Robotic Process Automation in Finance
Why are Banks Investing in Robotic Process Automation Tools?
There is great promise for robotic process automation in the financial function of the future. RPA technology is a software-based, robot-based tool for simulating human labor, specifically in the labor-intensive areas of business operations. Essentially, “bots” do the same work as humans, using the same interface and following similar steps. Robotic process automation differs in finance from traditional automation – instead of relying on APIs to integrate multiple systems into one platform and perform specific actions; RPA observes user actions in a GUI and then iterates those actions in the same GUI. This allows automating repetitive tasks like a human.
Robotic Process Automation in Accounts Receivable
Automating specific tasks can greatly improve B2C relationships and make many processes much easier. Robots can issue invoices in a matter of seconds, prompting the customer to make their payments faster. RPA Financial Services technology tracks, standardizes and verifies payments, processes orders, makes no mistakes and is always on top of things. Such a disciplined assistant makes the customer experience stress-free, adding value to the service provider.
Robotic Process Automation in Accounts Payable
Examples of successful robotic process automation in finance are often dedicated to accounts payable. Implementing robotic process automation in finance eliminates endless email correspondence, provides a seamless payment approval process, matching invoices with responsible people, and setting reminders of deadlines. Automated data entry speeds up the process and relieves human staff of the monotonous workload. This allows orderly and orderly invoice processing and payment execution.
RPA in Investment Management
Asset Management appreciates RPA technology for its invaluable contribution to business development. Robotic process automation facilitates labor-intensive processes such as money and real estate management, reporting and analysis, client loading, compliance and risk management, and much more.
The application of this technology in routine operations provides significant benefits to asset managers, as it can be applied to a number of specific business areas, including:
- Commerce processing and email generation based on exception criteria
- Supporting Trade, Enrichment, Verification and Reconciliation
- compromise, especially between disconnected systems (WSO-like issues)
- Delivering information and messages between operational teams
- Automate data entry and extraction and reconciliations – eg with credit ratings, loan contracts, financial statements, etc.
- Fund management areas
How does RPA Work in Finance?
RPA uses software bots to carry out business processes using the same interfaces that people use. It needs standardized financial processes, digital forms and workflows, and the right software integration to ensure connectivity.
With RPA technology, organizations can automate financial tasks such as reconciling accounts and financial statements with minimal human intervention.
RPA use cases in finance and accounting
The following are examples and applications of RPA technology in finance.
- Purchase to Pay: RPA updates vendor invoice collection and allocation tasks by working on a predefined set of rules.
- Request for cash: Intelligent automation can facilitate comprehensive analysis of product orders, sales quotations, customer credits, invoices, and payments.
- Recording for Report: RPA technology makes it easy to automatically record journal entries, reconcile accounts, and manage daily transactions while maintaining a comprehensive audit trail.
- Customer Setup: RPA bots collect all key customer information using technologies such as optical character recognition to make customer setup and the KYC process reliable and streamlined.
- Intercompany reconciliation: download data, create customer account workflows, validate transactions, report discrepancies – RPA technology can take all the stress of bank reconciliations for the accounts department.
- Financial Planning and Forecasting: RPA can be set up to analyze historical data, gather financial data, create forecasts, and free up a skilled workforce to create and implement strategies.
- Automate tax reporting: RPA replaces manual tasks such as data collection, reporting, calculating tax payable, and reconciling tax data.
- Accounts receivable and payable automation: RPA can keep accounts receivable in check to maintain good financial standing and negligible cash gaps by taking over all manual tasks. All invoices can also be matched with purchase orders, thus saving time and effort in accounts payable.
A McKinsey case study showed that after the full potential of automation was unleashed, month-end shutdowns took just two days instead of two weeks. Robotic, strategic, and timely process automation implementations can save time and provide cost benefits to finance and accounts management teams and entire businesses.
Benefits and applications of RPA technology in finance
Here is a quick look at some of the key benefits of implementing RPA in finance and accounting.
- Digitize and Automate Tasks: Intelligent robots can perform accurate financial data entry and re-entry tasks, thus automating redundant jobs.
- Avoiding Process Errors: Automation is the right solution for the rule-based processes that inhabit insurance and mortgage companies. RPA bots can do all the searching and comparison, minus costly errors.
- Documentation and Standardization Automation: Robotic process automation simplifies the finance and accounting space by enabling standardization of official documents and maintenance of critical data and customer records.
- Achieving better efficiencies and returns: The flow of automation in finance is transforming the process. Efficient operations and business functions translate into gains.
In one survey, 92% of respondents said RPA technology met or exceeded their expectations in improving compliance. They also indicated satisfaction with improved quality or accuracy (90%), better productivity (86%), and lower costs (59%).
