237|CHATGPT – Cash Disbursements Audit Bot

BYU Student Author: @James_Behling
Reviewers: @Kaden_Sandberg, @Jason_Nguyen
Estimated Time to Solve: 45 Minutes

We provide the solution to this challenge using:

Python

Need a program? Click here.

Overview

In this challenge, you are working as a financial analyst at EagleTech Solutions, a mid-sized technology consulting firm that processes hundreds of cash disbursements per month. Your company has noticed anomalies in cash payments, including:

  1. Payments made to unauthorized vendors

  2. Unusual payment amounts that deviate from historical transactions

  3. Inconsistent payment descriptions that don’t align with what the vendor provides

  4. Unexpected payment methods (e.g., a vendor that normally receives ACH payments getting a wire transfer)

To strengthen internal controls and improve audit efficiency, your manager has asked you to leverage AI to create a solution that can help flag suspicious disbursements before they are approved.

Your solution does not have to take one specific form—be creative! Our solution utilizes Python and a ChatGPT API, but any solution that reviews cash disbursements for reasonableness based on vendor history, expected descriptions, and proper payment methods is acceptable.

Instructions

  1. Review the cash disbursement dataset, which contains payment transactions, vendor IDs, amounts, payment descriptions, and payment methods.

  2. Cross-check vendor legitimacy using the authorized payee list.

  3. Identify inconsistent payment descriptions that do not match the expected goods/services for a vendor.

  4. Identify transactions with unexpected payment methods (e.g., a vendor preferring ACH but receiving a wire).

  5. Design a solution that automates this review process and flags high-risk transactions for further review.

Data Files

Suggestions and Hints

Although certainly not required, you can download ChallengeXc_Solution.docx to see a transcript of my conversation with ChatGPT to create our solution.

Solution