in the future . According to recent SAP Concur research , almost half of finance and business leaders expect more frequent audit and punitive penalties in a post-COVID world . To tackle this challenge , Middle East businesses need solutions to easily manage employees ’ expense and invoice submissions , as well as mitigate compliance risks early . To help companies big and small ensure they are ready to address this , SAP Concur – together with spend management and risk mitigation partner , Oversight – launched Concur Detect by Oversight .
The solution powered by AI ( Artificial Intelligence ) is designed to simplify an organisation ’ s expense audit and compliance programme through embedded intelligence and automation . Concur Detect by Oversight uses AI to automate an enormous quantity of data , enabling it to identify errors early and using predictive analytics to empower finance and compliance teams to take proactive action . The solution provides a range of critical features , including :
• Simplified processes : Integrated with the Concur Expense workflow , Concur Detect by Oversight ’ s
AI automatically identifies potential mistakes , fraud and patterns of misuse both before and after reimbursement .
• Mitigated risks : The solution can reimburse employees faster with auto-approval of low-risk items while providing a focus for at-risk items .
• Greater visibility and control : Concur Detect by Oversight uses intelligent technologies to detect fraud and anomalies humans can ’ t . Through its use of AI , it can leverage multiple data points for improved confidence , and validation on financial amounts , dates , vendors and more .
• Ability to improve employee behaviour : The solution helps identify accidental misuse vs . fraud to help auditors focus on developing and improving policies and best practices . Additionally , Concur Detect also tracks incidents against the employee base . This allows businesses to isolate repeat offenders from users who made innocent mistakes .
Mark Cullen , SAP Concur Managing Director for EMEA South , said : “ In the Middle East , changing expense needs and unclear policies due to working from home scenarios have further complicated an often slow and error-prone audit process . Concur Detect by Oversight addresses our customers ’ audit needs so they can improve compliance , identify fraud and focus more on what matters to their business . With this solution , businesses can do a solid data analysis and focus on making tailored policy adjustments that address the real causes of expense fraud – rather than making potentially unsuitable policy changes based on mere assumptions .” �
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