At Microsoft, managers experienced "approval fatigue" from spending too much time reviewing expense reports, according to senior business program manager Michael He in the Greater China Region. To address this, Microsoft Digital introduced an AI-powered Intelligent Risk Engine. Sangay Wangmo, Microsoft Digital experience director for the Middle East and Africa region, stated the tool "cuts through complexity, pointing approvers straight to the expenses that warrant attention" and "clears up the noise that has been driving review fatigue, especially at quarter’s end." The shift moved approvals from uniform manual scrutiny to automated, risk-based decision making. Microsoft handles nearly a million expense reports annually. In regions like Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA), diverse regulatory requirements shape approval processes. Kethan Parbhoo, general manager for CEMA, noted that as organizations scale, managers have more approvals to process while accountability for compliance remains with them. Looking ahead, Microsoft plans to expand the tool to include automated approvals for low-risk cases.