Data Visualization Case Study
Enhancing Expense Account
Visualization for Effective Financial Analysis
Visualization for Effective Financial Analysis
Transforming fragmented financial data into a unified analytical experience for Tahakom—enabling
faster insights, better cost control, and improved audit readiness.
faster insights, better cost control, and improved audit readiness.
Client
Tahakom
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
3 Months
Overview
Organizations often struggle to analyze expense data that is distributed across multiple financial modules such as
purchase orders, credit notes, bills, and journal entries. This
fragmentation results in inefficient workflows, delayed
insights, and increased risk of financial inaccuracies.
purchase orders, credit notes, bills, and journal entries. This
fragmentation results in inefficient workflows, delayed
insights, and increased risk of financial inaccuracies.
Tahakom engaged our team to design a unified analytical
experience that consolidates expense transactions into a
single, scalable, and intuitive interface.
experience that consolidates expense transactions into a
single, scalable, and intuitive interface.
About Tahakom
Tahakom is a Saudi Arabian digital transformation company delivering advanced solutions for public
safety, security, and transportation. Leveraging AI, IoT, and big data, Tahakom supports government
modernization initiatives aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.
safety, security, and transportation. Leveraging AI, IoT, and big data, Tahakom supports government
modernization initiatives aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.
The company focuses on operational efficiency, transparency, and data-driven decision-making across
government sectors.
government sectors.
Problem Statement
Expense transactions were scattered across independent modules, forcing users to manually consolidate
data using spreadsheets. This caused slow and error-prone financial analysis, limited visibility, and high
effort for audits.
data using spreadsheets. This caused slow and error-prone financial analysis, limited visibility, and high
effort for audits.
Slow Analysis
Manual consolidation led to delayed insights and inefficient
workflows
workflows
Limited Visibility
No holistic view of true "spent" values across modules
High Audit Effort
Difficult to validate LCGPA data across disconnected systems
Inconsistent Reporting
Incomplete and inconsistent data across reports
Why This Mattered
Users and Needs
Procurement Lead
Monthly or quarterly usage
Primary Goal:
Understand LCGPA contributions by
expense account
expense account
Needs:
Pain Points:
Data Uploader
Monthly or quarterly usage
Primary Goal:
Upload bulk transaction data reliably
Needs:
Pain Points:
Auditor
Periodic usage
Primary Goal:
Validate LCGPA data accuracy
Needs:
Pain Points:
Understanding the Data
The core challenge was to clearly explain how different transaction types contribute to the total "Spent" value within an expense
account.
account.
Transaction Type
Impact on Spent Value
Purchase Orders
Based on GRN-delivered quantities
Credit Notes
Negative adjustment to spent
Expense Bills
Direct addition to spent
Journal Entries
Debit increases, credit reduces spent
Consumed Inventory
Reflects inventory usage value
Design Challenges
Data Fragmentation
Information spread across multiple
modules requiring consolidation
modules requiring consolidation
Scalability
Hundreds of expense accounts and
thousands of transactions to
manage
thousands of transactions to
manage
Clarity
Explaining complex financial
relationships through visual design
relationships through visual design
Design Process
1
Research
Conducted stakeholder interviews with procurement, finance, and audit teams. Identified mental models around "spent," "balance," and contribution scoring.
2
Wireframing
Explored layouts for dashboards, charts, and tables. Tested different hierarchy models for dense financial data.
3
Iterative Design
Refined interactions based on usability feedback. Simplified visual density while preserving data richness.
4
Visual Design
Applied accessible color contrast. Used consistent color mapping for transaction types. Designed hover and drill-down
interactions for exploration.
interactions for exploration.
5
Usability Testing
Validated comprehension, discoverability, and task success. Iteratively improved clarity and performance.
Solution
A centralized expense analytics hub that aggregates expense data across all modules
Data Visualization Strategy
Bar Charts
Traditional Bar Chart
Compare transaction types per expense account
Stacked Bar Chart
View total spent with individual contribution breakdown
Why Bar Charts?
Hierarchical Tables
To complement charts, we introduced expandable tables organized by transaction date and type, allowing users to
trace summarized values back to individual transactions—critical for audits.
trace summarized values back to individual transactions—critical for audits.
Key Elements:
Spent (SAR)
Balance (SAR)
Parent-child hierarchy
Expand/collapse icons
Interaction Design
Hover States
Display exact values and contextual information on hover
Drill-Down
Click to explore detailed transaction breakdowns
Outcome & Impact
Reduced Manual Analysis
Eliminated dependency on manual Excel workflows
Improved Visibility
Clear insights into expense account performance
Accelerated Workflows
Faster procurement and audit processes
Enhanced Compliance
Improved financial accuracy and audit readiness
Scalable Analysis
Supports large organizations with complex data
Increased Confidence
Higher trust in financial data accuracy
Key Learnings
Visualization is essential for making complex financial data actionable and understandable for diverse user
groups
groups
Combining charts with hierarchical tables improves both insight discovery and data traceability for audit purposes
Scalability must be designed early when working with enterprise financial data to ensure long-term success
Conclusion
By consolidating fragmented expense data into a unified, interactive analytical
experience, we helped Tahakom transform financial analysis from a manual, error-prone
process into a clear, scalable, and decision-ready system.
experience, we helped Tahakom transform financial analysis from a manual, error-prone
process into a clear, scalable, and decision-ready system.
The solution supports procurement managers, data uploaders, and auditors alike—advancing
Tahakom's mission to improve transparency and operational efficiency in line with Saudi Vision
2030.
Tahakom's mission to improve transparency and operational efficiency in line with Saudi Vision
2030.