I’ve been vibe coding on Base44 recently and having so much fun — so I wanted to share one of the apps I created for an AI workshop
“Vibe coding” was named Word of the Year 2025 by Collins Dictionary. The expression was coined by computer scientist Andrej Karpathy earlier this year when he described a new way of generating code: simply telling an AI what you want to build in natural language.
In this episode, I’m taking you inside a little experiment I ran for a workshop with chartered accountants. It’s the story of how I “vibe coded” an AI Expenses App — without being an accountant and without writing a single line of traditional code. More importantly, it’s about why you, as a domain expert, are actually the best person to be doing this kind of work.
Learning by Doing
Whenever I teach AI — whether to a room of fifty or in a one-to-one session — we build things. No long lectures. No heavy theory. It’s hands-on, experiential learning with tools people can actually use.
I structure this learning around four levels of AI maturity:
- Using AI tools – everyday apps that make life easier.
- Working with AI assistants – systems you can brief and delegate tasks to.
- Agentic AI – AI that can take defined actions on your behalf.
- AI coding or “vibe coding” – building applications by describing them in natural language, not by writing code.
For this workshop, I wanted a demo that lived at that fourth level. But it also needed to be something painfully practical — something that accountants would immediately recognise from their day-to-day work.
Finding the Idea
So I stepped into their world.
I’m not a chartered accountant. But my daughter is, and I run a business. I know the slightly chaotic routine of gathering receipts, invoices, and bits of paper, and then sending the whole pile to my accountant with a silent prayer that I haven’t forgotten something important. That friction — that low-level dread — is exactly the kind of problem AI should help with.
From that, the idea for an AI Expenses App was born.
The concept was simple but ambitious:
- take paper or digital expenses
- extract the key data
- analyse and categorise everything
- present it in a clear, visual dashboard
- highlight unusual patterns or red flags
And because accountants manage multiple clients, it had to handle portfolios, offer next-step suggestions, and ideally connect to real systems like Xero or QuickBooks.
Enter: Vibe Coding
My “coding environment” was Base44, which lets you build apps by literally talking to it.
I opened a chat and described the problem in plain English:
An app that ingests receipts or expense lines, extracts the data, categorises every item, builds a dashboard showing where the money goes, and flags anything that needs attention.
That description was my first act of vibe coding.
The system generated a draft app. It wasn’t perfect — of course it wasn’t. But vibe coding isn’t about perfection. It’s about iteration. You don’t disappear for months. You have a conversation.
So I refined it:
- clarified the data model
- specified how VAT should be handled
- added categories relevant to Irish accounting
- tightened the dashboard logic
- defined the charts and the questions they should answer
And then I stepped back into the mindset of an accountant:
What does progress look like for them?
What metrics matter?
What slows them down?
I asked Base44 to add progress indicators, workflow cues, and client-level summaries.
Each refinement was another act of vibe coding — using domain insight and natural language to shape the app.
When it felt coherent, I generated a shareable link so participants could actually try it themselves — not just watch me use it.
The Aha Moment
During the workshop, I told the group:
I’m not a chartered accountant. I don’t live in your regulations or your busy season. But I used an AI and a clear description of a problem you know intimately — and I built this app.
Then I flipped it:
If I can build this without your qualifications, imagine what you can build with them.
You know what “good” looks like. You know the red flags. You know what clean, well-organised expenses should look like. That knowledge is the code.
When you describe a workflow, define the categories, or shape a dashboard, you’re writing the specification the AI turns into an actual working tool.
That’s when the room shifted.
People realised the bottleneck isn’t a lack of programming skills — it’s believing that their professional judgement is valuable input the AI needs.
What Vibe Coding Really Means
By the end of the session, the app wasn’t “mine” anymore. It became a mirror, showing what’s possible when a subject matter expert collaborates with AI.
If you take one thing from this story, let it be this:
Vibe coding isn’t about being a developer. It’s about being clear on the problems in your world — and brave enough to sit down with an AI and say: “Let’s fix this together.”
Your expertise is the magic.
The AI is simply the amplifier.
About the Podcast Host
Joanne Sweeney is a specialist in public-sector marketing and digital communications. She’s the author of Public Sector Marketing Pro and the creator of the Professional Diploma in AI for Public Sector Marketing. With years of experience in training, consulting, and advocating for digital transformation, Joanne provides insight and guidance for government agencies navigating the digital landscape. She is also the host of the award-winning Public Sector Marketing Show podcast.
