E2E Process Automation Leveraging Generative AI and IDP-Based Automation Agent: A Case Study on Corporate Expense Processing

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how integrating generative AI, IDP, and automation agents can achieve end-to-end automation of complex corporate expense processing, surpassing traditional RPA limitations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel integrated system combining OCR, IDP, generative AI, and human-in-the-loop processes for comprehensive expense automation.

Findings

Over 80% reduction in processing time

Decreased error rates and improved compliance

Enhanced accuracy, consistency, and employee satisfaction

Abstract

This paper presents an intelligent work automation approach in the context of contemporary digital transformation by integrating generative AI and Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) technologies with an Automation Agent to realize End-to-End (E2E) automation of corporate financial expense processing tasks. While traditional Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has proven effective for repetitive, rule-based simple task automation, it faces limitations in handling unstructured data, exception management, and complex decision-making. This study designs and implements a four-stage integrated process comprising automatic recognition of supporting documents such as receipts via OCR/IDP, item classification based on a policy-driven database, intelligent exception handling supported by generative AI (large language models, LLMs), and human-in-the-loop final decision-making with continuous system learning through an Automation Agent. Applied to a major Korean enterprise (Company S), the system demonstrated quantitative benefits including over 80% reduction in processing time for paper receipt expense tasks, decreased error rates, and improved compliance, as well as qualitative benefits such as enhanced accuracy and consistency, increased employee satisfaction, and data-driven decision support. Furthermore, the system embodies a virtuous cycle by learning from human judgments to progressively improve automatic exception handling capabilities. Empirically, this research confirms that the organic integration of generative AI, IDP, and Automation Agents effectively overcomes the limitations of conventional automation and enables E2E automation of complex corporate processes. The study also discusses potential extensions to other domains such as accounting, human resources, and procurement, and proposes future directions for AI-driven hyper-automation development.