The Use of Blockchain Technology and OCR in E-Government for Document Management: Inbound Invoice Management as an Example

Abstract

The field of electronic government (e-government) is gaining prominence in contemporary society, as it has a significant influence on the wider populace within the context of a technologically advanced world. E-government makes use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) at various levels and domains within government agencies and the public sector. ICT reduces manual labour, potential fraud points, errors, and process lapses. The Internet’s quick accessibility and the widespread adoption of modern technologies and disciplines, such as big data, the Internet of Things, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, have accelerated the need for e-government. However, these developments raise a number of data reliability and precision concerns. The adoption of blockchain technology by researchers demonstrates its efficacy in addressing such issues. The present study proposes the SECHash system model, which integrates blockchain and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technologies for the purpose of regulating the processing of incoming documents by governmental agencies. As a case study to assess the proposed system paradigm, the study uses a document containing incoming invoices. The proposal seeks to maintain the integrity of document data by prohibiting its modification after acceptance. Additionally, SECHash guarantees that accepted documents will not be destroyed or lost. The analysis demonstrates that using the SECHash model system will decrease fraudulent transactions by eradicating manual labour and storing documents on a blockchain network.