AI-Assisted Finance Approval Routing at a Retail Company

The Challenge

At a retail company, finance and accounting teams, together with the business units that managed approval processes, handled invoices, expenses and other items that needed approval. For each one, the transaction had to reach the right person and move on to its next step without being held up.

Working out where a record should go next was not always straightforward. Identifying the right step in the process, the approval needed and the routing information to include took time, and items could sit waiting while this was clarified. Responsibility for the next action was not always clear either, which added friction to the company’s day-to-day finance operations.

The Solution

With cognipeer Studio, our team configured an AI assistant that helped finance and approval work reach the right step. A user shared the relevant financial record or document, such as an invoice or an expense, and the assistant interpreted its content in the context of the process it belonged to.

The assistant then made visible the step at which the process should continue, as well as the approval or routing information required to move it forward. Users could see where the item needed to go and what was still needed before it could progress, rather than working this out from the document themselves. Finance teams and approvers remained responsible for routing and approval decisions, using the assistant’s output to act on each item without unnecessary waiting.

Implementation

1. Mapped the approval steps. We set out the steps in the invoice, expense and approval processes and the information each step required.
2. Enabled record and document sharing. Users could share a financial record or document directly with the assistant.
3. Configured content interpretation. The assistant read each record or document and identified the step at which the process should continue.
4. Showed approval and routing details. The required approval or routing information was made visible to the user, with the decision to route or approve left with the responsible team.

Business Impact

Finance and approval work moved with fewer pauses. Users could see the next step for each invoice, expense or approval request when they shared it, and the information needed for approval or routing was visible from the start. Business units and finance teams had a clearer view of who was responsible for the next action, which made it easier to keep items moving.

• Faster processing of invoices, expenses and approval requests.
• Shorter waiting times between process steps.
• Clearer visibility of responsibility for each next action.
• Less operational friction in day-to-day finance work.

Technology Behind the Solution