Audrey is watching: AI system detects financial and operational anomalies in real time

AS public institutions face mounting pressure to restore financial accountability and credibility, a new artificial intelligence platform developed by South Africans has entered the market to catch irregularities before they spiral into full-blown crises. 

The platform, known as Audrey, monitors transactions and data in real time, flagging  anomalies and potential compliance breaches within minutes. Unlike traditional audit  systems, which often identify problems months or years after the fact, Audrey offers what  experts are calling a “game-changing shift” in financial oversight. 

“Governance frameworks have evolved in complexity, but the audit tools have lagged  behind,” says Claude Chetty, co-founder of Audrey and CEO of Imagination Advisory and Technology. "Audrey brings much needed intelligence into that space, making sure that red  flags are picked up quickly. 

She detects patterns in real time - before money disappears, before tenders go wrong, and  before institutions are compromised". 

A Response to South Africa’s Oversight Crisis 

South Africa’s recent history is littered with financial disasters. The Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture found that at least R57 billion was lost to fraud and mismanagement. The true financial loss has been impossible to quantify.

Last year, during the release of the 2022/2023 report on local government, Auditor-General, Tsakani Maluleke noted that the trend of poor audit outcomes in the local government sector continued, with  only 34 municipalities (13%) obtaining clean audits.

Maluleke reported that poor financial management remained prevalent, with a high rate of unauthorised expenditure. She called on all role-players in the accountability ecosystem to “work deliberately and with urgency”  towards a culture of performance, accountability, transparency and institutional integrity to ultimately result in a better life for the people of South Africa. 

“In most cases of irregularities, red flags are present but are undetected until it is too late,”  says Chetty.  

“Had real-time auditing technology existed during the early stages of state capture, much of the damage could have been prevented.”  

What Audrey Does Differently 

Audrey is the first complete AI platform in the world designed specifically for audit assurance and governance, says Chetty. The platform has been  designed by a team of South Africans. It applies machine learning and predictive analytics to: 

• Track transactions continuously across entire data sets  
• Highlight red flags, vendor and staff inconsistencies 
• Issue real-time alerts for compliance teams and auditors 
• Provide decision-makers with instant, data-driven insights

Audrey’s engine is capable of reading and learning from 1,500+ pages every 12 hours,  providing a level of coverage and responsiveness that is impossible through manual audits. 

In pilot phases, organisations have reported audit cycle time reductions of up to 40%, along  with improved early detection of fraud, conflict-of-interest risks, and financial leakage. 

Job security  

While the use of AI has sparked global debate about job displacement, Audrey is positioned as a collaborative system; one that assists rather than replaces professionals. 

“This is not about removing auditors,” says Chetty. “It’s about removing the blind spots. Audrey takes over the repetitive scanning and frees people to focus on the issues that  require ethical judgment, interrogation, and human insight.” 

“We must shift from retrospective auditing to proactive prevention,” says Chetty. “Corruption is getting smarter, and so must our tools.”

SUNDAY TRIBUNE