How RPA Can Help Financial Manager Transform Digitally?

Robotics Automated Process (RPA) is an automation technology that lets robots run processes that result in increased efficiency, lower costs and more efficient compliance.

RPA is changing and its use is growing. For financial functions, Brisk Logic reports that 50 percent of controllers have adopted RPA or are operating. Additionally, Brisk Logic forecasts that this number will grow to 88% over the coming two years!

RPA can be an integral element of Digital Transformation across various tasks without the need for an enterprise. While robots can perform the task, it does not mean they are replacing humans. According to some “Robotics process automation (RPA) will assist humans to become more human in their work.” This is the idea that robots will take those tasks that aren’t adding value from the hands of humans and can automate them which allows them to concentrate on more worthwhile and rewarding tasks.

Let’s explore the many ways to use RPA in the finance sector.

What do you think about RPA changing the way we think about finance?

Over the past several years, financial professionals have faced a lot of pressure due to the increasing repetitive workload in terms of transaction volume, as well as the huge management of data. 

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will assist increase productivity and revenue by automating routine processes.

Planning and Forecasting:

To ensure that growth and profitability are maintained finance teams must be meticulous and consistent in planning cash flow and execute precise budgeting. They must have access to instant information about how the finances of the company and projections for revenue as well as market data, load balances as well as other detailed information. Leaders and business stakeholders require the information in a format that’s simple to understand. RPA can streamline trend analysis and make market trend lines and visual data accessible without the need for experts, resulting in faster decisions.

The processing of Invoices:

RPA will automatize the administration of accounts payable and receivables, which include repetitive tasks. With RPA invoices can be automatically generated and information from various invoices can be transferred and stored in a central location to be integrated and compared with other processes data. These features can aid in speeding up the invoice creation process while avoiding costly mistakes as well as penalties for insufficient or late payments.

Receivables Accounts:

Receivables involve repetitive and rules-based processes that require accuracy, consistency and strict compliance with timeframes. RPA aids in automatizing the production of bills for goods and services more efficiently and reliably. By automatizing the bill-making process, employees can concentrate on tasks that are most important to them, and improve the cycle of collection.

Fraud Identification:

Through RPA Financial institutions can quickly detect fraud and identify any potential fraudulent activities in light of the usage patterns. If any fraud is detected actions, stakeholders will be notified immediately and swiftly make the necessary business or regulatory level adjustments. This reduces risk and helps prevent organizations from being affected by fraudulent activity.

Reporting on Finance:

Brisk Logic states that human mistakes in the finance department result in around 25,000 working hours worth of work. Robotic Process Automation can remove the redundancies and assist in producing precise reports. In addition, it contributes to tracking loss and profit and generating a flawless report in real-time. By using RPA businesses can have greater transparency and produce more precise financial forecasts.

Reporting Taxes:

Tax Reporting involves a range of tasks like collecting/validating data, creating reports, making adjustments, and so on. RPA can automate the majority of these tasks by collecting data for tax liability as well as generating tax basis data reports, creating reports, frequently updating tax return worksheets, and then submitting tax returns to the authorities concerned.

Intercompany Internal Reconciliations:

Hand entry of data and cross-checking consume lots of time for financial experts in the creation of precise financial statements. They also spend much time in the process of identifying and recording transactions or making invoice errors. Utilizing RPA it is possible to automate the process of analyzing the transactional data of various sources, comparing records, and advising about differences

Reconciliation of Bank Accounts:

RPA is a tool that can automate the reconciliation process. It will automatically download statements of the bank, reconcile balances and transactions, and also update the system’s core functions. RPA bots can identify discrepancies and mismatches. With greater accuracy and better match of records, companies can save lots of time and money in reconciliations.

Entries in the journal:

RPA can come in useful for the creation of journal entries that have to be made on an annual basis. The robots can be used to enter entries into ERP systems such as ERP and also run validation analytics to check the accuracy of entries.

The following are some examples of use cases that demonstrate RPA’s usefulness in accounting and finance:

Record-to-Report:

Different from humans, robots are designed specifically to reconcile or compare large datasets or detect irregularities with speed and accuracy. Procedures such as intercompany accounting, journals, GL reconciliations, period-close as well as statutory and management reporting and variance analysis are all in the category of optimal automation candidates. Robots can be trained to help in compliance and regulatory activities as well as to offer support for tax audits too. Any decision-making based on rules could be replicated in the robot’s commands to be executed with 100% accuracy each time the task is completed.

Order-to-Cash :

 There are several areas in which robots are utilized in O2C because it is the essence of work is largely robotic. Human employees will find this type of job is exhausting and tiring which can result in inaccurate processing and expensive work rework. In the paragraph above robots are adept in evaluating, comparing and reconciling huge datasets, which makes them an ideal component of the master management of data. Robots are also able to handle cash applications, create reports, issue invoices and even handle credit risk or disputes.

Source-to-pay :

As with other F&A functions, robots may be utilized to process payments, reconcile as well as report. Robots are also able to handle purchase orders and invoices. With the same tools as humans, robots can input and reconcile information from the system to the system, monitor compliance with vendors or even detect mistakes that require manual review by humans.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) :

Thinking in terms of automation FP&A processes can be broken down into three groups three categories: transactional, analytical and special. Transactional processes, such as regular Budgets and forecasts for financials as well as consolidations, processing of eliminations and preparing regulatory reports all to fall within the capabilities of a robot. 

Analytical functions such as variance analysis about forecasts and budgets, as well as determining and measuring the impact of cost drivers, monitoring performance, and other tasks that require more cognitive inputs could be automated, however, it is not as simple. AI is used in this field to assist robots to imitate certain aspects of human decision-making. 

However, it requires a lot of guidance from humans to ensure that they properly prepare the robots over time. Specific or strategic tasks like the deployment and utilization of resources as well as optimizing the mix of product and customer or continuous improvement in cost management are not suitable for automation at present.

Management and consolidation of data :

The majority of companies utilize multiple applications to run their business. Each application is an entry point for any new or updated information, which may cause problems for businesses if applications do not work together. Further human errors can cause the need to rework procedures and data management issues also. Robots can quickly evaluate and integrate data from different systems to facilitate more efficient data management.

RPA can Assist you in achieving new levels of Digital Transformation.

RPA is considered to be an integral part of an organization’s digital transformation however, some argue that it’s not an essential factor in an organization’s quest to thrive in a digital age.

Here are three of the ways they’re doing it:

1. Increasing digital scalability through the use of robotic process automation (RPA)

The difficulties that businesses across all industries were faced with when trying to handle the escalating demand and supply from COVID-19 caused those who weren’t prepared to rapidly figure out ways to deal with these increases. Even during the height of the epidemic itself, there have been many instances of companies increasing their capacity and adopting more automated processes in order to be able to handle the surge in demand from customers as well as spikes in supply chains and manage remote workforces.

One good instance of how RPA is assisting in digital transformations by scalability is by digitizing key elements of the client-facing process. When faced with massive increases in cancellation requests, waiting time in the call centres shot to the top of the list. The lessons learned from this experience have led these functions that are geared towards customers to automate essential elements of their processes, such as automating the triage of requests and enhancing their efficiency and enhancing their capacity to handle sudden surges. Another example of scalability in the health industry was the quick deployment of supply chain automation at the height of demand in order to get equipment into hospitals faster, and with less effort required.

The main goal of these kinds of automation was not just to improve efficiency in operations but also a significant digital transformation to increase the size and be able to respond to market demand.

2. Using automated methods to make Digital-First Experiences more accessible

The most important aspect of any digital transformation is the delivery of digital applications and products. Customers are now demanding an experience that is digital-first. This is accompanied by a demand for faster service. There are many instances where RPA is employed to meet this need and the goal of digital changes.

Chatbots are a great illustration that AI and RPA can provide a better customer experience. In the past, human beings interacted with customers in real-time and only a limited quantity could be addressed simultaneously, causing bottlenecks. these channels are now automated, which means that they can manage much greater demands, with better quality as far as output and are much faster to complete. Whatever their place within the journey of the consumer, or the function they’re fulfilling whether it’s selling, ordering or customer service. Automating rule-based interactions can provide an improved customer experience, satisfying customer expectations and contributing towards the main goals of a business’s digital transformation.

It’s not just limited to chatbots. The same concept of automating processes in order to offer better, faster digital experiences can be observed across different industries, such as the automation of claims processing in insurance, loan process in the financial sector and also out-patient assistance as well as appointment schedulers in the field of healthcare.

3. Leveraging RPA Analytics to Support Digital Transformation

When you create and implement robot-controlled processes, you get access to data that was difficult to obtain when the identical processes were executed by humans. Robots can be monitored and tracked so that you can discern patterns and gain crucial insights into the metrics, such as what processes are running the highest and at what times?

Conclusion

Accounting and finance are the primary tasks for any company. With the implementation of RPA, most of the tedious, time-consuming and repetitive tasks are automated, leading to a huge cost reduction and time savings.

The RPA implementation doesn’t need to be a huge undertaking with a substantial budget. Smaller companies can benefit from the advantages prior to expanding their scope to other areas. Today, the question isn’t whether to use RPA. It’s when and how effectively you implement it.